Major traffic jams expected in Switzerland for Whitsun weekend

The Gotthard Tunnel often faces heavy traffic during holidays. Keystone-SDA

Long traffic jams can be expected near the Gotthard Tunnel, the main north-south transalpine route in Switzerland, on Friday and Saturday afternoons due to the Whitsun holiday.

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They won’t clear up overnight from Friday to Saturday, the Viasuisse traffic service warned in a press release on Tuesday. It said most motorists are also likely to be on the road for the return journey on Whit Monday.

To avoid long jams, Viasuisse recommends starting the outward journey early on Friday morning, when traffic jams should be limited until around 11am. After that, it is worth travelling again on Sunday night. For the return journey, it is advisable to set off early on Monday morning or during the night from Whit Monday to Tuesday.

For travellers from the greater Zurich area and eastern Switzerland, it is worth taking the San Bernardino route (A13), according to Viasuisse. This alternative is recommended by the Federal Roads Office as soon as the waiting time before the Gotthard tunnel exceeds one hour.

However, the traffic service points out that there may also be delays on the alternative route. Those travelling south from Switzerland’s central Plateau region can take the Lötschberg or Simplon routes.

Viasuisse recommends travelling over the mountains, for example the Gotthard Pass, if you don’t want to get stuck in jams. Just in time for the holidays, the winter closure will also be lifted on Friday morning on the 2,224 metre Susten Pass, the last Alpine pass in canton Uri.

The previous record for traffic jams at Whitsun 2018 was 25 kilometres southbound. This was caused by an accident on the A13 motorway in the San Bernardino tunnel.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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