Swiss Alpine roads close due to avalanche danger

Traffic problems continue due to the onset of winter in the mountains Keystone-SDA

Many roads in the Swiss Alpine regions are still closed due to the ongoing avalanche danger. Canton Valais is particularly affected, where the highest avalanche danger level was declared on Tuesday morning.

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The introduction of compulsory snow chains also caused traffic jams and disruptions to the flow of traffic on certain routes. This currently affects the Brünig Pass section of the A8 motorway between Sarnen in canton Obwalden and Brienz in canton Bern, for example, the traffic information service Viasuisse reported on Tuesday morning in response to an enquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency.

Otherwise, the traffic situation on the roads has not changed much since Monday. According to Viasuisse, the situation remains precarious due to the high risk of avalanches.

Valais particularly affected

Canton Valais is particularly affected. Car transport on the Furka and Lötschberg mountain passes has been cancelled, especially as access to the loading stations is currently not possible. In particular, the road between Goppenstein and Gampel-Steg has been closed.

The main roads to the holiday resorts of Saas Fee and Saas Grund, Zermatt, Zinal and Arolla are also currently closed. Due to the avalanche risk, the Les Marécottes ski resort has announced that it will remain closed for the rest of the day. In Orsières, the same instructions apply to several areas that had to be evacuated on Monday morning until further notice and at least until Wednesday. The Grächen ski area also announced that it would remain closed on Tuesday due to strong winds.

The lake section of the Klöntalerstrasse between Rhodannenberg and Vorauen in the canton of Glarus is also currently closed due to the risk of avalanches, according to a message on the national alarm app Alertswiss. The closure will remain in place “until further notice”, it said.

Highest avalanche danger level

On Tuesday morning, the highest avalanche warning level 5 was declared in parts of Valais, according to the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research. Areas in the westernmost Lower Valais and widespread areas in northern Valais are affected. Otherwise, it remains at level 4 for high avalanche danger throughout the entire Alpine region.

On the south side of the Lötschberg tunnel, an avalanche derailed a BLS regional express train on Monday. The railway line between Goppenstein and Brig is expected to remain closed until Saturday morning due to the accident.

The Regioexpress trains from Spiez in the direction of Lötschberg were also affected; they only travelled as far as Kandersteg in canton Bern and turned back, as announced by BLS. This means that rail services between Kandersteg and Brig are expected to remain suspended until midday on Tuesday.

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Translated from German by AI/jdp

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