Holidaymakers heading south on Saturday, 18 July 2026, again turned the A2 motorway into a gigantic car park. According to the Touring Club Suisse (TCS), the north portal of the Gotthard Road Tunnel saw queues stretch to 20 kilometres at dawn and stabilise at around 18 kilometres through the early afternoon, adding up to three hours to the normal transit time. The Gotthard is the main north–south artery for road freight and leisure traffic between Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The single-tube tunnel – already operating at capacity in peak periods while a second tube is being bored – becomes particularly vulnerable at the start of the Dutch and German summer holidays. Logistics firms shipping time-critical goods and companies whose mobile staff drive to northern Italy for work are therefore directly affected by the recurring gridlock. Cantonal police urged drivers to detour via the A13 San Bernardino route or the Lötschberg, Simplon and Grand-Saint-Bernard rail car-shuttle options. They also reminded employers that professional drivers must respect Switzerland’s strict rest-time rules, even when caught in stand-still traffic. Infrastructure experts note that the second Gotthard tube, due to open in 2029, will solve the safety problem of two-way traffic in a single bore but will not increase capacity – the Federal Council has promised to keep the road a single lane each way. Until then, businesses are advised to plan cross-alpine deliveries for mid-week nights or use intermodal rail solutions wherever possible. The tourism sector is likewise bracing for disruptive return traffic on 25–26 July, when schools in several German Länder resume and Swiss families start heading home. Hoteliers south of the Alps are advising guests to stagger departure times or use public transport to avoid losing an entire day in traffic.
Source: SWI swissinfo.ch
