Massive traffic jams over the weekend

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 06:30

The Pentecost weekend lived up to its reputation of traffic-geddon.

On Saturday, following an accident in the Gotthard Tunnel which caused its closures, a tailback of 22 km formed.

Yesterday, there was a line of 8 km at the southern entrance of the tunnel with a wait of one and a half hours.

Traffic was heavier through the tunnel due to many passes remaining closed because of heavy snowfall – normally at this time of the year some are open which alleviates the pressure.

The Pentecost weekend has a reputation for being a bad weekend on the roads. Records were broken in 1999 and 2018 with lines reaching 28km.

More from Bitesize News

Heavy snow causes chaos

Heavy snowfall across central parts of the country brought chaos, cancelled trains, blocked roads and children building snowmen on the autoroute.
Geneva car tax issue dominates Grand Council

Although it wasn’t on the agenda for last night’s meeting of the Geneva Grand Council, the issue of the new vehicle tax dominated proceedings.
Franc strongest against euro

It’s good news for cross border shopping and frontaliers – the franc has reached its highest level against the Euro.
SRG/SSR faces massive cuts

Are the days numbered for public service broadcasting?
People now back nuclear power

A new survey suggests public opinion towards nuclear power has changed dramatically.
4m e-vignettes sold

Four million people last year chose to forgo the sticky mess of a vignette on their car and bought an electronic one instead.