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A maximum of 13 kilometers instead of 19 kilometers: This year the journey to the south was a little less busy. New measures helped, as did the weather.
The traffic jam in front of the Gotthard road tunnel has been a common sight over the Easter holidays for years. Last year, the cars lined up in front of the north portal over a length of 19 kilometers. This year the maximum length on Good Friday was 13 kilometers. The Uri cantonal police are satisfied – the new traffic jam management has proven itself.
The metering system is intended to prevent alternative traffic in traffic jams. The side streets should remain clear. This not only benefits the residents, but is also important for blue light operations and patrols.
Flowing traffic on the cantonal road
This year this worked well, as Nick Pizzi, head of the Uri riot and traffic police, says. “The cantonal road was always free. That was very valuable because it meant we could get the resources on site very quickly when they were needed,” explains Pizzi to SRF.
In order to reduce alternative traffic on the cantonal road from Erstfeld, the Wassen and Göschenen motorway entrances will be closed – even if the traffic jam is three kilometers long. “We close Wassen and Göschenen at the same time when there is a three-kilometer traffic jam. “That used to be the case at four kilometers,” says Pizzi. This adaptation has proven to be very successful. «The kilometer fills up very quickly. This will help us to clear the patrol much more quickly.”
Opening window at the Göschenen entrance
New are the opening windows at the Göschenen entrance when the pass road is closed. In order to enable locals, employees and tourists who have vacationed in Göschenen to travel south, the entrance to the A2 in Göschenen will be opened four times for 15 minutes each.
“These opening windows have not yet been used heavily and have therefore proven themselves,” says Pizzi. Because if alternative traffic were to make too much use of this time window, it could in turn lead to traffic coming to a standstill at the roundabout in Göschenen.
The weather also sends help
According to Pizzi, an earlier start to the holidays in Germany also contributed to the relief this year. That’s why there was a nine-kilometer-long traffic jam in front of the Gotthard on March 22nd.
The bad weather from the Easter weekend in the south also played a role. While it was mild and mostly dry in the north over Easter, it was wet in the south. In northern Ticino, 140 millimeters of rain fell from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. According to SRF Meteo, there was not a single ray of sunshine at the Ticino measuring stations during this time.
It remains to be seen whether the Uri police will maintain the traffic jam management that was introduced in 2023 and slightly adjusted this year next year. The evaluation will take place at the end of the year by the Uri traffic jam management. But Pizzi can already say: “The measures worked.”