Holiday misery as traffic backlogs
Those leaving to go south for their vacations needed much patience on Swiss roads on Saturday, with up to four hours’ waiting time in some places.
In the morning there were ten kilometres of traffic jams between Basel and Lucerne, 16km at the Gotthard tunnel – infamous for its summer blockages – and 14km at the Swiss-Italian border Chiasso-Brodega.
Those at the Gotthard were left facing up to four hours in their cars, according to the Touring Club of Switzerland (TCS) website.
By the late afternoon the situation was reported to have calmed down, with the Gotthard at 4km and Chiasso-Brogeda at 7km.
The Saint Bernard tunnel has a backlog and routes going northwards have also been experiencing jams.
Officials said the reason for the heavy traffic was the beginning of the school holidays in the populous cantons of Zurich and Aargau. In the German state Nordrhein-Westfalen pupils have also started their vacation.
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