Traffic jams in front of the Gotthard tunnel are the bane of holidaymakers heading South on vacation. Political parties across the spectrum are calling for a tunnel toll. But how bad is the situation really in traffic-congested Switzerland? Figures, facts—and what drivers can do to stay safe and sane. A river of brake lights confronts us like a red wall. Between the motorway entrances of Wassen and Göschenen, our hopes for a smooth passage are dashed. This is the normal situation on the Gotthard route and no longer just during the holiday season. The 17 km road tunnel - the longest in the world at the time of its construction in 1980 - runs from Göschenen in the canton of Uri in the north to Airolo in canton Ticino to the south. We come to a standstill. Everything slows down, only our pulse quickens. We're stuck in a traffic jam. On more than 100 days a year, traffic is backed up at the bottleneck between northern and southern Switzerland, where cars are squeezed into a single ...
