A13 motorway (Switzerland)
Template: Infobox trunk road / Maintenance / CH -A
Canton:
- Canton of St. Gallen St. Gallen
- Canton of Grisons
- Canton of Ticino Ticino
- In construction
- In planning
The Swiss highway 13 is a two-lane, four-lane national highway in parts. It forms by the A2 is the second most important north -south connection in the country. Although situated entirely on Swiss territory in the cantons of Ticino, Graubünden and St. Gallen, it plays an important role for the opening up of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
A whole year through on this route existed only since 1967 with the opening of the San Bernardino tunnel. The actual crossing of the Alps is done because even still on the car then started road between Thusis and Soazza. The crossing of the Alps has a 2000-year history and was committed in Roman times and before. In the Via Mala Gorge, this story can relive in nightly shows.
Course
The A13 begins in the St. Gallen St.Margrethen following the A1. She then takes you through the entire Rhine Valley, along the border with Austria and Liechtenstein, Sargan, where the A3 connects to the A13.
The highway then leads on to Chur Graubünden capital to Reichenau, where you can branch off the main road in the direction of H19 Flims-Disentis/Mustér-Andermatt-Brig. From Reichenau connecting the A13 bypasses as not separately for each direction highway the floodplain Isla Bella in a tunnel, only to reach on the direction of separate path ( no highway ) by the Domleschg Thusis ( 600 m asl).
Here the road climbs to the Alpine crossing first through the Via Mala Gorge and crosses the valley after Shams and Roflaschlucht to the top part of the valley, the Rheinwald. In Spliigen the formerly significant Splügenpass branches and at the last valley community background Rhine flows the road at around 1650 meters above sea level in the 6.6 km -long San Bernardino tunnel.
After the tunnel, it is characterized by avalanche galleries and long sweeping, well over two bridges talüberspannende downhill Misox to Mesocco to 730 m above sea level. From Thusis to Mesocco the distance is about 58 km with a height difference of over 1000 meters.
Shortly after Mesocco the highway below Soazza again becomes a freeway. The A13 continues downhill and closes shortly before the capital of Ticino Bellinzona the A2 at an altitude of 240 m asl of.
Between Ascona and a roundabout south of Gaggiole in Ticino, the N13 is developed as a street car, but is indicated by the crossed highway signs that the Swiss motorway vignette on this route is not necessary. Locarno is moved around with the 5-km long Mappo Morettina tunnel. In that there is a lane for each direction.
Serious accidents
The originally largely non-directional separate section in the Rhine Valley from Sargans to St.Margrethen has long been considered " death route ": Again and again it came to severe frontal collisions. In the years from 1979 to 2002 died on the then highway A13 96 people, five times more than usual in the Swiss national road network. By expanding to a highway on the whole route the risk of accidents could be reduced.
On September 16, 2006 broke out in the Via Mala tunnel after a head-on collision between a tour bus and a passenger car, a fire in which nine people died. Was involved in the collision, a second passenger cars. At least four other vehicles were pulled in the tunnel affected.
Transfer of transit heavy traffic on the rail
As a transit route and the A13 through the ongoing efforts to modal shift must be relieved. During the closure of the Gotthard tunnel in 2006, half of transalpine heavy goods vehicles of Switzerland went due to a construction site on the 1818 -built San Bernardino Main Street H13. Due to the steep slopes of the route is not well suited to the current 1967 built road for transit traffic. For the future, the introduction of an Alpine Crossing Exchange is discussed.
Pictures
Highway A13 near Spliigen
Entrance to the San Bernardino tunnel