Gotthard Road Tunnel

The Gotthard road tunnel is 16.9 kilometers in length, the third- longest road tunnel in the world and the longest road tunnel in the Alps. The tunnel is part of the Swiss A2 motorway from Basel to Chiasso and connects Göschenen in the canton of Uri with Airolo in the canton of Ticino. Its construction took place from 1970 to 1980, the opening by Federal Councillor Hans Hürlimann took place on 5 September 1980.

The Gotthard road tunnel is the main corridor through the Swiss Alps. In 2012, he was navigated by 17'061 vehicles per day, of which 15 % were heavy trucks. The traffic load fluctuates in the diurnal cycle and seasonal strong. For instance, passed on Saturdays in August 2012 about 34,000 vehicles each tunnel.

Building

The nearly 17 -kilometer-long tunnel tube is guided between the portals in an arc to the west, which deviates more than 2,400 meters from the direct straight connection between the portals. These lines were chosen for the ventilation shafts of the pass road of making it accessible and to avoid a difficult geological area in Urserental.

The eruption took place from the north and south by blasting with full excavation. The excavation section was 69-96 square meters except in two about three hundred meters long geologically difficult areas, where up to 130 square meters were excavated. Parallel to the main tunnel in thirty meters to the east of the security tunnel was broken, which was hit by on 26 March 1976. Some months later, on 16 December 1976, the breakdown of the dome of the main tunnel. The average daily progress was 6 meters. During the construction 19 construction workers were killed.

The Gotthard tunnel has six ventilation stations: two are located at the portals, the others are located at Bäzberg 46.644078.59048 in Hospental 46.6232448.572044, at the pass road where the Guspisbach opens into the Gotthardreuss 46.595038.5644 and Motto di Dentro 46.540598. 57993rd Fresh air and exhaust air are supplied to and removed in the ceiling space above the street.

Due to the large coverage it gets warm in the tunnel even in winter to 35 ° C.

Traffic

With the opening of the tunnel previously operated car train 1980 set by the railway tunnel. The Gotthard road tunnel became the main Swiss Alpine crossing with 171,000 lorry journeys in 1981. Already in 1990, crossed more than half a million trucks the Alps on the Gotthard route, and in the following ten years, the transport truck with 1'187'000 rides again more than doubled. Through the tunnel closure in 2001 after an accident and subsequent introduction of metering the number declined in the following years.

In 2009, it took 6.1 million vehicles; which corresponds to an average of about 16,700 per day or 700 vehicles per hour. In 2007, 15 percent of the passing vehicles German car number plates.

In the only road conduit the oncoming traffic: each direction is a track available, the speed limit is 80 km / h Trucks must maintain a minimum distance of 150 m in the tunnel. To ensure this, they are embedded in the so-called dropper system in the tunnel.

At holiday times, the increased traffic load regularly leads to congestion before the portals. If you want to avoid these jams can use the Gotthard Pass. The police locked storage at the entrances to the A2 in Airolo and in Göschenen.

Since the Gotthard road tunnel is part of the Swiss national road network is sufficient for its Durchfahrung the annual vignette; it not be charged any additional tolls. For heavy traffic is (currently) the introduction of an Alpine Crossing Exchange in planning. With an Alpine Crossing Exchange, the number of vehicles and the load to be controlled as efficiently as possible. The truck traffic in road tunnel is to be limited. The goal is that the over the limit beyond truck traffic should be brought to the rail.

Second Tube

Parallel to the road tunnel a rescue tunnel was created, which was considered as input for a future expansion to four lanes. The full expansion was deferred for cost reasons; only when the need arises the second tube should be completely broken out and equipped as a traffic tunnel. Due to the high number of trucks that took the Gotthard axis and their access roads, an expansion was blocked by political means and confirms the transfer policy of the Federal Council finally in February 1994 by the referendum on the Alpine Initiative. 2001 was filed with the Avanti Initiative a referendum, which had the expansion of the second Gotthard tube to the target. Was justified with the suggestion the regular traffic jams at the portals, with safety arguments and with the upcoming renovation of the existing tube. The counter-proposal of the Parliament to the retracted Avanti initiative was rejected in February 2004 by the people.

Regardless of the transport needs of the Federal Council has issued on 27 June 2012 for the construction of a second tube to allow for the necessary renovation of the first tube to be sure closed for several years. Additionally, the expansion is justified by the to enhancing security. Nevertheless, against a possible corresponding federal decree by the Parliament already the optional referendum was announced. Even with two tubes one lane in each direction may be used only ever because according to Article 84 of the Federal Constitution, the road capacity can not be increased. A possible relaxation of this provision and thus a constitutional amendment is subject to additional mandatory referendum. The construction period is specified in the plans with 2020 to 2027, the cost is 2.8 billion Swiss francs.

Security

At intervals of about 750 meters bys of 3 meters wide and 41 meters long, are mutually provided. Every 250 meters, there are shelters with permanent pressure ventilation, which can accommodate 60 persons and are connected to the rescue tunnel. The lies to the east of the road tunnel at an axial distance of about 30 meters and is 2.6 meters wide and a maximum of 3.1 meters high. All 125 meters are fire extinguishers and emergency telephones installed.

Accidents

Between 1980 and the end of 2004 a total of 875 accidents occurred with a total of 30 deaths, of which on 24 October 2001, when it was hardest by the collision of two trucks to a fire in the tunnel. Eleven people died in the accident. The tunnel was then closed for two months due to renovation work, and briefly a rail terminal for passenger cars was put into operation again. Until the complete repair trucks were transported for safety reasons only by the railway tunnel. Since 2002, the number of accidents has declined significantly. According to the Federal Roads Office ( ASTRA ) occurred since the restoration after the fire disaster 2001, only 7 to 14 accidents per year before the disaster, the numbers were still 44-68 accidents per year in the period from 1995 to 2001.

Dropper system

To ensure a safe distance from the truck about 150 m, the driveway for trucks is controlled on both sides over traffic lights, let the two to three trucks per minute pull out of a small waiting room at the tunnel entrance. Heavy traffic to and from Ticino allowed to drive directly to these waiting rooms, during the transit traffic is buffered to larger waiting rooms in the valley. With this system, the drive-through to a maximum of 3,000 to 3,500 trucks per day will be limited after up to 5,500 truck trips were counted per day previously.

When Knutwiler height is a temporary waiting room, which is set up when needed. In order to have a better flow of traffic even in a waiting room, in the area Knutwiler height is widening the highway.

In the canton of Uri, a heavy traffic center was established. There inspections are carried out by the police. In addition, there is also a drop system.

Rehabilitation

Announced in early August 2008, the Federal Roads Office ( ASTRA ) that the tunnel had to be rehabilitated in the period 2018-2020. For that he would either be completely closed for a year or more times in the summer, when the pass is open. Solutions would also be an auto- loading and the Rolling Road, which is advantageous for the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the train is scheduled to open in 2016.

Instead of partial closures, detours or Autoverladung the Federal Council decided on 27 June 2012 that now but the second tube of the Gotthard road tunnel is being built. This allows to close the first tube for several years lasting restoration complete, and is considered by the variants presented as the best solution. The project is compared with a pure restoration a billion Swiss francs cost more, which is about half of the estimated revenue for a redevelopment CHF 1.8 billion. The earliest opening of the second tube is given as 2027, and only then will begin the renovation. The funding is not ensured.

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