Road traffic Long traffic jams and major traffic obstructions expected at Easter
The Federal Roads Office is again expecting traffic jams and major traffic obstructions on the north-south axis over the Easter period. A high volume of traffic is also expected on feeder routes on the Central Plateau due to the caravan heading south.
13.04.2025, 09:01
SDA
According to the Federal Roads Office (Astra), Easter traffic is expected to start early on Wednesday afternoon (April 16). As expected, this will affect the north-south axes, the A2 before the Gotthard tunnel and the A13 on the San Bernardino route.
At the same time, the Gotthard pass road will remain closed over Easter due to the winter closure, as confirmed by Astra on request. The Federal Council has yet to respond to a parliamentary motion calling for the pass road to be open all year round.
Do not leave the highways
From Wednesday and the following Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, travelers should expect to lose a lot of time and long waiting times this year too, Astra added. In order to prevent avoidance traffic, which is a burden for the towns along the national roads, the Federal Office is calling on travelers to stay on the freeway even in traffic jams.
Among other things, seven new metering points opened at the end of January at the entrances and exits of the A2 in the canton of Nidwalden are intended to help with this. They react in a coordinated manner to the increase and decrease in traffic. If a traffic jam forms at an entrance or exit, the metering system switches a traffic light to red. The vehicles are then held back. According to Astra, this is intended to prevent traffic jams from being avoided or make them less attractive.
The canton of Uri is also taking various measures to deal with the expected avalanche of traffic and reduce the amount of traffic using the cantonal road: for example, the entrances to Göschenen and Wassen will be closed when the traffic jam reaches three kilometers in length. If traffic backs up to eight kilometers, the speed on the freeway between Altdorf and Amsteg will be reduced to 80 km/h.
This is intended to slow down traffic and reduce the risk of accidents. Depending on the situation, there will also be a dosage at the exits in Erstfeld and Amsteg, as the canton announced in advance. The measures have been in place since April 4 and will continue until the Gotthard Pass road opens in mid-May.
SBB offer additional connections
Meanwhile, travelers must also expect longer waiting times in both directions for car transport between Brig VS and Iselle (I) at Easter. Trains will only run every 2 hours. This is due to ongoing SBB renovation work in the Simplon Tunnel. On the outward journey to the south, there may also be waiting times at the Furka car loading stations in Realp UR, at Lötschberg in Kandersteg BE and at Vereina in Klosters-Selfranga GR.
Due to the high volume of southbound travel, SBB is offering 20 extra trains on the Gotthard axis between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino between Maundy Thursday and Easter Monday. According to the railroad company, a total of around 64,000 additional seats will be offered. Additional carriages will also be attached to trains.
This also applies to Eurocity trains that run as far as Italy, SBB announced. Two additional connections from Lugano to Milan will also be offered on Good Friday. However, high frequencies on individual trains cannot be ruled out in individual cases or in the event of a disruption to rail traffic, it added. The railroad recommends planning your journey well in advance.
Astra expects the wave of return travel on the south-north axis to begin later on Easter Sunday. However, the greatest disruptions to road traffic are expected on Easter Monday, as the traffic information service Viasuisse announced in advance. The longest traffic jams are expected between 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. in front of the south portal in Airolo TI. And there may still be short waiting times on Tuesday.
Traffic jams every year
The Easter traffic jam on the Gotthard has been a recurring event for years. The record for the length of traffic jams since the Gotthard tunnel was opened in 1980 was set in 1998, when the onset of winter at Easter led to a traffic jam 25 kilometers long. In second place is Good Friday in 2022 with a traffic jam length of 22 kilometers.
In 2024, the traffic information service Viasuisse recorded a decrease in traffic volumes on the Gotthard over Easter: the peak of outbound traffic was on Good Friday with "only" eleven kilometers of congestion. At the same time last year, there were 19 kilometers of congestion. One possible reason for the drop in traffic volume last year may have been the bad weather in the south.
