Internal documents show Astra ignored warnings - Gotthard drilling machine remains blocked for months

The "Paulina" drilling machine in the Gotthard south portal has been at a standstill for months. Internal logs now show that both experts and the construction company itself warned of a blockage - but the Federal Roads Office allowed drilling to continue.

The 116-metre-long tunnel boring machine "Paulina", which has been at a standstill at the south portal of the Gotthard for months, has become the symbol of a multi-million euro construction site fiasco. According to research by SRF's "Rundschau", the Federal Roads Office (Astra) has had internal warnings since June - but work continued anyway.

As early as June 6, 2025, the construction management stated in writing that "work was pretty much at the limit". Ten days later, the alarm threshold for the material flow was exceeded - an indication of dangerous cavities in the rock. Nevertheless, on June 18, Astra decided that no more automatic interruptions should take place in future, but that a message would suffice.

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One day later, the construction company explicitly warned of a "real risk of the machine getting stuck". However, Astra ordered drilling to continue. On June 23, the construction management demanded an immediate stop, but was not heeded. Shortly afterwards, "Paulina" stopped for good.

"It should have been stopped"

The consequences were serious: according to reports, the drill head could no longer be turned. To free it, a lateral access had to be blown up - an effort that, according to insiders, could cause a delay of up to two years and up to 20 million francs in additional costs.

Politicians are outraged. FDP National Councillor Alex Farinelli told SRF: "When you read this, the conclusion is simple: the work should have been stopped." SP National Councillor Jon Pult also criticizes: "If independent experts have already warned of the disrupted zone in advance, one wonders whether they wanted to put their heads through the wall here."

Astra speaks of a "controlled stop"

Astra rejects the accusations and explains that the machine was brought to a "controlled stop" - not blocked. "Paulina" was deliberately stopped due to the difficult geology, it said in a statement.

For Adrian Pfiffner, professor emeritus of geology, this is a whitewash: "I see from the log that the machine got stuck and could not be restarted. That is not a controlled shutdown."

The second tube of the Gotthard road tunnel is one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in Switzerland: 16.9 kilometers long, costing over two billion Swiss francs and scheduled for completion in 2030. While work on the north side is proceeding according to plan, the south portal is now threatening to become the project's problem case.