Controversial highway expansion More lanes = more safety? Experts contradict Rösti

Documents from Astra show that widening freeway lanes usually worsens safety - contrary to what Federal Councillor Rösti claims. The Bernese VCS speaks of disastrous communication.

In just under six weeks, the Swiss electorate will decide on the planned expansion of the freeways. The referendum campaign has long since begun. The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) under Federal Councillor Albert Rösti has so far made a dubious impression.

In recent weeks, for example, it has become known that the planned widening of the A1 between Nyon and Geneva from four to six lanes would be ineffective after just a few years. According to a report by the Federal Roads Office (Astra), capacity would already be reached in 2040 and cars would be stuck in traffic jams again.

Vote on November 24, 2024The most important facts about the highway expansion

Back in August, Astra had to qualify the high number of congestion hours as an "auxiliary figure" calculated using an outdated approach from 2009. Later, the Federal Office for Spatial Planning - which, like Astra, reports to Federal Councillor Rösti - corrected the consequential costs of car traffic for health and the environment to almost double this amount in a study.

And last week it was revealed that, according to Astra figures, the costs for the six highway projects would amount to CHF 5.8 billion instead of CHF 4.9 billion if all aspects such as noise protection and wastewater are taken into account.

Astra documents reveal contradictions

The latest chapter: the authorities argue in favor of an expansion in the voting booklet with contradictory statements, as reported by the CH Media newspapers. For example, it prominently states that the Federal Council wants to "increase safety". Jürg Röthlisberger, Director of Astra, also regularly advertises the "increase in safety". "Yes to securing the national roads" is the slogan of the Yes campaign.

However, Astra documents available to CH Media paint a different picture. An analysis shows that there are relatively few accidents on freeways. Only 3 percent of the accident blackspots in Switzerland between 2020 and 2022 were on freeways.

Moreover, according to the documents, an expansion of lanes usually has a negative impact on safety. More lanes lead to more accidents and more accident blackspots, the experts write.

Only in St. Gallen will it be significantly safer

The safety balance of the Astra experts is also neutral to clearly negative for four of the six planned expansions that will be voted on on November 24. For example, the additional lanes in the two Bern projects would cause significantly more accidents. The Astra writes of "additional costs for police traffic control and monitoring".

The balance is also negative in Nyon, neutral in Schaffhausen and slightly positive in the Basel Rhine Tunnel. Only the construction of a third tube of the Rosenberg Tunnel on the A1 near St. Gallen significantly increases the safety of road users.

"Rösti's communication is a disaster"

According to CH Media, several transport organizations are considering lodging a voting complaint due to the objections. Benjamin Zumbühl, Managing Director of the Bernese section of the Swiss Transport Club (VCS), confirmed an investigation at the request of blue News, but is unable to provide more detailed information at this time.

According to Zumbühl, the statements made by Federal Councillor Rösti and his department are a "disaster that is unworthy of a democracy". Some of the calculations are deliberately based on false figures, although more precise data is already available - political calculation instead of fact-based information, says Zumbühl.

The "no" campaign will now attempt to show the actual facts. This is necessary because Federal Councillor Rösti's communication is "not appropriate".

Civil servants as "spin doctors"

At the request of CH Media, an Astra spokesperson put their own assessments into perspective: These were "always based on assumptions and simplified and partially monetized models". This is "not a contradiction" for him.

Employees of the Federal Chancellery have long noted an increasingly imprecise handling of facts and figures in the Uvek. The people in Rösti's General Secretariat do not act objectively, but as "spin doctors" with a "clear political bias".

The technical responsibility for correct information lies with the specialists in the federal offices and in the General Secretariat. However, it has recently become known that Astra in particular is increasingly relying on PR agencies: Leading Swiss agencies have been awarded contracts worth millions - mostly in a negotiated procedure without an open tender.