Swiss tunnel options

Discussions are underway in Switzerland at present over options for maintaining and upgrading the Gotthard Road Tunnel in the 2020-2025 period. One option is likely to cost some €539.65 million (CHF 650 million), requiring the tunnel to be closed for a 30 month period. The other option is likely to cost €752 million and will see the work carried out in stages over a 42 month stretch. For this second option, the tunnel would remain open during the summer period so as to allow it to carry the higher volumes of seasonal tourist traffic. A third option is to build a new tunnel and then close the existing link for the necessary work. Once the work would be finished, both tunnels would be used with traffic travelling in a single direction. This last option is likely to be the most costly, some €1.66 billion (CHF 2 billion) in all. There is support for the various options in the cantons affected and the Swiss Government will review the details and make its decision shortly.