Press
As of July 5, the Bernardino route is open to traffic again and the destroyed Alpine motorway A13 was repaired in record time. But that is not the end of all worries.
Chur – Work was carried out day and night on the Swiss Alpine motorway A13. The weather cooperated and on Friday (5 July) the Bernardino route should be open again. Only twelve days after severe storms swept away around 200 metres of road on the important holiday route.
Destroyed Alpine motorway A13 repaired in record time: reopening on 5 July
Swiss media had feared a “traffic collapse” during the travel period; the A13 is an important north-south connection for trips from Germany to Italy and vice versa. In addition, another important Alpine route, the Simplon Pass, is closed due to a mudslide.
The Federal Roads Office had initially predicted that the Bernardino route would be reopened on July 10. But it happened sooner than expected. This was partly because the region was spared further rainfall and the water in the Moesa River receded faster than expected.
Curious repair on the Bernardino Route in Switzerland: washed-up rubble used for paint rail
And secondly, somewhat curiously, the water had washed down stones and rubble from the mountain, which could be used to build the road.
On Friday, July 5, traffic will initially be one-lane in both directions with a speed limit.
This is particularly good news for holidaymakers from Germany who want to travel to Italy by car. To the south of the Bernardino route lie the Lombardy Maggiore and Ticino.
“Motorists should avoid Switzerland”: Damaged Alpine motorway may not be able to cope with travel volume
However, the Swiss authorities are not completely free of worries. “Motorists should avoid Switzerland,” Transport Minister Albert Rösti stressed at a press conference on July 25. The destroyed Alpine motorway will now be reopened, but a “two-lane construction track” may not be able to cope with the volume of traffic in July. “The holiday traffic will cause us problems in particular,” Rösti fears. The Buffalora bridge was also damaged in the storm.
At least the route will be passable again from July 5th. However, it is not yet fully repaired. (moe/dpa)
#Important #holiday #route #Italy #open