Gotthard road tunnel in Swiss Alps blocked by protest

GENEVA (AFP): Switzerland’s Gotthard road tunnel under the Alps was temporarily blocked by protesters on Friday, worsening the lengthy tailbacks at the start of the Easter holiday.

The 17-kilometer (10.5-mile) tunnel is one of the main routes crossing the Alps from German-speaking Switzerland to the warmer Italian-speaking Ticino region on the south side of the mountains.

Good Friday, the first day of the Easter holiday long weekend, is typically one of the tunnel’s busiest days.

The northern entrance was temporarily blocked by a handful of protesters from Renovate Switzerland, a group that wants the Swiss government to declare a climate emergency and plan for the thermal renovation of every building in the country by 2035.

Switzerland’s ATS news agency reported that the protesters sat on the southbound carriageway at around 10:00 am (0800 GMT) and glued their hands to the road. Some motorists angrily swiped at their banners.

Police removed the activists around 30 minutes later and the tunnel reopened at around 11:00 am.

Renovate Switzerland said six activists aged 19 to 60 were arrested.

They tweeted that “inaction in the face of the climate catastrophe is more disturbing than 15-kilometer tailbacks.”

The Touring Club Suisse drivers’ association said the traffic jam had grown to 19 kilometers, with motorists facing more than a three-hour wait.

Opened in 1980, the road tunnel has one lane in each direction and typically sees traffic jams around the Easter and summer holidays.

The Gotthard Pass has been a key trade route across the Alps since the Middle Ages.

It remains a key transport link between northern and southern Europe with one road and two rail tunnels under the pass. All three were the longest of their kind in the world when they opened.