Environmentalists have called on the government to abandon plans for a second transalpine road tunnel at the Gotthard in central Switzerland. The existing tunnel needs major repair after more than 30 years in operation.
The Alpine Initiative group, supported by 30 other organisations, on Thursday handed in a petition signed by about 68,000 people, urging the authorities to reconsider the plans.
The move comes as part of a broad consultation about a draft bill by the cabinet for parliament.
Fabio Pedrina, president of the Alpine Initiative, said the petition was «good news for the protection of the alpine environment». He added that his group would not hesitate to challenge a parliamentary decision to build a second road thoroughfare at the Gotthard to a nationwide vote.
Campaigners say a transfer of heavyweight lorries and cars from road to rail would be cheaper than the upgrading of an existing parallel service tunnel for traffic.
They warned of health problems for the local population at the access road to the tunnel as a result of increasing road traffic. The construction of a second tube within the tunnel also breaches a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1994 to put lorries crossing the major transalpine European passage onto rail, they say.
Road safety
The environmentalists are supported by the centre-left Social Democrats and the Green Party.
The political centre-right and the business community argue a second road tunnel is important for the country’s economy and for road safety. In 2001, a collision of two lorries in the tunnel left at least 11 people dead.
«It has repeatedly been proven by scientists that tunnels with single-lane traffic in two directions are far more dangerous than tunnels with one-directional traffic,» said a statement by the umbrella organisation of road transporters, the car industry and automobile clubs.
Last year, the Gotthard tunnel was crossed by more than 17,200 vehicles, including heavyweight lorries, every day. The tunnel opened for traffic in 1980 and is one of the major transalpine thoroughfares in central Europe.