As the school holidays begin in most cantons, experts have warned of long traffic jams on Swiss motorways this summer, particularly for those going to holiday destinations in Italy. A combination of events in Switzerland and the start of holidays across Europe will cause large delays and disruption for drivers over the next few weeks. 

Major delays expected on Swiss roads and motorways in 2022

According to the Swiss traffic monitoring group Viasuisse, they are “virtually certain” traffic jams will occur across the country during the weekends this summer, with the most severe jams on the two popular road passes through the mountains - the San Bernadino Pass and the Gotthard Road Tunnel. Disruption is predicted across Europe, with roads in France, Italy and the Netherlands set to see heavy traffic jams as the school holidays begin.

Swiss public transport is also expected to be busy, mainly due to disruption at airports in Switzerland and around the world which has forced many to rethink how to get to their holiday destinations this summer. Swiss Federal Railways said it will see tens of thousands more holiday passengers on the weekends from now until autumn.

Traffic hotspots in Switzerland revealed

On the roads, the traffic will be most severe on so-called “bottlenecks” between Swiss cities and abroad. Viasuisse expects the following highways to have the most traffic problems this summer:

• A3 and A13 between Chur and Chiasso, especially near the San Bernadino tunnel
• A4 and A2 between Altdorf and the Gotthard Road Tunnel
• A9 between Lausanne and Montreux
• A1, A6 and A12 around Bern
• A3 and A1 between Zurich and Basel
• Route 21 between Martigny and the St. Bernard tunnel

If you do plan on using these routes at the weekend, Viasuisse recommended listening to regular traffic reports on the radio and preparing ample food and drink in the car for the long delays.

Events expected to slow traffic in Canton Vaud

The roads in Switzerland are also expected to be busy because of several large events in the country over the summer. The Tour de France in Switzerland, Montreux Jazz Festival and the Paléo Festival are all expected to slow traffic down in Canton Vaud and in French-speaking Switzerland more generally.

Viasuisse recommended drivers avoid travel on the weekend and during the peak times of 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 7pm. According to their official traffic calendar, the best time to use the motorways in Switzerland this summer is during off-peak times on Tuesday and Wednesday.