Though they account for just 3% of Switzerland’s road network, motorways carried over 40% of the country’s traffic in 2024. Congestion, too, has grown markedly. In response, the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) is planning targeted network improvements.
Vehicles travelling on Swiss motorways covered a combined 29.8 billion kilometres last year, a modest rise of 0.7% from 2023. Far more striking was the 13.9% increase in traffic jams, which totalled 55,569 hours, according to a statement published on Tuesday.
The divergence between the modest rise in traffic volume and the sharp increase in delays points to a network frequently operating at or near full capacity. Minor disruptions—such as accidents, breakdowns or sudden braking—are now enough to cause disproportionately large tailbacks. As a result, journey times are becoming harder to predict.
FEDRO attributes nearly 87% of these jams to overloaded roads, while construction sites account for only around 4%. Areas with heavy commuter flows were hit hardest.
To ease the strain, FEDRO is deploying a mix of traffic management and long-term infrastructure improvements. Intelligent traffic systems—used in many places already—regulate speed and temporarily open emergency lanes to vehicles. These measures, the agency argues, improve safety, optimise existing capacity and ease traffic flow.
In parallel, targeted infrastructure upgrades are planned at congestion hotspots, particularly where traffic has surged and bottlenecks form routinely. One such intervention, the opening of a third tunnel at the Gubrist near Zurich, yielded a rapid improvement. Delays on the route towards Bern have plummeted—from almost 1,400 hours in 2023 to just 150 last year.
Despite motorway overloading and traffic jams, a majority of Swiss voters rejected a government plan to invest in alleviating the network’s worst choke points on 24 November 2024.
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FEDRO article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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