The A1 motorway, which run between Geneva in the west and St Gallen in the east suffers badly from congestion. On 11 September 2023, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of adding an extra lane in each direction along the full length of the key route, reported RTS.
The vote was in response to a motion put forward by Erich Hess from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP). According to Hess, the route, which currently has two lanes in each direction along most of its length and passes by Lausanne and Bern, was designed for a national population of 6 million, a level now significantly exceeded.
Marionna Schlatter from the Green Party was against the idea, describing it as incompatible with climate neutrality targets. More roads will create more traffic. And a referendum opposed to such a project is ready to be launched, she said.
A majority of 94 versus 87 were in favour of widening the A1 motorway. The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, also supported the idea. Federal councillor Albert Rösti pointed out that around 40,000 hours were lost to traffic congestion last year and that 14,000 (35%) of these were on the A1.
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