Uri cantonal police take positive stock of Gotthard dosing system
Published: Monday, Apr 1st 2024, 10:20
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After the Easter traffic to the south, the cantonal police in Uri have drawn a positive balance of their metering system in front of the Gotthard road tunnel. The refined system to prevent evasive traffic during traffic jams has proved its worth.
"This year we were able to keep traffic flowing on the cantonal roads," said Lieutenant Nick Pizzi on Easter Monday when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. Pizzi is head of the Uri riot and traffic police.
The metering system is activated as soon as traffic starts to back up over a length of three kilometers. In this case, the highway entrances in Göschenen and Wassen are closed in the southbound direction.
This means that the journey south from Amsteg will only be possible via the highway. If this scenario occurs, the Göschenen entrance will be opened four times a day for 15 minutes at a time: From 06.45 to 07.00, from 08.15 to 08.30, from 17.15 to 17.30 and from 18.45 to 19.00.
Reduction to 80 km/h
If traffic is backed up for eight kilometers, the speed on the freeway between Altdorf and Amsteg will be reduced to 80 kilometers per hour. This is intended to slow down traffic and reduce the risk of accidents. In addition, the exits in Erstfeld and Amsteg will be metered depending on the load on the cantonal road.
On Maundy Thursday and Good Friday this year, the cantonal police in Uri resorted to these measures. According to Pizzi, the maximum length of traffic jams on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday was twelve and thirteen kilometers respectively. In 2023, there was a traffic jam of 19 kilometers.
The cantonal police in Uri introduced a new traffic jam management system in front of the Gotthard back in 2023. This year, it has adapted it slightly.
Relief through weather
According to Pizzi, an earlier vacation start in Germany at Easter helped to ease congestion this year. As a result, there was already a traffic jam nine kilometers long before the Gotthard on March 22. The bad weather over the Easter weekend in the south also played a role.
According to Pizzi, there have been no unpleasant scenes with annoyed motorists in front of closed highway entrances this year, but there are always discussions. The formation of an emergency lane in the event of an accident is not always optimal.
©Keystone/SDA
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