Relief tunnels for Zug and Ägeri clearly fail at the ballot box
Published: Sunday, Mar 3rd 2024, 14:40
Updated At: Sunday, Mar 3rd 2024, 14:41
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For the second time in nine years, voters in the canton of Zug have clearly said no to a relief tunnel for the city of Zug. The tunnel for Unterägeri was also rejected.
The CHF 747.3 million, 1953-metre-long Zug relief tunnel from Artherstrasse to the Gubelstrasse SBB underpass failed with 56.9% of votes against (28,030 no votes to 21,261 yes votes). The turnout was 64 percent, as reported by the state chancellery.
With 53% of the vote against (25,926 no votes to 22,971 yes votes), voters also rejected the tunnel that would have relieved Unterägeri of through traffic. This would have been 1808 meters long, stretched from Sagenmattli to the Theresia parking lot and cost around CHF 308.4 million.
Although the bypasses cannot be realized, the canton will of course continue to support the municipality of Unterägeri and the town of Zug in their local planning even in this situation, the Zug government announced unemotionally after the result was announced.
Government wanted a loan
Two separate loans were submitted to the voters on Sunday. This was decided by the cantonal parliament last summer - contrary to the wishes of the government, which had proposed a single loan.
The construction projects were to be financed from equity. The Canton of Zug could cope well with this investment, assured Zug's finance director. He referred to the "excellent financial situation" in which the canton finds itself.
As a reminder: in 2022, the Zug cantonal accounts once again closed with a record surplus. Under the cut, the canton had CHF 332 million left over. Equity increased by CHF 325.9 million and amounted to CHF 1.9 billion.
The town centers of Unterägeri and Zug have been heavily burdened by traffic for years. The two bypasses have a long history. In Unterägeri, one was already a major issue in the 1950s in connection with the abolition of the tramway to the Ägerital. In Zug, a tunnel has been part of a future cantonal road network since the 1960s.
A relief tunnel for the city of Zug had already failed in June 2015. At that time, voters rejected the 890-million-euro project in the cantonal referendum by a surprisingly large margin of 62.8%. A follow-up survey at the canton revealed that the high costs were the decisive factor for more than half of those who voted no.
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