Astra director optimistic ahead of highway referendum
Published: Saturday, Mar 30th 2024, 14:00
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The Director of the Federal Roads Office (Astra), Jürg Röthlisberger, is confident about the referendum vote on the planned expansion of six Swiss highway sections. "We have the good arguments on our side," he said on Swiss Radio SRF's "Samstagsrundschau" program.
According to Röthlisberger, the expansion of the six sections at a cost of CHF 5.3 billion is necessary for two reasons: To maintain the functionality of these roads and so that the highways can also be maintained in the future.
The Swiss freeways are a "coherent bypass" for the benefit of the villages and towns located along the national roads, said Röthlisberger. The mere fact that there are 400 connections on 2,200 kilometers of Swiss freeways demonstrates the "drainage function" of the national roads, Röthlisberger said.
However, this function is at risk due to the many traffic jams on the Central Plateau. That is why "selective expansions" are needed.
For Astra, the night work windows available for the maintenance of the national roads have been reduced by a quarter of an hour per year to a net five to seven hours. This is another reason why a little more traffic area is needed. If the freeways work, everyone benefits - including cyclists in the villages, says Röthlisberger.
Eight-lane highway near Bern
At the end of September 2023, Parliament decided to expand freeways at a cost of CHF 5.3 billion. Among other things, the A1 between Bern-Wankdorf and Schönbühl is to be widened from the current six to eight lanes and between Le Vengeron GE and Nyon VD from four to six lanes.
In mid-January, the "Stop highway construction madness" alliance submitted referendum signatures to the federal government against the expansion of the six Swiss highway sections. A referendum is expected in the fall.
©Keystone/SDA
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