Sitting in a traffic jam in front of Gottardo tunnel

Gottardo Tunnel is Europe's most critical transport installation, with traffic passing at the rate of 40,000 vehicles per day. It is 17 km long, two tubes, but only one is traffic ready, the second is a rescue and evacuation tube, smaller in size, with connection to the main tube every 250 m. These connections are allowing for evacuation of passengers into a separately ventilated area from which they can walk out of the tunnel at each end.
It is well ventilated, well lit, and with ample signage for drivers. Traffic information is being fed into each vehicle radio system allowing drivers to follow police instructions. Its is a huge investment, and well run business too. This business is not free, each passing car has to purchase a CHF 40 sticker, which when is placed on the windshield allows a car to ride through Swiss highways for the period of 13 month (a calendar year plus next January). As the great majority of passing vehicles are non-swiss, thus extra francs flow into Swiss highway coffers. As for exactly the same reasons that majority of vehicles are coming from EU, hence the Swiss demand large compensations for the tunnel and highway upkeep. I was told that such subsidy reaches close to a billion € per year. Thus there is huge stake in traffic controlling such flow of funds, huge stake.
I am passing through the tunnel twice each month, North to South and back. Since I select the day and time of the passage, usually I am lucky to see the traffic jam on the opposing side of the highway. I avoid weekends naturally. Doing this ride for over 10 years quite regularly I have noticed certain patterns and formed some opinions.

Newspapers report periodically on Environmental rallies, protests organized by colorful bunch of outfits including local communities genuinely concerned with children exposure to the exhaust fumes, of vehicles idle in traffic jams at the entry points to the tunnel. Traffic jams that stretch for several kilometers each tunnels end. In addition, lorries are being sorted out all along the highway stretch from Basel to Chiasso on the Italian border. Lorries are obliged to exit highway at designated parking lots, where they undergo papers check, technical inspection and other possible harassment from the authorities. Try to spot a Swiss lorry in the lot, never, they seem to be oblivious to such orderly procedures. Each stop takes many hours of lining up into the parking lot, going through the motions there, then leaving and driving off the highways at the next point. A trip that normally takes 5 hours with good lunch at Airolo's restaurant, grows to 24hrs or longer. It increases time thus costs of transportation. That is why in Switzerland lorry transport is best to buy from local shipping companies. No competition from larger markets like Germany, France or Italy. Their costs are clearly higher due to the very procedures. Besides basic expenses there is a weekend ban on lorry driving from Friday 10PM till Monday morning. If your driver get caught up, you will add 48 hours to your scheduled trip for Switzerland only. That is on top of cost of Gottardo.

Standing in front of the tunnel for hours takes you doing things you normally would never do. Like taking time of traffic lights controlling 2 line entry to the tunnel. There are 2 traffic lights at each end, one for each line. The sequence runs more or less like this: cars and lorries revving during red light phase. It takes from 30 seconds up to over 1,5 minutes for red to change. All depending on traffic situation, and the desire of causing a traffic jam, by the operator. The phase changes to green, and then both line flash green at the same time. It takes from 15 seconds to 1 minute, again the same reasons. No wonder that traffic piles up quickly, showing everyone that there is “ a Gottardo tunnel traffic problem”. With ratio 2 to one against the green, the till clings in Brussels but for the Swiss.
The tunnel itself needs constant maintenance, and it would require a fundamental refurbishing by 2020, when it would close for 2 years. By the time the railways tunnel (54 km) long is going to (presumably) be taking all the traffic on rails. This is going to be welcomed by the locals, who do not see a pollution from power generating stations. By the time, I am going to be happily back in Canada, enjoying fishing and good cuisine, rather than standing in traffic jams cooked up by the transportation officials hungry of subsidies and the local police.

Whichever way you want to look at it, its is all man made.