 The south entrance of Gotthard Road Tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 46°40′18″N 8°35′33″E / 46.67167°N 8.59250°E |
| Route | A2 |
| Start | Göschenen, Uri (north) |
| End | Airolo, Ticino (south) |
| Operation | |
| Constructed | 5 May 1970 |
| Opened | 5 September 1980 |
| Owner | Swiss Confederation |
| Operator | Amt für Betrieb der Nationalstrassen of the cantons of Uri, Ticino, Nidwalden, and Schwyz |
| Traffic | Automotive |
| Toll | none (included in the mandatory Vignette) |
| Vehicles per day | 17354 (2014)[1] |
| Technical | |
| Length | 16.942 kilometres (10.527 mi) |
| No. of lanes | 2 |
| Operating speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
| Highest elevation | 1,175 m (3,855 ft) (inside the tunnel) |
| Lowest elevation | 1,080 m (3,540 ft) (north portal) |
The Gotthard Road Tunnel in Switzerland runs from Göschenen in the canton of Uri at its northern portal, to Airolo in Ticino to the south, and is 16.9 kilometres (10.5 mi) in length below the St Gotthard Pass, a major pass of the Alps. At time of construction, in 1980, it was the longest road tunnel in the world; it is currently the fifth-longest.[2] Although it is a motorway tunnel, part of the A2 from Basel to Chiasso, it consists of only one bidirectional tube with two lanes. With a maximum elevation of 1,175 metres (3,855 ft)[3] at the tunnel's highest point, the A2 motorway has the lowest maximum elevation of any direct north-south road through the Alps.[4]
The tunnel rises from the northern portal at Göschenen (1,080 m (3,540 ft)) and the culminating point is reached after approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi). After 10.3 kilometres (6.4 mi) from the northern portal there is the border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino; after another 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi), the tunnel ends at the southern portal near Airolo (1,146 m (3,760 ft)). The journey takes about 13 minutes by car, the maximum speed being 80 km/h (50 mph).
The Gotthard Road Tunnel is one of the three tunnels that connect the Swiss Plateau to southern Switzerland and run under the Gotthard Massif, the two other being railway tunnels, the Gotthard Tunnel (1882) and the Gotthard Base Tunnel (2016). All three tunnels bypass the Gotthard Pass, an important trade route since the 13th century. The pass road culminates about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above the tunnel, at a height of 2,106 metres (6,909 ft), and is only passable in summer.
- ^ "Verkehrsentwicklung am Gotthard-Strassentunnel" (in German, French, and Italian). ASTRA – Swiss Federal Roads Office. 2015. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ After Norway's Lærdal Tunnel (24.5 km (15.2 mi)), Australia's WestConnex (21.8 km (13.5 mi)), Japan's Yamate Tunnel (18.2 km (11.3 mi)), and China's Zhongnanshan Tunnel 18 km (11 mi).
- ^ Der Tiefbau, Volume 14 (1974)
- ^ The other direct north-south roads through the Alps with similar elevations are: Fréjus Road Tunnel (>1,297 m), Mont Blanc Tunnel (1,395 m) and Brenner Pass (1,370 m)