The second Gotthard tube
The second tube at the Gotthard is under construction. According to the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), it is due to open in 2030, after which the existing tube will be refurbished until 2033. Only from then on will each direction have its own tube. Even so, no more cars will get through: the law allows only one lane per tube, and traffic metering stays.
Why is a second tube needed?
The Gotthard road tunnel has been in service since 1980, and many of its components are reaching the end of their service life. The refurbishment will, among other things, replace the intermediate ceiling and the wall panels and renew the ventilation and all operating and safety systems. That can only be done with a full closure, which according to FEDRO would have lasted around three years.
To keep Ticino accessible by road during that time, the Federal Council opted in 2012 for a second tube: build the new one first, then refurbish the old one. The alternative would have been rail shuttles. As before 1980, cars would have gone by train between Göschenen and Airolo, and lorries through the Gotthard Base Tunnel. That would have meant building loading terminals in Erstfeld and Biasca and later dismantling them again, and the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) expected traffic to switch to other Alpine crossings.
The second reason is safety. According to DETEC, ending two-way traffic reduces the risk of head-on and sideswipe collisions. What the 2001 fire in the tunnel changed is covered on our page about the Gotthard road tunnel.
How did the 2016 referendum turn out?
On 26 September 2014, Parliament passed an amendment to the Federal Act on Road Transit Traffic in the Alpine Region (STVG) that allows the second tube to be built: the National Council by 120 votes to 76, the Council of States by 28 to 17. Opponents then collected signatures to force a referendum on it.
On 28 February 2016, 57.0 per cent of voters approved the amendment, on a turnout of 63.5 per cent. Only the cantons of Vaud and Geneva rejected it. In Uri, 53.0 per cent voted in favour, in Ticino 57.8 per cent. The amendment has been in force since 1 September 2016.
How far has construction of the second tube got?
FEDRO gives the construction period as 2021 to 2030. The two tunnel boring machines were started on 14 February 2025, one in Göschenen and one in Airolo. In the north, the machine “Alessandra” made progress as planned: on 29 April 2026, at tunnel metre 4,000, it reached the northern fault zone, which had already been excavated. According to FEDRO, that is about half the distance to the middle of the tunnel.
In the south, the machine “Paulina” was at a standstill at tunnel metre 192 from June 2025, after around 2,000 cubic metres of rock had come loose above the cutting head. In the fractured section of the Tremola zone, FEDRO first had the upper half of the cross-section excavated conventionally, by blasting. “Paulina” has been boring again since 18 May 2026. At the end of May 2026, FEDRO expected “Paulina” to be advancing through solid rock beyond tunnel metre 742 from about September 2026. By mid-October 2026, according to streetlife.ch, it had completed about 8 per cent of its route, and the northern machine “Alessandra” 61 per cent. FEDRO now expects the breakthrough at the end of 2027.
In November 2025, FEDRO put the delay at around six to eight months, plus around 15 to 20 million francs in direct extra costs. The construction programme includes a reserve for risks of this kind, and FEDRO still gives 2030 as the opening year. Construction of the second tube is budgeted at 2.14 billion francs excluding VAT (cost estimate ±15%).
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 26 September 2014 | Parliament passes the amendment to the STVG |
| 28 February 2016 | 57.0 per cent of voters approve the amendment |
| 14 February 2025 | Tunnel boring machines start at Göschenen and Airolo |
| June 2025 | Southern machine halted after a rock collapse |
| 29 April 2026 | Northern machine reaches tunnel metre 4,000 |
| 18 May 2026 | Southern machine resumes boring |
| 2030 | Second tube opens, refurbishment of the old tube begins |
| 2033 | Refurbishment complete, both tubes in service |
Work to refurbish the old tube is already being prepared, too. Since April 2026, drainage channels containing asbestos have been removed from the service and infrastructure tunnel that runs alongside the road tunnel, so that the refurbishment from 2030 can go faster and more safely.
What changes with two tubes?
After the refurbishment, each direction will have its own tube: traffic towards Airolo will use the refurbished old tube, traffic towards Göschenen the new one. Each tube will have one lane and a hard shoulder. You will drive in the left-hand lane, and the right-hand strip will be kept free for breakdowns. Two-way traffic will be a thing of the past.
If a car breaks down, it will stop on the hard shoulder, and according to FEDRO the traffic lane can stay open. Police, fire service and ambulances will reach the scene of an accident faster along the free strip. If one tube has to be closed for longer, for example after an incident or for maintenance, FEDRO can divert traffic into the other tube and run it with two-way traffic for as long as necessary. Today, every closure of this kind shuts the whole tunnel, as the night closures show.
Until then, much stays as it is. According to FEDRO, there will be no particular disruption to through traffic during construction, because the building site is separated, both structurally and for safety, from the tube in use. During the refurbishment from 2030 to 2033, all traffic will run through the new tube, again with two-way traffic and one lane in each direction.
Why is capacity not increasing?
Because the constitution and the law forbid it. The Alpine protection article of the Federal Constitution states in Article 84(3): “The capacity of the transit routes in the Alpine region may not be increased.”
For the Gotthard, the STVG spells this out. Article 3a permits the second tube and restricts it in the same breath: the capacity of the tunnel may not be increased, only one lane may be operated in each tube, and if only one tube is open to traffic, one lane in each direction may be operated in that tube. The law makes no provision for opening the hard shoulder as a second lane on peak days.
The same article also covers metering: a metering system must be set up for heavy goods vehicles, and FEDRO sets a minimum distance between lorries in the tunnel. According to FEDRO, even with two tubes the limits will remain at most 1,000 passenger car units per hour and direction and 60 to 150 lorries per hour and direction.
Will the second tube mean fewer queues?
The underlying problem hardly changes. Queues at the Gotthard mainly build up when more vehicles arrive than are allowed into the tunnel per hour and direction. That limit stays, so there are likely to be queues in front of Göschenen and Airolo during the holidays and on public holidays even after 2033. Back in 2016, DETEC noted that the Gotthard queues are caused not by lorries but by holiday and leisure traffic at weekends.
Things should improve where today a single incident stops all traffic: breakdowns in the tunnel and closures for maintenance or after incidents. Until then, the Gotthard traffic forecast shows on which days queues build up, and the home page with the live traffic situation how long the queue is right now.
Second Gotthard tube: frequently asked questions
When will the second Gotthard tube open?
According to the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), in 2030. The existing tube will then be refurbished until 2033, and during that time all traffic will use the new tube, with one lane in each direction. Only from 2033 will each direction have its own tube.
Will the second Gotthard tube have two lanes in each direction?
No. The law allows only one lane per tube; the second strip in each tube is a hard shoulder for breakdowns. Article 84 of the Swiss Federal Constitution forbids any increase in the capacity of transit roads in the Alpine region, and the law makes no provision for opening the hard shoulder as a second lane on peak days.
Will the second tube put an end to the Gotthard queues?
Probably not. The limit of at most 1,000 passenger car units per hour and direction stays, and so does traffic metering, so queues are likely in front of Göschenen and Airolo during the school holidays and on public holidays even after 2033. Things should improve where a single breakdown or closure stops all traffic today.
How much does the second Gotthard tube cost?
Construction of the second tube is budgeted at 2.14 billion Swiss francs excluding VAT (cost estimate ±15%). In November 2025, after the rock collapse in the south, FEDRO put the direct extra costs at around 15 to 20 million francs.
Does building the second Gotthard tube disrupt traffic?
According to FEDRO, there will be no particular disruption to through traffic during construction, because the building site is separated, both structurally and for safety, from the tube that is in use.
Information provided without guarantee. FEDRO’s official information on the project always takes precedence.