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DRIVING

The summer motorway closures drivers in Switzerland need to know

Driving on Swiss roads during the peak travel periods such as summer holidays is always subject to bottlenecks. But construction sites also slow down the flow of traffic.

Published: 27 May 2024 16:36 CEST
Updated: 3 June 2024 16:08 CEST
The summer motorway closures drivers in Switzerland need to know
Sections of the A1 motorway between Lausanne and Geneva will be closed during part of summer. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

If you live in, or are planning to drive through, the southwestern section of the A1 motorway, your travel time is likely to be longer than usual.

That’s because certain sections of this motorway will be closed to traffic in coming weeks.

Unfortunately, some of the closures will be on the sections leading to the Geneva airport — always a busy stretch of the road, regardless of time of day.

On the other hand, however, most closures are planned for the night, so daytime traffic should not be disrupted too much, aside from narrower lanes caused by construction equipment.

What to expect, and where?

The motorway will be closed between the junctions of Gland and Coppet for nine nights between May 27th and July 11th. Work is planned to install the final coating, as well as the speed harmonisation and danger warning system.

The road will first be closed between 10 pm and 5 am between Nyon and Coppet (direction Geneva),and  then between Nyon and Coppet (direction Lausanne).

Detours will be put in place on the secondary network.

Still on the A1 but in the north of Vaud, the highway will also be closed during night hours.

One such closure will be in place between May 28th and 30th on Chaussée Alpes, direction Bern, between the Yverdon interchange and the Yverdon-Sud junction.

Between Yverdon-Sud and Essert-Pittet, closure is planned from May 28th to June 4th.

And also during the nights of May 30th to June 4th, the Jura roadway will be closed off towards Lausanne, between the Yverdon Sud and Essert-Pittet junctions. Here too, detours will be clearly marked.

Where else will there be road closures?

The A1 motorway between Avenches and Payerne in canton Vaud will be closed to ‘regular’ traffic from June 4th to 6th.

That’s because F/A-18 fighter jets will be landing on, and taking off from, this section of the highway.

The reason is that the Swiss Air Force will be testing whether in case of emergencies its fighter aircraft can also be deployed from improvised locations, such as motorways.

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DRIVING

How would planned ‘anti-noise radars’ work in Switzerland?

Speeding motorists beware: ‘Anti-noise radars’ could become a feature of roads in towns and cities across Switzerland, if an initiative by the ‘Swiss Noise League' is successful.

Published: 29 August 2024 10:01 CEST
Updated: 29 August 2024 13:39 CEST
How would planned 'anti-noise radars' work in Switzerland?

Noise pollution, particular near heavily-trafficked city roads, has become an issue of increasing concern to the Swiss in recent years, prompting the formation of several groups, such as the Lärmliga or Noise League. 

The group delivered a petition with over 20,000 signatures to the Federal Council in Bern on Monday.

So, what’s an ‘anti-noise radar’?

An anti-noise radar is a device that captures a photograph of the number plates of passing vehicles if they exceed a certain noise level, measured in decibels. With this information, the driver of the vehicle can be identified and potentially fined. How much the fines would be would be have to be decided if the plan gets the green light.

Have they been trialed in Switzerland before?

Yes, the devices were trialed last year in Geneva by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). During the trial period, the devices recorded up to 200 vehicles per day, with some vehicles emitting noise levels up to 117 decibels—far exceeding the set limit of 82 decibels that would lead to a fine being handed out.

Over 70 percent of those vehicles were motorcycles, with the remainder almost evenly distributed between cars and trucks.

What loud is the 82 decibel limit?

According to Swiss news site 20minutes, 82 decibels is the around the same level as the noise from “a noisy restaurant or in factory”. To give context 40 decibels is the volume measured in a library. “From 50 decibels, the noise can be disturbing,” it writes. “A so-called normal conversation is around 50 decibels. The volume can rise to 80 dB in a noisy restaurant or factory, where talking becomes difficult.”

The noise of a lawnmower or drill or even the music in a nightclub can reach between 90 and 110 decibels and pain is felt from 120 decibels.

When could we see anti-noise cameras on Swiss roads?

Those with rattling transmissions or turbo-charged engines have some respite—there are still a few hurdles before the devices are adopted across the country.

The Federal Council must first establish the legal basis to fine motorists who exceed noise levels.

The government will then need to agree on the specifications for the devices before implementation. This process could take several months.

A public education campaign will also need to take place, setting out the new limits, and how motorists can avoid a fine. 

All eyes will be on Zurich in the meantime, as the city has also recently announced a trial of the devices—although a start date for that test has yet to be announced.

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