* Switzerland - Safety and environment drive road tunnel vote
-- Voters on Sunday will decide on the construction of an additional road tunnel through the central Swiss Alps, one of Europe’s main north-south links for cars, buses and trucks... A broad coalition of environmental groups and mainly leftwing parties is challenging last year’s decision by parliament to build a second 17km tube through the Gotthard massif in the heart of Switzerland... The government says the existing tunnel needs renovation after more than 35 years. A second parallel arm would absorb the more than 17,000 vehicles on average passing the thoroughfare every day... Later on, the two tunnels will only be used for one-directional traffic and limited to one lane only, the authorities have pledged... The government and parliament claim the second tunnel – costing about CHF2.8 billion ($2.8 billion) – will help ensure road safety and provide continuous access to a north-south road link all year round both for economic and political reasons... The southern Ticino region - bordering Italy's Lombardy and Piedmont regions - would be cut off from the rest of Switzerland if the existing tunnel closed without an equivalent offer, they say... Nearly 40 people have died in road accidents in the 17km tunnel since 1980, including 11 victims of a fire in 2001... Opponents a coalition of environmentalists and leftwing parties say their proposal it's to cap transalpine road traffic and to promote a plan to put long-haul trucks onto rail went down as a major upset at the ballot box... Critics have since accused the government and parliament of failing to implement the initiative, as targets to reduce the number of trucks crossing the Alps of trucks were missed and deadlines later extended... Turnout in Sunday’s ballot is expected to be clearly above average, at least 55%...
(Photo from Keystone - The Gotthard road tunnel is the main transport link for cars and trucks crossing the Swiss Alps) -- Zurich, Swiss - SWI/Swiss Info, by Urs Geiser - Feb 27, 2016Labels: infrastructure projects
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