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.
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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.
More traffic
However, opponents have warned the second tunnel would attract more traffic and increase pressure from the European Union to allow the use of a second lane in both tunnels.
They also argue the proposed solution is too expensive and came too early, since Switzerland will open the world’s longest rail tunnel through the Gotthard in June. Its construction cost about CHF12 billion.
“Doubling of the Gotthard tunnel would sabotage the transfer of goods from road to rail,” claims Jon Pult, president of the Alpine Initiative group leading the No campaign.
However, Senator Filippo Lombardi, supporting the project, says rejecting an additional tunnel just means leaving future generations with the problem of renovating the existing tunnel, which will come up every 30-40 years.
At the launch of the campaign last October, Transport Minister Doris Leuthard dismissed concerns about a gradual opening of additional lanes in the two tunnels, saying such a move would require another nationwide vote to amend the constitution.
