Tag: A2

In the past ten years, traffic to and from Lucerne has increased by around 20 percent. Further growth is forecast – but the A2 and A14 are already reaching their capacity limits. At the Rotsee junction outside Lucerne, the traffic flows of the A2 north-south axis and the A14 from Zurich-Zug meet. On the city thoroughfare, regional and local destination and source traffic are added. In order to ease the situation, the federal government wants to significantly improve the traffic situation on both motorways with the Lucerne bypass. Without the bypass, alternative traffic on the subordinate road network would increase, and as a result, public transport would also be impeded.

The core element of the bypass consists of two two-lane tunnels with a length of 3760 metres in the northbound direction and 3850 metres in the southbound direction, which pass under the city of Lucerne and the Reuss river. In the north, the connection points are in the Ibach area and in the south in the Grosshof area (Lucerne-Kriens). The planned tunnel bypass is primarily intended to accommodate transit traffic.

In addition, it is planned to expand the A14 in the north from four lanes today to six lanes in the future from the Rotsee junction to the Buchrain junction. To achieve this, the Rathausen tunnel will be extended with a third tube. The structures will be adapted at the Rotsee junction. At the Rotsee junction, the A2/A14 Basel lane will be widened to two lanes in the direction of Zug in order to eliminate the existing bottleneck.

Between the Rotsee junction and the Lucerne-Kriens junction, the A2 will become an urban motorway serving exclusively the destinations, sources and domestic traffic of the Lucerne conurbation. Emmen Süd, Luzern-Zentrum and Luzern-Kriens are connected to it. If necessary, for example in the event of an incident or during maintenance and repair work, the urban motorway serves as an alternative route to the bypass and vice versa.

In the south, the Spier tunnel between the Lucerne-Horw and Hergiswil junctions is to be re-marked with three lanes in each direction. The third lane will extend the entry and exit lanes. The new Grosshof bridges will provide the town of Kriens with a new gateway: a park with paths from Sonnenberg to Kriens, Horw and Lucerne is planned on the roof. Below the bridge, a diverse mix of uses is to be created, including cafés, shops and commercial space.

The Lucerne bypass envisages the construction of three new road wastewater treatment plants (SABA) in Rathausen, at the Rotsee junction and at Grosshof-Kriens. Thanks to these, the wastewater from the motorway will be cleaned in an ecological way before it flows into the surrounding water bodies.

The Bypass relief project is intended to improve the flow of traffic on the motorways and ensure the functionality of the north-south axis. It will also create alternative routes in case of accidents or maintenance work. Central Switzerland and the Lucerne agglomeration will benefit from better accessibility, and the urban motorway will be relieved of through traffic. Last but not least, safety for all road users will be increased.

The total costs amount to CHF 1.8 billion and are financed by the federal government. If everything goes according to plan, the bypass should be open to traffic in about 2035 after about 12 years of construction – subject to the still pending planning permission.