Yesterday afternoon a 25 meter long crack was discovered in the Gotthard Tunnel’s ceiling, leading to the tunnel being immediately shut from both sides and all cars already in the tunnel forced to turn around. The tunnel continues to be shut whilst the crack is being inspected and fixed. Anyone wishing to travel south should either go over the Gotthard pass or take the San Bernadino tunnel instead.
Traffic continues to be chaotic all around Lucerne this morning with delays of up to one hour. This due to road works and accidents.
Today the autumn parliament session begins and will last until the end of this month. They will be discussing several topics including how to prevent insurance premiums from continuously going up ( we are now paying twice as much as 20 years ago); whether the goal to drastically reduce the country’s carbon footprint is achievable without implementing drastic measures; renewing the army stock of tanks; preventing tobacco products from being advertised in places where children can see it. Although this step seems logical it will have a hard time being approved as the tobacco lobby continues to influence members of parliament.
During the pandemic, all gastro businesses were forced to close at least for while, and to compensate for their revenue loss the government handed out emergency funds. Now the government wants their money back and this could lead to thousands of restaurants and cafés having to close down. The funds awarded averaged CHF 100 000.- per case. The Gastro Suisse organisation has now hired a lawyer to look into the legality of asking for the money back in view of the damage this would cause to the whole industry.
The last days felt like the height of summer days and indeed we are about to see a change. From tomorrow onwards a cold front will bring rain and cooler temperatures, and although the sun will be back for the weekend, temperatures will only reach the mid-twenties.
