The Gotthard Tunnel remains close to traffic until at least the end of this week. The cause for the closure is that on Sunday bits of concrete from the ceiling fell onto the road and a 25 metre fissure was found in the ceiling. This is now being repaired and the rest of the ceiling inspected. Repair work on the ceiling has been ongoing since 2016 and a complete renovation of the tunnel is due to take place in 2029 when the new tunnel currently being built will be finished.
On June 1. there were 2009 empty apartments in the canton of Lucerne, that’s 124 more than the previous year and brings the percentage of empty apartments to 0.96%. This remains under the 1.15% quota which is the national average, and the lowest average in 9 years. Of these apartments only 6% were newly built and the majority fell in the 3 to 4 room category.
It is illegal to empty your pool water into the local drainage system, because the chlorine in the water will kill fish in the lake. This happened recently when a pool owner in Buttisholz emptied his pool into the street’s drainage system and 75 fish died as a consequence. Doing this can lead to hefty fines, so if you need to empty your pool it is best to call up your local municipality and ask them how best to do this.
A 64 year old fell to his death whilst hiking up the Pilatus on Saturday, this incident is unfortunately not the first one to happen in the Swiss Alps this summer. It is important to stay on the paths and wear appropriate footwear when going hiking, and keep an eye out for the weather!
The first 10 days of September were the warmest on record, with several cities registering temperatures of over 30° celsius. This evening may see rain and thunderstorms accompanied by strong winds and tomorrow it will only rain once (as the locals say) and temperatures will drop to a cool 20° celsius.
