Swiss Alpine Road Chaos
 

I don't know if the UK press have covered this subject, but, should you be heading for Switzerland and then Italy in the next 4-6wks please be advised to avoid the E35 A2 motorway south of Luzern heading towards the Gotthard Tunnel for Italy.

The other day 125tonne piece of rock fell off a mountain onto the motorway and crushed two Germans in their car. The mountain needs to be "stabilized" and the road repaired.

This means that traffic is using the other major north south alpine crossings and are causing huge traffic tailbacks (10 to 20kms). Avoid the Gotthard, Simplon and San Bernadino passes when heading for Italy via Switzerland in the next 4wks at least.

Alternatively bend swingers can use the smaller twistier passes: instead of Gotthard route use the "Grimsel + Nurfen Pass" - instead of the San Bernadino use the "Grimsel + Furka + Oberalp + Lukmanier Pass" or head east to Chur then use the "Julier or Albula passes + Bernina Pass" into Italy for Monza.

Alternatively give Switzerland a miss and use the French alpine crossings into Italy.

Have fun - I will.

I remember doing the Grimsel, Furka, Oberalp, Lukmanier passes on a push bike. You're foolish when you're young.;-)

Thanks for the tip-off. I'm off to Italy in 6 weeks....I can't wait

Full story here http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/d...=1149255435000

Wylie
If you want any advise re Switzerland or if you are passing near me here in Switzerland let me know I'd be glad to join you for a ride across the alps south to Bella Italia

Bionicle
Don't you just love that websites "experts alternative suggestions" - I bet they ride around all day in a 42 seater coach!! and don't ride bikes n know what kind of roads us guys n gals like thundering down.

We haven't worked out our route yet. If you let me know whereabouts you are in Switzerland, I'll see if we can swing by en-route to Italy.

Cheers

[quote=Athelstan]

The other day 125tonne piece of rock fell off a mountain onto the motorway and crushed two Germans in their car. The mountain needs to be "stabilized" and the road repaired.
(QUOTE]

Go on then....how did they weigh the piece of rock?

Philthy
Easy - they measure the mass of the large rock - then weigh a tiny piece of the same type of rock and measure the mass of that little bit - then they simply multiple the weight by the difference in the mass of the two pieces.

Whylie
The largest town near to me that you see on a map is probably "ZUG" - it has a large lake attached to it called the "Zugersee". Look dirctly south of Zurich. Be glad to see a fellow Brit Ducatista.

maybe instead of all that rock weighing they know it takes 125 tonnes to squash 2 germans?????

My mental vision of them levering it up onto a massive set of bathroom scales was wrong then?!

There's another Brit Ducatista in CH mate..... down in Montreux I am. Don't have the bike with me though. :(

As am I, on the hill above Duebendorf.
But moving back to the UK this time next week .....

ath748
Lovely spot Montreux - pity you don't have the bike there as we could meet one grand sunny day in the Wallis

Pieman
Are you moving back permanently to UK next week - or will you be coming back to the delights of Dübendorf?

I am in discussions at to whether to move out here permanently or not....in which case the bike will be coming too! So it might be a possibility at the end of this year.... Mind you, not in the snow!! Keep you posted.

Ade.

Road Opens Again
 

The Swiss have blown up the mountain side and announce that the offending rock face is now safe and so will open the Gottard Motorway to traffic from Friday morning at 5am.

That's good news for bikers as the "over the mountain passes" will be clear of all the recent diverted traffic - so on Friday morning I'm off over the mountains for a short day's dash n fun in northern Italy - the Sud Tiröl and Merano.

Anyone from Blighty coming this way get in contact - I'd be glad to see a UK Ducatisti

Thanks for the update. We're leaving blighty on 20th July en-route to Italy. Not sure of route yet....got a route planning session on Sunday.
Any ideas? We need to be near Bergamo on 22nd around 10am. One of the blokes going wants to do Route Napoleon on the way down & we'll be heading home via the Nurburgring.

We are leaving for the Alps (maybe the Stella Alpina rally) next Friday assuming Ducati get my bike sorted out. We do not plan on using the motorways but the guide we have states that the 'vignette' is also needed for 'semi-motorways'. What are they?

Trig
In Switzerland you ONLY need the vignette if you use their motorways - it will cost you 40CHF (approx £15 and lasts a year).

You can buy them at any Swiss Customs Post on entering the country, or at any Swiss Post Office.

Remember if you do not have the vignette stuck to your bike and are caught in a random check (yes they do them on the motorway exits) you will be fined CHF100 plus CHF40 for the vignette plus a small adminstration fee of CHF20. Total CHF160 or approx UK£70.

Now do take care -unlike the rest of Europe the Swiss signpost their motorways in GREEN not BLUE.

You DO NOT NEED the vignette for any other type of road in Swizterland.

Is that now all very clear and tickety boo.

Yep
Thanks

You can buy them at any Swiss Customs Post on entering the country, or at any Swiss Post Office.

The phrase is FORCED to buy at customs is what you should have said, as they won't let you in.
I stopped in to see a friend when on my way to Mugello, we had my bike in a trailor, I had to laugh as I had to buy 2 tickets, one for the car and one for the trailor.
The lady could not see why I thought it was amusing.
But after living there for a bit I'm used to the Swiss money making machine.