Alpine ideology meets a bottlenecked reality: the Gotthard massif has always separated Switzerland's north from its south, leaving generations of Swiss to find ways over, through or around the mountain[degrees] The 16-kilometre Gotthard road tunnel is one example of this. But as it has become more of a parking lot than highway in recent years, the debate about building a second tunnel continues to gain momentum.

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Alpine ideology meets a bottlenecked reality: the Gotthard massif has always separated Switzerland's north from its south, leaving generations of Swiss to find ways over, through or around the mountain[degrees] The 16-kilometre Gotthard road tunnel is one example of this. But as it has become more of a parking lot than highway in recent years, the debate about building a second tunnel continues to gain momentum.

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It seems like the only reasons for the Gotthard's existence is to create transport headaches, while giving people the opportunity to conquer nature. Early in Europe's history, travellers discovered that the Gotthard was a more or less convenient way to quickly get over the Alps. The first attempts to do so date back to around 1200 AD, when pack trains provided the transport of goo...

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