Freeways According to opponents, highway expansion will lead to significantly more environmental damage

The planned highway expansion in Switzerland is oversized and based on an outdated transport policy. Quality of life and nature would fall by the wayside, the referendum committee announced on Wednesday in Bern at the launch of the referendum campaign.

The aim of the expansion is to reduce bottlenecks and traffic jams on Swiss motorways. However, this would not be achieved by widening the highway to six to eight lanes. The result would be more cars and more asphalt, the committee stated at the media conference.

In addition, large areas for nature and agriculture would be lost. The road expansion would also undermine the goals of the Climate Protection Act and thus exacerbate the "climate crisis".

The referendum against the federal government's plan was submitted by the Swiss Transport Club (VCS) and the Umverkehr organization. It is supported by the GLP, the Greens, the SP and other associations that have joined forces to form the "No to excessive freeway expansion" alliance.

SDA