A tunnel is to be built in Rothenthurm for 180 million francs. “Building a tunnel would solve our traffic problem,” says Stefan Beeler, mayor in Rothenthurm: “However, I expect resistance to the project in the village itself.”
MAGNUS LEIBUNDGUT
What is the current state of affairs with the tunnel construction project in Rothenthurm?
The Rothenthurmers will have to vote at a community meeting in 2022 via a project loan (the community share amounts to around 180,000 francs). The said loan could go to the polls in 2023. The tunnel construction should cost around 180 million francs. The canton Schwyz would take over 85 percent of this and the municipality Rothenthurm 15 percent (which would correspond to CHF 25 million). However, the total costs and the cost allocator are not yet set in stone. Can the community of Rothenthurm meet costs of 25 million francs?
To make a comparison: the tunnel costs us about as much as four school buildings put together (the last school building cost just under six million francs). Thanks to the new accounting model, depreciation takes place over a longer period of time, which reduces the annual burden. However, this also means that the next generation has to bear the majority of the costs and not the citizens who order the bypass. How are the signals sent to the canton regarding this tunnel construction project in Rothenthurm?
The project has met with a positive response from the canton of Schwyz: The building department gave us the green light to start the project. The canton expects an increase in traffic of around 1.5 percent per year. As media representative, we bring Walter Schenkel on board, who is part of the planning group. Walter Schenkel is a specialist in spatial planning and project management.
Why is this tunnel needed?
The traffic situation in Rothenthurm worries me: As before, 11,000 cars drive along the main road every day, separating the village into the lower and upper villages. Because the traffic continues to increase and more and more trucks are thundering through the village, which can save heavy vehicle taxes in this way, there is no improvement in sight. In the medium to long term, an additional increase in traffic is to be expected as soon as the second Gotthard tube opens and the H8 is expanded.
Until when could the tunnel be built?
I expect the bypass project to take ten years to plan. The tunnel would be built over another ten years. In this sense, the bypass could not be opened until 2043 at the earliest. The southern tunnel entrance is planned on the site of the former Perform furniture factory. The northern tunnel portal is between the First and Second Altmatt. The tunnel has a length of 1.6 kilometers. A running meter of tunnel costs around 100,000 francs. It is still unclear what the definitive route guidance might one day look like. Theoretically, one can also imagine a tunnel under the village: However, this tunnel variant has problems with the geology and the groundwater. What are the difficulties encountered when building a tunnel?
There are still numerous hurdles to overcome before that happens: There could be objections and complaints from residents, landowners and protection associations. In addition, municipal ballots are needed because of the loans and the adjustment of the municipal land use plan. There is also the possibility of a cantonal vote on the construction loan. In the worst case, even farmers would have to be expropriated. In addition, the northern end of the tunnel is located in the Rothenthurm moorland (landscape protection zone B), which does not simplify the project. How is the project received in Rothenthurm? It is foreseeable that resistance to the bypass project can also be expected in Rothenthurm itself. Because the trade, shops and restaurants fear a drop in sales if most of the traffic is no longer led through the village. The small town in Uznach has died, although all the through traffic is roaring through the center. Is the argument of the trade valid? Studies are being commissioned about the situation along the main road in order to clarify how the tunnel construction would affect the businesses in the village center. One idea would be to design a new commercial zone along the new street and to move shops and businesses that are located on the main street to this new zone.
Tunnel construction projects are having a hard time in these times and seem to have fallen out of time: In Rapperswil-Jona and Zurich, such undertakings have been shipwrecked. What chances do you see in the project in Rothenthurm? The tunnel means a great opportunity for Rothenthurm. I think the project has a good chance of being realized. In such a project, the cost-benefit ratio is crucial. The tunnel construction in Rothenthurm cannot be compared with the projects in Rapperswil-Jona and Zurich, because their costs would have been much higher. But the Rothenthurm residents must also be ready to raise taxes so that the bypass can one day be implemented.
How is the project received by the local parties?
The local parties are generally positive about the project – at least as far as the planning loan is concerned. At 180,000 francs, this loan is not too high – compared to the total annual expenditure of the Rothenthurm community, which amounts to ten million francs. You don’t forgive yourself if you say yes to the project loan: the final decision to build the tunnel would not be made until later. The industry is divided on the project: parts of the industry fear a drop in sales if the walk-in customers fail because there are no more cars driving through the middle of the village of Rothenthurm. It is important that we stay tuned now.
Every day 11,000 cars drive through the middle of the village of Rothenthurm: The main road separates the village into the lower and upper villages.
Photo: Magnus Leibundgut
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