A single official with authority to coordinate public warnings across canton borders does not exist, the study found. In a review of 26 cantons and 41 transport disruption exercises, researchers found that officials in seven of the 12 cross-canton scenarios tested issued guidance that conflicted or arrived too late.
The research was prompted by a 14 August 2025 accident near the north entrance to the Gotthard road tunnel, where a lorry carrying equipment for a proposed 2032 Alpine multi-sport event struck a barrier. The crash caused no injuries, but closed the A2 route for nine hours and exposed a split in how Uri and Ticino officials communicated detours.
A closure, two sets of advice
The study, by the Centre for Cantonal Governance, says one canton urged drivers to leave the motorway while the other told them to remain on the approach road until a diversion opened. Researchers found no agreed process for one canton to approve or correct the other’s public message, even when both were managing the same disruption.
The team examined exercise logs, public alerts and interviews with 84 transport and government officials. It estimates that 1.6 million residents live within 10 km (6.2 miles) of one of the 11 corridors where a closure could require two or more cantons to coordinate. The authors stress that the figure measures exposure to a coordination gap, not people who would necessarily be in danger.
“A road can be closed in seconds; the authority to speak for everyone still has to be negotiated,” said Nanna Christensen, the study’s lead author. She said officials handled the 2025 incident without a major public safety consequence, but that the delay in aligning guidance showed how easily a longer closure could leave drivers and local services with different instructions.
A road can be closed in seconds; the authority to speak for everyone still has to be negotiated.
Nanna Christensen, lead author
Cantons face pressure to act
The study estimates that a shared alert system and annual cross-canton exercises would cost CHF 12 million (about €12.7 million) over four years. It recommends a common protocol allowing a designated regional coordinator to issue a joint message, while leaving local officials responsible for decisions such as closing roads or opening public facilities.
Swiss cantons hold substantial authority over civil protection and local transport, while federal offices manage major national routes. That division is a defining feature of the country’s federal system, but researchers say there is no standard rule for who reconciles public instructions when an incident crosses a canton line.
Per Isaksson, a spokesperson for the federal transport office, said the government would review the findings with cantonal authorities before the winter travel season. “The existing arrangements worked in this case, but a nine-hour closure is long enough to test every handover,” he said, adding that a proposal for joint exercises would be discussed in October.
The proposed Alpine event has not been approved, and its organisers said they would adopt the study’s recommendations if the bid proceeds. A parliamentary transport committee has scheduled a hearing for 6 October; researchers are urging officials to settle a shared warning protocol before the next major tunnel closure, rather than during one.
