GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – An extraordinary 15-kilometre traffic jam, meaning a three-hour wait, built up Saturday morning at the northern end of the Gotthard tunnel, marking the true start of summer holidays for Germans and Dutch tourists heading towards Italy and other points south. By noon it had dropped to 10 km, or a two-hour wait to enter the tunnel; at 14:00 the queue was 5km between Lucerne and the tunnel,  and by late afternoon traffic is expected to be flowing again.

The buildup is the result of school holidays starting in several German states and parts of The Netherlands. It’s also very heavy in the opposite direction, as early vacationers return to northern areas.

Travelers can check live traffic situations on the TCS (Touring Club Suisse) site and the federal site for truck drivers, which is in English: truckinfo.