Gubrist Tunnel

{{Short description|Road tunnel in Switzerland}}

File:A1 Gubristtunnel, map OSM 2022.jpg

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}The Gubrist Tunnel is a motorway tunnel in Switzerland. It lies to the north-west of the city of Zürich, and forms part of the A1 motorway, on its northern ring section around Zürich. The tunnel was completed in 1985, and is {{convert|3273|m}} in length.{{cite web | url = http://structurae.net/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0043761 | title = Gubrist Tunnel | work = structurae.net | accessdate = 18 July 2014}}

The tunnel is named after the hill of Gubrist, which is nearby. In 1990, 63,000 cars used this tunnel daily; in 2014, that number had risen to 106,000,{{Cite web|url=http://www.nordumfahrung.ch/service/filme/projektfilm-ausbau-nordumfahrung-zuerich/|title=Projektfilm Ausbau Nordumfahrung Zürich - A1 Nordumfahrung Zürich|website=www.nordumfahrung.ch|access-date=2016-08-07}} and in 2023, the tunnel conveyed 120,000 cars per day.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-03 |title=Entlastung im Strassenverkehr - Jahrelange Verzögerung: die Leidensgeschichte des Gubristtunnels |url=https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/entlastung-im-strassenverkehr-jahrelange-verzoegerung-die-leidensgeschichte-des-gubristtunnels |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) |language=de}}

The tunnel forms part of the 'A1 Nordumfahrung' renovation plan covering the western entrance, the Gubrist Tunnel itself, and a further {{Convert|10|km}} of motorway west of the tunnel. The project will expand the motorway approaching the tunnel from its original four lanes (two in each direction) to six lanes (three in each direction). The major junctions immediately east (the Weiningen junction) and west (the Affoltern junction) of the tunnel will also be modernised. The project will cost in total 1.55 billion Swiss francs. Work started in 2014 and was scheduled to take nine years;{{Cite web|url=http://www.nordumfahrung.ch/projekt/|title=Projekt - A1 Nordumfahrung Zürich|website=www.nordumfahrung.ch|access-date=2016-08-07}} in July 2023, the third tube was inaugurated.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-03 |title=Entlastung im Strassenverkehr - Jahrelange Verzögerung: die Leidensgeschichte des Gubristtunnels |url=https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/entlastung-im-strassenverkehr-jahrelange-verzoegerung-die-leidensgeschichte-des-gubristtunnels |access-date=2023-07-04 |website=Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) |language=de}} Construction was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the nearby village of Weiningen fiercely opposed the plans and successfully appealed to the Federal Court for the tunnel to include a {{Convert|100|m|adj=on}} fence at the end to mitigate the noise and pollution.

In 2012, the Gubrist Tunnel was rated as 'sufficient' ({{langx|de|ausreichend}}) in a test of tunnel safety undertaken by the Touring Club Suisse and was the second-worst tunnel in the test.{{cite web | url = https://tageswoche.ch/allgemein/schweizer-tunnel-sind-im-europaeischen-vergleich-unsicher/index.html | title = Schweizer Tunnel sind im europäischen Vergleich unsicher | language = German | publisher = tageswoche.ch | accessdate = 7 Sep 2021}}