Follow-up audit on the implementation of key recommendations: measures against road noise
Bern, 29.06.2026 — In Switzerland, approximately 750,000 people are exposed to harmful or disruptive traffic noise – primarily road noise. Road noise generates annual external costs of around CHF 2 billion, resulting from adverse health effects and a decline in property values. To combat road noise, there is a legal obligation to rehabilitate roads. Road rehabilitation was supposed to have been completed by 2002 but was extended to 2015 (national roads) and 2018 (other roads). In 2021, the Federal Council extended financial support for the cantons indefinitely, thereby defining road rehabilitation as a permanent task.
The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) examined whether the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) had implemented key recommendations from 2021 regarding the management, financing, and monitoring of noise abatement measures for roads.