At Péry-La Heutte, WALO built two new bridges for the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) over the N16 Transjurane highway – with motorway and rail traffic still running and in a valley with barely any space for construction-related logistics.
The commission: replacement of two bridges over the N16
Commissioned by the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), WALO replaced two motorway bridges over the N16 Transjurane highway at Péry-La Heutte, in the canton of Bern, with work taking place from July 2024 to December 2026. The new structures replaced an existing old crossing and, in future, will separate passenger vehicles from freight. The TaBö combined planning association was responsible for coordinating the project, and the construction budget amounted to around CHF 40 million.
Unusual features: digital formwork planning and severe limitations in terms of construction-related logistics
The narrowness of the valley left practically no space for interim storage at the construction site: the river, railway line, motorway and a cement works already occupied all of the valley floor. Incoming materials had to observe a strict timetable – with no more than three lorries a day and over 800 tonnes of falsework material in total.
The formwork was not created on site, but emerged in digital form: a 3D model from the engineer was sent to the formwork supplier Doka, who prefabricated the elements and delivered them on a just-in-time basis. The falsework girders spanned a distance of up to 22 metres with no intermediate supports, on top of shoring towers with 1000 kilonewtons bearing down on each support.
“No question about it, the formwork took us 20 to 30 per cent less time, compared with having to provide it on site in the conventional way”, says Antonio D’Onofrio, the site manager from WALO.
The delivery stage: three complete closures and a crawler crane with a load capacity of 750 tonnes
The old bridge was dismantled at night: the team cut the structure into two parts, lifted them away with a 750-tonne crawler crane and only broke them up once they were on the ground. In total, the N16 highway and railway line had to close completely three times in order to provide the time windows required – including day, night and weekend work.
The result: deadline met and maximum satisfaction
The new bridge was opened on 18 September 2026. Since then, the region has benefited from having two separate structures as opposed to a single crossing – one for passenger vehicles, one for freight – and, as a result, from traffic flowing noticeably more freely along a busy section of the N16 Transjurane highway.
“This project shows how to coordinate a project at a challenging site, with road and rail traffic still running and without jeopardising safety or deadlines as a result”, says Laurent Brugger, project manager at FEDRO.
“A project on this scale, with road and rail traffic still running, calls for much more than a good technical solution. Other key factors include precise preparation, short decision-making processes and a team that delivers even during challenging construction phases. These are the very same strengths we showed at Péry.” Fabian Frieden, Head of Civil Engineering West
