No space for a construction site – and two new bridges delivered all the same.

In the valley at Péry-La Heutte, the river, railway line, motorway and a cement works were all hemmed in together in a very confined space. In the midst of all this, WALO built two new bridges for the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) over the N16 Transjurane highway – with traffic still running and barely any space for construction-related logistics.

Contact

Gümligen, BE
Feldstrasse 42
3073 Gümligen

Location

Péry-La Heutte
Canton of Bern

Service

Civil Engineering

In brief

Two new bridges made of cast-in-place concrete, each 150 metres in length, replaced an existing crossing over the N16 Transjurane highway at Péry-La Heutte, between Tavannes and Biel.
Construction period: July 2024 to December 2026.
Construction budget around CHF 40 million.
No more than three lorries per day for over 800 tonnes of falsework material.
Seven bridge panels with spans of up to 22 metres, without any intermediate supports.
Dismantling of the old bridge at night, in four parts, using a crawler crane with a load capacity of 750 tonnes.
Client: Federal Roads Office (FEDRO).

Background

Two bridges instead of one – and no space available.

At Péry-La Heutte, in the canton of Bern, there was practically no space for interim storage at the construction site: the river, railway line, motorway and cement works already occupied all of the narrow valley floor. Commissioned by FEDRO, WALO replaced an existing crossing with two new bridges between July 2024 and December 2026 – one for passenger vehicles, one for freight.

The TaBö combined planning association was responsible for coordinating the project. Given the lack of space, each load of material had to arrive at just the right time and in just the right place – not a moment sooner or later.

The first bridge was built during the first year of construction: 160 metres long, with a roundabout at each end and high supporting walls along the N16 highway. The second bridge, at around 140 metres long, followed in four stages – while the N16, the railway line and the cement works all remained open nearby.

Aerial view of the construction site for two new bridges on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte between the motorway and railway line.

Aerial view of the bridge construction site on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte with cranes, a railway line and ongoing road traffic.

Aerial view of the construction site for two new bridges on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte, with supporting structures, cranes and ongoing motorway and railway traffic.

The method

A 3D model instead of creating formwork on site.

The formwork was not created on site, section by section, but emerged in digital form instead: a 3D model from the engineer was sent to the formwork supplier Doka, who prefabricated the individual elements on the basis of this. On site, it was then just a case of accepting these as just-in-time deliveries and laying them.

The falsework girders spanned a distance of up to 22 metres with no intermediate supports – a feat made possible thanks to girders resting on shoring towers, with 1000 kilonewtons bearing down on each support. Around 800 tonnes of steel were used for the falsework alone for the second bridge.

“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”, explains Antonio D’Onofrio, the site manager from WALO.

Bridge construction on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte with blue supporting girders and yellow formwork for the new bridge.

Operational aspects

Three complete closures for 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 up with a 750-tonne crawler crane, moved them away 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.

With no more than three lorries a day, every delivery had to fall right: any delay involving just one vehicle would have pushed the entire schedule back.

Supporting structure and formwork for the construction of a new bridge on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte.

Team spirit

Planning presented a bigger challenge than the concrete.

For Antonio D’Onofrio, the site manager at WALO, the biggest difficulty was not encountered at the construction site itself, but at the drawing board. In other words, coordinating falsework, formwork and time slots across a period of two years.

“The biggest challenge for me was the complex planning for the structure as a whole. Thanks to a strong team, and by incorporating a digital approach, we were able to deal with everything on time”, explains Antonio D’Onofrio, the site manager at WALO.

Two construction workers discuss a building plan on the formwork of a new bridge on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte.

Context

Turning one bridge into two.

Since the end of 2026, the region has benefited from having not one, but two separate bridges: one for passenger vehicles, one for freight, leaving traffic flowing more freely along a busy section of the N16 Transjurane highway.

The new bridge was opened on 18 September 2026. “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”, explains Laurent Brugger, project manager at FEDRO.

The strength of any project is always partly reliant on the input of a strong team.

At Péry, our teams worked in very challenging conditions – with road and rail traffic still running, little space available, working at night and complex construction processes. What really counts in situations like this are dedication, flexibility and cooperation from all involved at the site. A big thank you to all the team for your dedication, day after day, and your contribution to this challenging project / Fabian Frieden, Head of Civil Engineering West

Bridge construction on the N16 near Péry-La Heutte with construction traffic on the new bridge and ongoing traffic on the road below.