Wildlife transfer Neuenkirch, Luzern
2021
In Neuenkirch, the Federal Roads Office FEDRO is already building the second wildlife bridge with a wooden overpass after the Rynetel wildlife bridge. The wildlife overpass in the canton of Lucerne has a width of 50 meters and a length of around 36 meters.
The project
During several nights carpenters assembled the 17.5 meters long, 1.24 meters high and 8 tons heavy wooden girders. In the future, deer, foxes, stags and small mammals will walk across the new wildlife bridge near Neuenkirch. This pleases the environment in various ways. Because the wildlife bridge is a real CO2-reservoir.
Around 2,500 cubic meters of wood, mostly spruce from the Entlebuch region, are being used to build it. The fact that the wood was cut in the surrounding forests and processed in regional companies is a benefit for the local economy. The environment is also pleased. After all, from an ecological point of view, local wood is clearly more advantageous than wood from abroad.
The construction
The wildlife overpass in the canton of Lucerne has a width of 50 meters and a length of about 36 meters. The clear height is 4.80 meters.
The almost man-high glulam beams were prefabricated at n'H in Lungern, pre-assembled and delivered to the construction site just in time.
The challenge
Even during the assembly of the girders, traffic continued to roll. For around 30 nights, traffic was directed in opposite directions on a single lane. During the day, two lanes were always available in each direction.
Construction Data
- Width 50 meters
- Length 36 meters
- Clear height 4.80 meters
- 2500 m3 Spruce wood from the region
Construction costs
- BKP 1-9: 10.7 million Swiss francs
- BKP 214: approx. 2.7 million francs
- Planning fee: 198'000.Franken (as subplanner of the civil engineer)
Services of Timbatec
- SIA Phase 31 Preliminary design
- SIA Phase 32 Construction project
- SIA Phase 41 Tendering and comparison of offers
- SIA Phase 51 Implementation project
- SIA Phase 52 Execution
- SIA Phase 53 Commissioning
- Structural analysis and design
- Cost estimation
- Technical site supervision and site inspections
Owner
Federal Roads Office ASTRA
4800 Zofingen
Timber construction engineer
Timbatec Holzbauingenieure (Schweiz) AG Bern
3012 Bern
Timber construction
HUSNER AG Holzbau
5070 Frick
Civil engineer
IG 2B Ingenieurgemeinschaft
3000 Bern 15
GU/TU
Anliker AG
6021 Emmenbrücke
Building the future: Wildlife Bridge Biberlikopf, Cantonal border Glarus, St. Gallen
Baukader, Issue No. 09/2023 – The A3 highway in the north of the canton of Glarus has cut through the Biberlikopf wildlife corridor for decades. This is now to change. The wildlife overpass will restore the animals' natural migration routes. Planning for this is in full swing. (Report in german)
Of bridges, towers and an «ice snake»
Holz-Zentralblatt, Issue No. 05/2023 – On the last day of the 26th «International Timber Construction Forum - IHF» in Innsbruck from November 30 to December 2, 2022, the event block «Exposed Engineering Structures» offered a project selection of bridge and tower structures as well as insights into the planning and construction of the free-form roofing for the World Cup luge track in Oberhof. The subject area not only showed a great variety of forms in this special discipline, but also how it was possible to plan the structures economically, sometimes finding novel solutions.
Wildlife bridges under extreme loads
26th International Timber Construction Forum IHF 2022 – The construction of roads, railways, infrastructure, housing estates, industrial and commercial areas In heavily built-up Switzerland, wildlife connectivity is limited by the construction of roads, railways, infrastructures, settlements and industrial and commercial areas. Wildlife habitats are geographically demarcated with insurmountable barriers, suppressing the animals' natural urge to move. Wildlife bridges connect the animals' reservoirs.
Wooden bridges for the next generation of infrastructure routes
VSS, Special Edition Wooden Bridges, Issue No. 7-8/2022 – Wood as a material and its wide range of products and technologies can be used not only for bridges for low-speed traffic, but also offer the potential for heavy-load traffic. Newly, long-span wooden bridges with a box girder cross-section and prestressing are to be used for heavy goods traffic. For a climate-neutral Switzerland 2050, answers from research and development are needed to show the construction industry new, efficient and climate-neutral solutions. (Report in German and French)Wildlife overpass in wood
VSS, Special Edition Wooden Bridges, Issue No. 7-8/2022 – The motion «Research and innovation of wood as a material for use in infrastructure construction as a decarbonization contribution» was accepted in the Council of States and the National Council. Now it is up to the wood industry and the researching universities to present solutions on how steel and concrete can be replaced by OC₂-storing materials in a sensible and practical way in the future. One possible area of application is wildlife overpasses. Even before the motion was submitted, the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) had decided to build such structures in wood in Suhr and Neuenkirch. (Report in German and French)
Working model of heavy duty wooden bridge inaugurated
hbs holzBaumarktSchweiz, Issue No. 4/2022 – Will we build large infrastructure structures such as highway bridges from wood in the future? Through the increased use of wood, infrastructure construction could contribute to decarbonization. Heavy-duty bridges with prestressed box girder elements would make large structures such as highway bridges and viaducts possible. A working model of this has been on display in Biel since May 9. (Report in German)
After wildlife overpass comes wooden highway bridge
Holz-Zentralblatt, Issue No. 26/2022 – Infrastructure construction is one of the largest Co₂ emitters in Switzerland. The main cause is the use of reinforced concrete. Through the increased use of wood, infrastructure construction could contribute to decarbonization. Heavy-duty bridges with prestressed wooden box girder elements could also enable large structures such as highway bridges and viaducts. (Report in German)
Highway bridges – made of wood?!
Wir Holzbauer, Issue 5.2022 – For timber engineer Stefan Zöllig, timber construction should continue to gain momentum - carried by research projects such as the heavy load bridge made of wood. His latest project was presented and inaugurated in early May at the fourth International Timber Bridge Conference ICTB on the campus of BFH Biel with a first bridge model. (Report in German)
The CO₂ savings would be great
Bieler Tagblatt, Issue No. 10.05.2022 – Timber construction: Can bridges for heavy traffic also be built from wood? This question is being investigated by a research consortium at Bern University of Applied Science. A ten-meter-long working model was presented yesterday in Biel. (Report in German)
The wildlife bridge is almost ready
Zofinger Tagblatt, 5. Mai 2021 – Now it is almost finished, the new wildlife bridge over the highway near Neuenkirch. For several nights, the last 45 of a total of 90 huge wooden girders were assembled, causing traffic obstructions. 17.5 meters long, 1.24 meters high, weighing 8 tons, these girders will carry the soil and planting over which the once deer, foxes, deer and small mammals walk. (Report in German)
Wildlife overpass A2 Neuenkirch
Luzerner Zeitung 30.04.2021 – After the Rynetel wildlife overpass, the Federal Roads Office FEDRO is already building the second wildlife overpass with a wooden roof near Neuenkirch. Timbatec planned this structure as a sub-planner of the engineering consortium IG 2B with B + S AG and Bänziger Partner AG. In this report from the Luzerner Zeitung, Franz Koch, project manager from the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), explains why wooden wildlife bridges correspond to today's spirit. (Report in German)
Bridges Instead of Barriers
Pro Natura Magazine 3/2018 - Timber bridges over motorways can make an important contribution to the life and sometimes also the survival of wildlife species. At the same time, they are much easier to build than concrete bridges, the construction of which involves the closure of entire sections of motorway for several weeks. Different crossings made of timber: They can be prefabricated from timber elements and mounted on just two weekends. This is shown by examples from Germany. In Switzerland, Timbatec is currently planning several timber wildlife bridges. The Pro Natura Magazine reports in detail on ten pages about the important crossings for wild animals and also interviewed Timbatec founder Stefan Zöllig, who has been promoting timber bridges for wild animals for a long time. The reason for these crossings: Motorways cut through the Swiss landscape and thus also the natural paths of wild animals. Among other things, these barriers prevent the animals from migrating between their feeding, resting and reproduction sites. The consequences go as far as the local extinction of animal species in these areas. That is why bridges are needed over the motorways over which the wild animals can circulate.
