Keystone-SDA
The southern tube of the Visp motorway tunnel was inaugurated Tuesday in the presence of the municipal, cantonal and federal authorities. This commissioning makes it possible to relieve the city of transit traffic and to link, in both directions, the valleys of Saas and Zermatt,
(Keystone-ATS) The inauguration took place in the presence in particular of the Federal Councilor Albert Rösti, in charge of the Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication, and two Valais State Councilors, Franziska Biner and Franz Ruppen.
“The highway in Haut-Valais is eagerly awaited by its population,” said Albert Rösti, at the time of speeches. “In view of the complexity of the project, it takes time, but its realization is advancing, step by step. »»
A close collaboration
“The time is for celebrations, satisfaction and thanks,” summed up the head of the Valais department of mobility, territory and the environment, Franz Ruppen. According to him, “this motorway section is a real technical feat, the fruit of close collaboration between the State of Valasi and the Confederation”.
7.5 kilometers long, the southern vintage bypass consists mainly of the Eyholz tunnel (4.25 kilometers) and the tunnel of viège (2.7 kilometers) with two one -way tubes, as well as the bridge twin on the Vispa, supplemented by the junction of West Viège.
14.4 km de tunnels
If the Eyholz tunnel has been in service since 2018 and the northern tube of the tunnel of Visp (line of circulation two – Visp) since 2022, the last elements of the southern bypass could be borrowed from 7:00 pm Tuesday with the southern tube of the Visp Tunnel and its branch.
Autorourtier traffic can now be carried out in both directions as well as in origin and intended for the side valleys of SaaS and Zermatt.
The entire southern bypass of Visp required the realization of 14.4 kilometers of tunnels, including excavations and technical fittings. The work as a whole is characterized by its complexity.
Twenty -one years of work
The former Vispa valley tunnel was converted into a motorway tunnel and has been the subject of major structural strengthening to meet the new safety and traffic requirements. The many transverse connections between the tubes as well as the safety and ventilation galleries, considerably increase the total length of the underground works.
At the financial level, 160 million francs were invested for the southern tube of the Visp Tunnel. In total, the cost of bypassing the vintage, whose work began in 2004, reached 1.7 billion francs.
