Unexpected problems delay Swiss highway project

A highway project looks set to face extended delays in its construction due to the discovery of contaminated land. A two year highway project planned in the canton Valais will now take considerably longer to complete due to the unexpected discovery of mercury contamination on the site. The contamination is historic and appears to be the result of disposal carried out by a local chemicals firm in the 1930s, when there were few controls over what could be dumped. The company had tipped its chemical waste into
November 28, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A highway project looks set to face extended delays in its construction due to the discovery of contaminated land. A two year highway project planned in the canton Valais will now take considerably longer to complete due to the unexpected discovery of mercury contamination on the site. The contamination is historic and appears to be the result of disposal carried out by a local chemicals firm in the 1930s, when there were few controls over what could be dumped. The company had tipped its chemical waste into a canal but the scale of the contamination has yet to be fully assessed. The project requires some 240,000m3 of earthmoving work and at this early stage, it looks as if some 20,000m3 will have to be treated. The chemicals firm is still in business and will pay for the extra decontamination work necessary. However, the issue does highlight the problem of historic contamination dating from when environmental controls were less thorough than at present. With the need to re-use many former industrial sites for infrastructure work in developed nations, this type of problem is likely to resurface on a regular basis.

Related Content

  • Improving a key route through Florida
    November 9, 2015
    Upgrading a key route through Florida – novel construction techniques are helping widen a road in difficult geological conditions – Lucio Garofalo reports. A major road widening project underway in Florida is due for completion soon. The work will improve an important section of road, reducing congestion at peak period and cutting travel times for drivers. The US 331/SR83 highway runs for some 79km and provides an important link in Florida’s Panhandle area, as it connects with Route 98.
    Read More
  • Golden opportunities in the MINT - Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey
    May 21, 2015
    Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey – Global Report offers up some food for thought about where smart money might be headed within the next several years – David Arminas writes China’s rate of growth may be slowing down, but other South East Asian companies are being quick to offer alternate investment opportunities, notably Indonesia. Nigeria, too, has had issues with security of investment. But there are signs that the government may be getting serious at last about tightening up rules and regulation
    Read More
  • Future funding crisis looms?
    August 13, 2012
    From the UK’s Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) comes data revealing a future funding crisis many governments will face. The IFS study, commissioned by the RAC Foundation, shows that income from motoring taxation will fall as traffic volumes increase. The problem is that increasing fuel efficiency of new generation vehicles, plus the introduction of electric cars, will deliver smaller and smaller returns on fuel taxation. Although fuel is taxed heavily in the UK, and right across Europe, projections show t
    Read More

Highlighted Content