Project

Luzern Bypass Project, Environmental Impact Report for Project Phase 2

The Federal Roads Office is currently working out the specifics of the Luzern Bypass project. EBP has been commissioned to draft the environmental impact report for the project’s second phase.

The Luzern Bypass project centres on the construction of two unidirectional, two-lane tunnels that are to pass under the city of Luzern and the Reuss River. The northern link from the bypass to Motorway A2 is to be completed in the area of Ibach just after the present motorway split at Rotsee. The southern link is to be completed in the area of Nidfeld just south of the Luzern-Kriens junction. In case of a bidirectional junction at Lochhof, the link will be completed on the Nord motorway access road, which is a part of the project that is to be planned and realised by the Canton of Luzern. A third lane is to be added to Motorway 14 between the junction at Buchrain and the Rotsee motorway split, and the existing Rathausen Tunnel is to be expanded through the addition of a third tube. The project is also to provide for the completion of permanent breakdown lanes on the motorway between the Luzern-Horw junction and the one-way junction at Hergiswil, thus providing three lanes in each direction along the whole length of this section.

EBP has drafted the environmental impact report for the second phase of the project. The report focuses on the dimensions of the necessary noise control measures and an assessment of the project’s impact on air quality. Owing to the project’s impact on flora and fauna, it also proved necessary to plan appropriate compensatory measures.

The project proposal is to be submitted to the Swiss Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) in January 2015 before being submitted to the Federal Council in the same year. If approved by the Federal Council, work on the project is expected to begin in 2016.

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