Obfelden-Ottenbach Motorway Approach Road: Environmental Impact Report

The opening of the motorway junction at Affoltern on the N4 Motorway has led to heavier traffic in the municipalities of Obfelden and Ottenbach. In order to help protect these communities against the hazardous emissions associated with the increased through-traffic, the Canton of Zürich’s Office of Civil Engineering has devised a project for the redevelopment of the existing motorway approach roads. The scope of the project includes the completion of a bypass for the town of Ottenbach and the completion of a tunnel under the district of Bickwil in Obfelden. The proposed project was approved by the Canton of Zürich on 23 September 2012.

Working on behalf of the Canton of Zürich, EBP has drafted the environmental impact report (EIR) for the project. The project site includes land that is listed in the Federal Inventory of Landscapes and Natural Monuments of National Importance (ILNM), and the selected route for the approach road runs along the “Bibelaas” fen (a site of national importance), an amphibian spawning ground (also a site of national importance) and a cantonal nature preserve. In order to help protect the sensitive Reuss Valley landscape, the project plan specifies the implementation of extensive environmental impact mitigation measures (restoration and replacement) that were worked out in consultation with the cantonal offices of the Federal Commission for the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage (FCNC). In addition to this, special structural measures have been planned so as to protect residents living along the motorway approach road against excessive noise levels.

Public notification of the project is to be issued in the autumn of 2014. In the absence of lawsuits aimed at blocking the project, preliminary work could begin in 2016. The main construction phase is expected to last for approximately four years.

Picture Credits: Tiefbauamt Kanton Zürich