Several wildlife crossings are currently being constructed across motorways in Switzerland. At one such new wildlife bridge on the A1 motorway near Solothurn, the Bern-based company Affolter Transporte AG recently installed massive timber beams. Due to the required temporary closure of the motorway, the operation had to be meticulously planned and executed. Over six perfectly coordinated night shifts, the 38-metre-long elements were installed on schedule.
During the construction of a major wildlife crossing, crane and transport company Affolter from Schüpfen (Canton of Bern) installed the substructure of the new bridge over six nights. The key challenge in this project was the narrow time window for motorway closures, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Each night, up to ten timber beams, each three metres high and 38 metres long, had to be delivered and lifted into place. Among the equipment on the A1 motorway was the Liebherr LTM 1300-6.2 – the most powerful crane in the family-run company’s fleet. With a maximum radius of 25 metres, the six-axle crane placed its 20-tonne loads at half-hour intervals. The slightly curved timber beams span all four lanes of the motorway without intermediate supports.
Precise coordination between transport and assembly
The long timber elements were delivered from Rapperswil, around 20 kilometres away. A 20-year-old Liebherr mobile crane loaded them onto the trailers of the heavy transport vehicles at a storage site. Upon arrival at the construction site, an LTM 1160-5.2 unloaded the cargo and placed the beams into a holding frame. The larger mobile crane then hooked the bulky loads and installed the beams. The night operations ran like Swiss clockwork, ensuring the carriageways were cleared by early morning and reopened in time for rush-hour traffic. In addition to the three Liebherr cranes, Affolter deployed four tractor units and two escort vehicles each night. After just under a week, the timber structure of the bridge was completed. The finished wildlife bridge will span more than 50 metres in width.
The company, led by brothers Ernst and Rudolf Affolter, employs 45 staff across four locations in the cantons of Bern and Aargau. In addition to a city crane, the extensive fleet includes five Liebherr mobile cranes and five mobile construction cranes for lifting operations, including two Liebherr MK 88-4.1 models. In the company’s other divisions – transport, industrial relocations, and storage – numerous escort vehicles, truck-mounted cranes, mini crawler cranes, aerial work platforms, forklifts, and various special trailers are in use.
