Swiss highways to be less green
The strips of vegetation that divide the two halves of Swiss motorways are to disappear over the course of the next few years.
A spokesman for the Federal Roads Office said that the increase in traffic had made maintenance more dangerous.
The vegetation was originally designed to shield drivers from being dazzled by the headlights of oncoming vehicles, but the spokesman said that advances in headlight technology had made the plants unnecessary.
The strips will be asphalted over, and safety barriers installed. The space gained will enable the authorities to widen the traffic lanes.
The work will be done as part of normal maintenance, and it could take up to 15 years for the strips to disappear completely from the 1,000 or so kilometres of road concerned.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.