Reconstruction starts of destroyed Swiss Visletto bridge

Reconstruction of the destroyed bridge in Val Maggia (TI) has begun Keystone-SDA

The Visletto bridge in Val Maggia, Switzerland, which was destroyed by bad weather in June 2024, will be rebuilt by late autumn 2026.

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“The new structure is synonymous with strength and rebirth,” said Claudio Zali, Director of Public Works for the canton of Ticino.

Zali said that all the necessary procedures had been speeded up to redue construction time for the new bridge.

The Visletto bridge is an important “traffic artery”, said the president of the municipality of Cevio, Wanda Dadò. The construction of the new bridge will close a gaping hole. It is also a “symbol of the resilience” of the valley.

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Construction work will be carried out in three phases, explained Fabiano Martini, head of the operational sector within the construction department. The first phase will involve laying the new bridge foundations, followed by the assembly of the main bridge structures from February 2026.

The final phase will involve laying the road surface and installing the streetlights. The new bridge is scheduled for completion in November 2026.

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Safety against natural hazards

The construction work will cost around CHF8.5 million and will replace the temporary Visletto bridge built by the army last summer. According to the Ticino Department of Public Works and the Environment, the new structure must offer “maximum safety” against natural hazards.

Traffic on the temporary Visletto bridge is subject to a number of restrictions: vehicles may not weigh more than 32 tonnes or travel at more than 20 kilometres per hour. In addition, traffic is restricted to a single lane.

The Disaster Relief Intervention Battalion built a replacement bridge over the Maggia last July, after the terrible storms on the night of June 29-30, 2024.

The original bridge had been swept away by the rising Maggia. Several side valleys then became temporarily inaccessible by land. Seven people lost their lives in the storms in Val Maggia, and one person is still missing.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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