Branch Zurich-West
The Zurich-West junction is a motorway junction southwest of Zurich . It connects the A3 and A4 motorways . The motorway triangle , which opened in 2009, is located on the Filderen plain in the municipal areas of Birmensdorf and Wettswil am Albis in the canton of Zurich and is part of the western bypass.
topology
The Wettswil am Albis full connection is located in the area of the motorway triangle (connection number 31a along the A3). What is noticeable about the overall structure is the fact that, due to the requirements of nature and landscape protection, the branch in the Filderen plain was severely cut and leads directly into a tunnel in all three directions :
- in the northeast (A3) in the Uetliberg tunnel (towards Chur and Zurich)
- in the northwest (A3 / A4) in the Aeschertunnel (towards Basel , Limmattalerkreuz and Nordring)
- in the southwest (A4), after the integrated Wettswil connection, in the Islisberg tunnel (towards Lucerne , Zug and Gotthard )
Beyond the Uetliberg , the south-eastern end of the western bypass is the Zurich South traffic triangle in Zurich Wollishofen , at the Brunau motorway junction.
construction
A separate rail loading station and concrete plant were built for the construction of the motorway junction and the three tunnels . For noise protection reasons, the carriageways are laid in artificially created incisions, which are created by embankments on both sides, consisting of excavated material from the tunnels. The facility consists of three levels: the Chur-Lucerne opencast tunnel, various ground-level connections (Chur-Basel, Basel-Lucerne, Lucerne-Chur), as well as the Basel-Chur and Lucerne-Basel bridges, as well as other bridges in the subordinate road network.
Deferred commissioning
Transit traffic from the southeast (left bank of Lake Zurich , Chur ) has been on the so-called west bypass through the city of Zurich since the 1970s. Since May 4, 2009, this has been routed from the Zurich-South junction through the Uetliberg tunnel and the Zurich-West junction to the Limmattal junction and on to Basel / Bern or the Nordring (towards Winterthur / St. Gallen). Since the opening of the A4 by the Knonauer Amt on November 13, 2009, additional traffic to and from Central Switzerland as well as transit traffic from the south has flowed through this traffic hub.
facts and figures
- Construction period: 1996-2008
- Commissioning: May 4, 2009 / November 13, 2009
- Cost: CHF 160 million (basis: 1994, excluding tunnels)
- Excavation: approx. 300,000 m³
- Road surface area: approx. 70,000 m²
