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- The A1 near Härkingen in the Solothurn region is heavily trafficked with 87,000 vehicles per day. Upward trend.
- The federal government has been planning to expand from four to six lanes for a long time. Now he gives the green light and rejects 181 objections.
- However: opponents can challenge the building permit and take it to the Federal Administrative Court.
- In addition, the federal government is threatened by problems in the canton of Solothurn. The start of construction in 2024 is not realistic.
“On the A1 between Luterbach and Härkingen, traffic jam after an accident” – this traffic report can often be heard on the radio. An expansion should help. The widening from four to six lanes costs a total of 886 million francs.
DETEC (Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications) rejected the more than 180 objections on the essential points. In other words, in terms of environmental law, the crop rotation and landscape project is “legal and appropriate.”
Still not an early start of construction?
DETEC describes its approval as a milestone: “We have a major bottleneck in the national highway network and now we have the building permit,” says Richard Kocherhans of the Astra Federal Highway Office.
However, it is a milestone with a double “but”. The building permit is not yet legally binding. Opponents can file a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court. In addition, the Solothurn parliament requires that part of the route (about 500 meters) run through a tunnel. Therefore, the Solothurn government has yet to negotiate with the federal government.
Legend:
The A1 motorway near Härkingen is very busy because, for example, the A3 from Basel joins here.
Keystone
Canton of Solothurn’s efforts to optimize the expansion project could lead to years of delay in the 6-lane expansion. If the canton adheres to its tunnel requirement, the construction plans should be adjusted, re-approved by the Federal Council and reissued, so that complaints can be filed again.
When the A1 motorway between Härkingen and Luterbach is expanded to 6 lanes, you are in the stars, despite the building permit. The start of construction in 2024 seems very unrealistic.
