Lugano-Mendrisio highway upgrading

The N2 highway constitutes the main north-south road axis through Switzerland and simultaneously plays an important role in connecting major urban centers south of the Alps.

In its southernmost part, between Lugano and Mendrisio, the highway has a daily and systematic lack of capacity during the morning and evening peak hours, which in turn creates major repercussions on the lower road hierarchy, causing traffic jams and congestion on cantonal and municipal roads.

The project aims to fluidify highway traffic in this section by implementing the dynamic third lane (PUN-Pannenstreifenumnutzung- Breakdown lane reuse) to ensure three lanes of traffic in each direction during critical time periods.

The main works of the project are in relation to the upgrading of the three highway tunnels along the section, for which the following measures are planned:

• Bissone-Maroggia tunnel: construction of a new underground highway route, with two new three-lane tunnels of 2.2 km.
• Melide-Grancia Tunnel: construction of a third two-lane 1.7-km-long tube and widening of the existing tubes to three lanes.
• Gentilino Tunnel: construction of a third two-lane tube 800 m long and widening of the existing tubes to three lanes.

The material resulting from the excavations will be partly recycled as construction material and partly exploited for a Capolago shoreline enhancement project, thus minimizing road transport.

The project also includes several supporting measures in favor of slow mobility and the environment and allows for the urban redevelopment of the urban center of Bissone, which is freed from the highway.

The works are planned over several phases with a total duration of approx. 12 years and a total investment of approx. 1,800 million CHF.

In our role as leader of the design consortium and responsible for underground works, we led the study of optimization variants of the existing feasibility design and coordinated design activities for development of the General Project file.