The Boudry viaduct

Abstract

To improve the road traffic between Iverdon and Neuchâtel (Switzerland) the layout of the motorway has been modified along the river Areuse Valley: a beautiful valley which is highly attractive to tourists. The village of Boudry is situated in this zone, and the old road used to run through the town. To avoid this, a viaduct and approaches have been constructed. This not only improves the earlier layout, but also greatly facilitates the main road traffic, which no longer interferes with the local vehicles. The viaduct is 500 ms long, and is one of the most important public works recently constructed in Switzerland. The soil did not have a great bearing capacity, and due to the topography, part of the structure, over a distance of 50 ms, rests on a sloping hillside. The viaduct includes various types of spans. Some of them are suitable to accommodate parking spaces underneath, others consist of reinforced concrete beams, and others are made of prestressed concrete members. The main span, 41 ms in length, runs over the river Areuse. In planform the viaduct has a polygonal shape, with rectilinear spans.