Asphalt Paving at Swiss Mountain Tourist Hotspot
For the paving of a footpath and utility road at the summit of the Niesen, the lead contractor had to transport the Vögele MINI 500 paver by funicular railway to the summit station and feed material to it by helicopter.
Challenging Location, Logistics, and Weather Conditions for the Vögele Paver
Because of its striking shape, the 2,362 m high Niesen in the Bernese Oberland is also known as the „Pyramid of the Alps”. In order to prepare the popular tourist hotspot south of Lake Thun for the summer season, the footpath between the summit station and the Berghaus Niesen Kulm hotel/restaurant had to be renovated. The 170 m footpath is used for transporting food and beverages to the summit hotel and is frequented by around 1,000 people every day in the high season. As the summit of the Niesen can only be reached by the funicular railway or helicopter, the construction site logistics were a major challenge. Due to the high quality requirements, the asphalt surface course had to be paved by machine to a width from 1.8 to 4.3 m. On top of this, the weather conditions were very difficult due to the altitude and the exposed location. As a result of the low temperatures, the paving team had only a narrow time window each day for the paving work.
Transport of the Paver to the Construction Site by Funicular Railway
In order to pave the new asphalt surface course efficiently and to a high quality standard, the lead contractor opted for the MINI 500 from Vögele. The manufacturer’s smallest road paver model is predestined for applications where narrow paving widths, compact dimensions, low weight, and high paving quality are required. With a transport length of 2.6 m, a width of 0.9 m, and a weight of 1.4 t, the project team was able to transport the paver to the summit station on the Niesen funicular railway. The Niesenbahn is one of the world’s longest funicular railways and climbs to the summit station at gradients of up to 68% in some places. “The job was a spectacular proposition, even before the actual paving began. Transporting a road paver on an historic funicular railway is not an everyday occurrence for us either,” says paving foreman Iwan Hachen. „The MINI 500 is extremely compact and was extremely practical in view of the requirements for this project.”
A Helicopter Flies in the Asphalt Mix for the MINI 500 Every Four Minutes
The contractor hired a helicopter to keep the paver supplied with asphalt mix. This allowed the hot asphalt mix to be transported to the paver as quickly as possible. It took on loads of mix from insulated and heated trucks 700 meters below the construction site and offloaded them directly into the material hopper of the MINI 500 at intervals of just under four minutes. Equipped with the AB 135 extending screed, including bolt-on extensions, the Vögele paver paved the 4 cm thick surface course over a width of 1.8 m – occasionally in several strips. The tightly scheduled material transfer ensured an uninterrupted paving process. This enabled the team on-site to complete the surfacing work, including the paving of the verge, within a period of just two days.
Asphalt Paving at Swiss Mountain Tourist Hotspot
For the paving of a footpath and utility road at the summit of the Niesen, the lead contractor had to transport the Vögele MINI 500 paver by funicular railway to the summit station and feed material to it by helicopter.
Challenging Location, Logistics, and Weather Conditions for the Vögele Paver
Because of its striking shape, the 2,362 m high Niesen in the Bernese Oberland is also known as the „Pyramid of the Alps”. In order to prepare the popular tourist hotspot south of Lake Thun for the summer season, the footpath between the summit station and the Berghaus Niesen Kulm hotel/restaurant had to be renovated. The 170 m footpath is used for transporting food and beverages to the summit hotel and is frequented by around 1,000 people every day in the high season. As the summit of the Niesen can only be reached by the funicular railway or helicopter, the construction site logistics were a major challenge. Due to the high quality requirements, the asphalt surface course had to be paved by machine to a width from 1.8 to 4.3 m. On top of this, the weather conditions were very difficult due to the altitude and the exposed location. As a result of the low temperatures, the paving team had only a narrow time window each day for the paving work.
Transport of the Paver to the Construction Site by Funicular Railway
In order to pave the new asphalt surface course efficiently and to a high quality standard, the lead contractor opted for the MINI 500 from Vögele. The manufacturer’s smallest road paver model is predestined for applications where narrow paving widths, compact dimensions, low weight, and high paving quality are required. With a transport length of 2.6 m, a width of 0.9 m, and a weight of 1.4 t, the project team was able to transport the paver to the summit station on the Niesen funicular railway. The Niesenbahn is one of the world’s longest funicular railways and climbs to the summit station at gradients of up to 68% in some places. “The job was a spectacular proposition, even before the actual paving began. Transporting a road paver on an historic funicular railway is not an everyday occurrence for us either,” says paving foreman Iwan Hachen. „The MINI 500 is extremely compact and was extremely practical in view of the requirements for this project.”
A Helicopter Flies in the Asphalt Mix for the MINI 500 Every Four Minutes
The contractor hired a helicopter to keep the paver supplied with asphalt mix. This allowed the hot asphalt mix to be transported to the paver as quickly as possible. It took on loads of mix from insulated and heated trucks 700 meters below the construction site and offloaded them directly into the material hopper of the MINI 500 at intervals of just under four minutes. Equipped with the AB 135 extending screed, including bolt-on extensions, the Vögele paver paved the 4 cm thick surface course over a width of 1.8 m – occasionally in several strips. The tightly scheduled material transfer ensured an uninterrupted paving process. This enabled the team on-site to complete the surfacing work, including the paving of the verge, within a period of just two days.
Partener Principal
MATEK Build Smart