Are there guidelines or incentives for high-quality Baukultur?

The A16 – also known as the Transjurane – is a special motorway for Switzerland: architects were involved in its design from the outset, namely for the section through the canton Jura. This had only happened once before, when the architect Rino Tami worked on the Gotthard motorway (A2). That example in Ticino served as a model for the Canton of Jura when it launched a competition for the Transjurane project. The aim was to integrate the motorway into the landscape as effectively as possible and to harmonise the many engineering structures.

Does the place serve its purpose?

The entire A16 is an 85-kilometre-long transit route through the Jura Mountains in the cantons of Bern (Bernese Jura) and Jura. It starts in the Central Plateau to the east of the city of Biel/Bienne and runs to the French border at Boncourt. In 1984, at the request of the people of the Jura, the existing N16 motorway was added to the national road network in order to open up the region and boost the local economy. Starting in 1988, the A16 motorway was built in several stages over a period of 30 years. It stretches across 20 viaducts and through 33 tunnels and galleries.

Are negative impacts on the environment minimised?

The Transjurane was the first Swiss motorway to be subject to an environmental impact assessment, even though it is widely recognised that a construction project of this magnitude significantly alters the landscape. Ecological compensation measures were therefore implemented. Forest that had to be cleared was replanted elsewhere. In addition, streams were revitalised, new ecologically valuable ponds were created and forest and field paths were built.

Will the place remain attractive in the long term for living, working, leisure and/or tourism?

It remains to be seen whether the A16 motorway will contribute to the economic revival of the Jura. The indeterminate aspect of opening up traffic routes, whether by rail or road, is that they not only encourage people to move in, but also to move out. Thanks to the Transjurane, more people may live in the Jura, but they will also commute out of the canton to work. The Canton has designated industrial zones along the motorway to attract companies and strengthen the Jura region as a business location.

Does the place bring different people together?

The A16 motorway is a political artery, not only because it brings this remote part of Switzerland closer to the Central Plateau, but also because it links the Bernese Jura with the autonomous Northern Jura. The motorway is only one part of a comprehensive political strategy. Other measures to revitalise the region include the expansion of rail services, improved connections to Basel, development of the Delsberg agglomeration and the creation of more vocational training opportunities. The statistics bear this out: the canton’s population is growing, albeit slowly.

Was the place thoroughly analysed prior to the intervention?

In 1988, the Canton of Jura organised a national competition for the architectural design of the motorway, at which point the architects Flora Ruchat-Roncati and Renato Salvi joined the existing team of engineers and cantonal planners. The two architects began to develop a formal vocabulary for the first two tunnels, their central ventilation station and the Saint-Ursanne connection, which were completed by the end of 1998. From March 1998 until the completion of the entire Transjurane at the end of 2016, Salvi gradually developed an overall concept that unifies the many engineering structures – the tunnel portals, galleries and bridges.

Does the quality of space improve people’s quality of life?

Ever since the A16 motorway has been continuously passable, it has absorbed a large proportion of local and regional traffic and relieved the burden on the surrounding villages. The motorway also connects local centres with remote areas that were previously separated by topography. It is also hoped that the Transjurane motorway will stimulate the economic, cultural and social development of this structurally weak region and increase the attractiveness of the Jura.

Do people perceive the place as beautiful?

The engineering works of the canton of Jura have a beauty all their own. The concrete structures along the A16 motorway have become more voluminous and three-dimensional as construction has progressed over 30 years. They constitute an artistic synthesis that is closely linked to the landscape and enhances its beauty. The A16 motorway is a landscape that gives the canton of Jura a new identity. Its engineering structures have won international acclaim and recognition.