Costs rise to 98 million francs

The east bypass around Bad Zurzach will be even more expensive than planned. The government council requests the canton parliament for another additional loan.

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The credit for the construction of the Bad Zurzach bypass is insufficient. This now shows an updated final cost forecast, as the government council announced on Friday. He applied to the Grand Council for a second additional loan of CHF 11.44 million.

This would increase the total costs from CHF 86.73 to CHF 98.17 million. The share of the municipality of Bad Zurzach and the merged municipality of Zurzach (from 2022) will remain unchanged. According to the decision of the Grand Council, it amounts to a flat rate of 10 million francs.

In May 2015, the Grand Council (97 to 25) approved an initial additional loan of 15.9 million francs. Such high cost overruns should no longer occur, criticized the SVP at the time, but agreed. The Greens and the SP voted no against it. They had refused the credit for the eastern bypass and criticized the canton building bypasses that were too expensive.

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Most of the new additional costs are due to the geological conditions, writes the government council in its message to parliament. During construction, the rock surface was partially deeper and a non-seepage layer was found higher than expected. This required an extension of the bored piles or the construction of an additional infiltration line.

With the first additional loan, the responsible Department of Construction, Transport and Environment (BVU) pointed out that the piles would have to be driven deeper into the rock than initially assumed in order to be able to withstand the pressure on the slopes. For example, additional emergency exits for self-rescue had to be planned for the 527-meter-long tunnel.

At the time of the first additional loan applied for in 2015, the basis was a final cost forecast with a reserve of around 10 percent for contingencies and credit risk. According to the government council, it has recently become apparent that the risks of the subsoil in particular in large-scale engineering projects cannot be adequately covered.

The government council continues to write in its message to the Grand Council that the “extraordinary increases in material prices” have also led to price increases in the current year. Further additional expenses arose in the context of the negotiation of objections to the fee costs as well as higher land acquisition costs as a result of increased market prices.

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Corona pandemic leads to additional costs

According to the government council, additional costs were incurred due to the corona pandemic and the necessary hygiene regulations. Other reasons are hindrances in the construction process due to the late lowering of the high-voltage line as well as increased coordination and information expenditure.

At the time of the additional credit applied for in 2015, the basis was a final cost forecast with a reserve of around 10 percent for contingencies and credit risk. It has recently been shown that the risks of the subsoil in particular in large-scale projects with engineering structures could not be adequately covered, as the government council stated.

The Bad Zurzach east bypass directs north-south traffic out of the town center. The through traffic is thus led past the historic town center, known as “Flecken”. Construction work began in early 2020 and should be completed in summer 2023.

According to the canton, around 9,800 vehicles drive through the area every day on the main road and 11,000 vehicles on the promenade. According to the traffic forecast, the load will continue to increase. On the eastern bypass, you are guided through the bypass (with tunnel) via Tegerfelden Zurziberg to Bad Zurzach. At the end of the bypass, there is the border crossing to Rheinheim (municipality of Küssaberg) and past this onto the cantonal road that leads along the Rhine to Koblenz (through the northern bypass) or Kaiserstuhl in the direction of the Zürcher Unterland.

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