Construction of the army support bridge has begun in the Maggia Valley
Published: Thursday, Jul 11th 2024, 14:40
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Following the devastating storms, the Swiss army has begun building a support bridge in Cevio TI to replace the collapsed Visletto bridge. This would reconnect the upper and lower Maggia Valley.
The Swiss Army's Mabey support bridge is 61 meters long and 4.8 meters wide, as the Defence Group announced on Thursday. It has a load-bearing capacity of 40 tons, meaning that the previously cut-off storm area of Val Bavona and the Lavizzara Valley will once again be accessible for help with heavy equipment, it added. Until now, a footbridge has served as an emergency solution, but its navigability and load-bearing capacity are severely limited.
In the Maggia Valley, the army is helping to rebuild vital infrastructure. By last Monday, the air force had also evacuated a total of 445 people from the storm areas in Ticino with the help of helicopters, according to a statement. Around 22 tons of material were also transported.
Since July 1, 2024, parts of the Swiss Armed Forces have been deployed to support the cantons of Valais and Ticino, which were particularly affected by the storms at the end of June, in dealing with the damage caused by the storms at their request. The military disaster relief, originally limited to July 10, was extended until July 21 at the request of the canton of Ticino.
In Valais, the disaster relief operations of Battalion 6 came to an end on July 10. 300 members of the army were last deployed in the Saas Valley, Goms and Val d'Anniviers, according to a statement. The disaster relief standby battalion had already completed the missions assigned to it in Sierre and Chippis on July 4. In addition, the air force contributed to the situation by means of aerial reconnaissance and thus also assisted in the search for missing persons.
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