Standards for Fauna Friendly Culverts
Watercourses are the backbone of the Swiss ecological network. They are habitat and migration axis not only for aquatic organisms but also play an important role for terrestrial animals. These natural corridors are often interrupted by unadapted culverts along transport infrastructure. Most of the existing culverts were designed looking at hydraulic needs only, rarely considering animal needs. The Swiss Association of Road and Transportation Experts (VSS) has been integrating environmental issues in their road standards for more than 10 years. The new VSS-Standard on fauna friendly culverts (SN 640 696) was written by a team of engineers and biologists. The standard sets design specifications to insure all new culverts are appropriate for aquatic and terrestrial fauna. The standard discusses also the retrofitting of existing roads as this is the most common situation. Specifications distinguish new and retrofitted culverts. The standard distinguishes 6 terrestrial fauna categories and 5 aquatic fauna categories, for which design elements may be different. The specialty of this standard is a sustainable development approach, integrating a cost/benefit analysis. Several flow charts guide planners towards the most cost-effective solution using criteria from structural engineering, fauna specifications as well hydraulic and maintenance aspects. The goal is to offer clear technical solutions which are also most cost-effective. This guarantees not only an ideal effectiveness of measures, but as well aims a cost minimization. The paper proposes to present this new standard and the approach it is based on.
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- Summary URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- Abstract used with permission from the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation, organized by the Center for Transportation and the Environment, Institute for Transportation Research and Education, North Carolina State University.
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Corporate Authors:
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
Center for Transportation and the Environment
Raleigh, NC United States 27695-8601 -
Authors:
- Trocmé, Marguerite
- Righetti, Antonio
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Conference:
- 2011 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET 2011)
- Location: Seattle Washington, United States
- Date: 2011-8-21 to 2011-8-25
- Publication Date: 2012
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 557-560
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation (ICOET 2011)
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Animal migrations; Cost effectiveness; Culverts; Ecology; Environmental protection; Habitat (Ecology)
- Geographic Terms: Switzerland
- Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I15: Environment; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01561065
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Apr 24 2015 11:22AM