The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Jungfrau Railway took place back on 27 July 1896. And 125 years later, another milestone can be recorded. The V-Cableway project now enables visitors to reach the Jungfraujoch in greater comfort, with a total time saving of 47 minutes. The construction period of no less than 908 days involved many participants, including employees of Weiss+Appetito Special Services AG.
The V-Cableway project was the subject of frequent reports last year. The centrepiece of the project is the Grindelwald Terminal – a cutting-edge station equipped with advanced technology. As well as providing the new connection to the Eiger Glacier or the Männlichen peak, it also offers a convenient parking facility for the large numbers of visitors.
The aspects of landscaping and sustainability were accorded high priority in the design of the terminal and the parking facility. This explains why the contract placed with us by Bauimpuls AG, one of our long-standing customers, involved creating a green roof that would blend attractively into the landscape. The client decided to install a wildflower meadow. As well as being beautiful to look at, the meadow's blooming herbs and flowers provide ideal "grazing" for butterflies and bees. Luckily, we were able to carry out the work in summer and autumn, when weather conditions are at their best. We were even spared from the local wind known as the "Guggiföhn", which can easily roar through the region at up to 200 km/h.
After Bauimpuls AG had prepared and sealed the flat roofs, we were able to start pressure blowing on an area of 10,000 m2. Our team consisted of three men and the Jumbo. This special vehicle was chosen because we had to pressure blow 3,000 m3 of Ricoter potting soil and 80 m3 of gravel within a short timeframe. We needed a 140 m hose for the Jumbo's trunk to give us unimpeded access to every corner. Because of its metering unit, the Jumbo needs more space than our other vehicles, but it also makes the work more efficient. The material is fed and blown continuously using belt conveyor technology. The substrate was delivered by Lüthi Transport on 34-tonne trucks. Once every two hours, the transporters set out from Aarberg for the Bernese Oberland, and they reached us on the site about two hours later after negotiating narrow mountain roads and 180-degree bends. People occasionally had to wait for a while, but nobody minded that in such splendid surroundings.
Once the pressure blowing was completed, we moved on to the second step of sowing the seeds for the wildflower meadow on the roofs. Future travellers on the Eiger Express will be able to admire the wonderful new flower meadow. For 18 days, we were at the heart of the construction work in progress on the site, together with many other participating construction companies. Precise time management and good collaboration were essential in order to overcome the logistical obstacles. Loyal partners and long-standing customers gave us support here. We wish to thank Bauimpuls AG for placing this "beautiful" contract with us, and we are grateful to all the participants for their excellent collaboration.