Building ecological bridges in Turkey

ViaCon Turkey balances environment with business by building bridges to a more circular economy

A sustainable future depends on balancing the needs of wildlife and the environment with the demands of business. In Turkey, ViaCon actively provides construction and engineering solutions to balance these demands, one of which is the need for ecological bridges and overpasses to preserve animal life and reduce disruption caused by transport accidents and development.

The Challenge 

The construction of highways and railways, while critical to development and growth, adversely affects the natural habitats of animals, dividing routes between homes and feeding grounds. Animal-vehicle accidents create a challenge not just for animals who need to cross but also for road and rail vehicles and their drivers, for over-land transportation, for business productivity, and the overall supply chain.

Lives are at stake but cascading economic effects may also result. These effects range from vehicle, road and railway damage to delayed or cancelled transport for both passengers and cargo. Putting transport methods out of commission indefinitely and incurring replacement and repair costs is bad for business across the economy.

Stakeholders

Investor: Turkish State Railways Directorate

Designer: ViaCon Türkiye

Product: SuperCor SC-11HA

Contractor: Demyolray

ViaCon Turkey is at the forefront of sustainable civil-engineering. Projects contributing to a greener, more circular economy. 

The Solution 

ViaCon Turkey has tackled this challenge by building corrugated steel ecological bridges, enabling animals and vehicles to coexist with fewer accidents and with the fewest, if any, disruptions to existing services.

With its Ankara Eskisehir high-speed railway ecological overpass and Istanbul highway animal overpass projects, ViaCon Turkey is actively working with the government of Turkey to support both the sustainability of wildlife and transport continuity.

While ecological bridges and overpasses can be built with concrete, ViaCon is committed to building with greener materials and a reduced carbon footprint. ViaCon focuses on steel because:

• Steel production causes 25% less carbon emissions versus concrete and requires 68% less natural resource use.

• Steel is 100% recyclable, contributing to the circular economy.

• ViaCon’s construction process is shorter than other methods, leading to less energy and fossil fuel consumption.