Traffic Construction of Bachgraben feeder road near Basel to start in 2031

Construction of the Bachgraben feeder road between Basel and Allschwil BL and the Bachgraben streetcar is not due to start until 2031 at the earliest. This has been agreed between the two cities of Basel and the federal government. The projects are to be submitted to the agglomeration program in 2025, as stated in a joint press release on Friday.

This timeframe is necessary in order to carry out clarifications between the project partners and at a national level for the exchange of territory between Switzerland and France. The construction of the Bachgraben feeder road requires an exchange of a total of 23,000 square meters with the neighbouring country.

The planned border shift is considered the "most sustainable solution" by the Swiss and regional French project partners, according to the communiqué, which was also co-authored by authorities from Alsace.

Territory swap with France more complicated than expected

To this end, a common legal basis has been developed in recent months. This has shown that the process of shifting the border will be "more complex and time-consuming" than expected.

Initially, the already approved cycle route between Allschwil and the SBB railroad station will be completed in 2026. This will be followed by the Bachgraben-Allschwil feeder road, the Hésingue-Hégenheim bypass and the Bachgraben streetcar, according to the project partners. However, the co-financing of these sub-projects by the federal government is still open.

The entire package of measures will be resubmitted in the 5th generation Basel agglomeration program in June 2025. This means a new attempt after the feeder road suffered a setback in 2022 as it was not classified as urgent by the federal government.

The Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) has "responded positively" to the defined implementation path. The office has motivated the project partners to submit their proposals, it continues.