Floods 3D model to help stabilize the Maggia riverbed
A 3D model is to help redesign the riverbed of the Maggia near Visletto, which has become unstable as a result of the 2024 storm.
Image: Keystone
In June 2024, a storm tore away the Visletto bridge and severely shifted the riverbed in this section of the Maggia. (archive image)
Image: Keystone
A 3D model is to help redesign the riverbed of the Maggia near Visletto, which has become unstable as a result of the 2024 storm.
Image: Keystone
In June 2024, a storm tore away the Visletto bridge and severely shifted the riverbed in this section of the Maggia. (archive image)
Image: Keystone
A 3D model is to help stabilize the bed of the Maggia river near Visletto TI. According to information from the Ticino Office for Watercourses, the subsoil in this section has been extremely unstable since the devastating storm in June 2024.
16.01.2026, 00:02
16.01.2026, 00:03
SDA
A 3D model is to be used to define and optimize the redesign of the riverbed in the area of the new bridge near Visletto, explained Laurent Filippini, head of the Ticino Office for Watercourses, when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. A hydraulic engineering firm was commissioned by the Ticino government to create a physical model of the Maggia. This depicts the section from Cevio to the mouth of the Rovana on a scale of 1:40, as Filippini said.
The riverbed of the Maggia in this section has been "significantly relocated" since the flood of 2024 and the construction of the temporary bridge and currently has a highly irregular structure, Filippini continued.
The subsoil in the area of the Passerelle must therefore be stabilized in order to prevent the risk of the bridge foundations being undermined and to secure the upstream sections for future extreme weather events. All interventions in the riverbed should respect the ecological requirements of the floodplain landscape of national importance.
New bridge ready in November
Construction of the new bridge at Visletto began in July last year. According to the plan, it should be completed by November 2026. The structure will cost CHF 8.5 million and will replace the temporary Visletto Bridge built by the army in summer 2024.
The original bridge was destroyed by the raging Maggia during a devastating storm on the night of June 29-30, 2024. Several side valleys were then temporarily inaccessible by land. At least seven people lost their lives in the storm. One person is still missing.
