Reconstruction of the regional road between Horjul and Vrhnika
An almost two-kilometer section of the regional road between Horjul Sports Park and the municipality of Vrhnika is located in the torrential watercourses zone and is often flooded during heavy rainfall.
With the reconstruction and expansion of the dilapidated carriageway, we raised the section of the road by 50 cm in the most endangered places, making the road perform as a function of a hydraulic barrier for flood waters. As opposed, the barrier prevents the migration of amphibians that thrive in the ecosystem of this area. Namely, nine species of amphibians have been recorded to spawn and migrate along the entire section.
To protect amphibians, we have planned several permanent prefabricated concrete measures:
Safety fences along both edges of the section to prevent animals from accessing it and direct them towards underpasses,
Canals with mesh gratings to prevent amphibians from accessing the road via connectors,
Twenty-four box-shaped underpasses for amphibians to ensure their passage through the barrier.
This pilot project represents a compromise between the natural and the built – unfortunately, protective measures mitigate only the negative impact of traffic with consideration of enabling amphibian populations to survive in the long term.
Additional reconstruction measures also consider cyclists to travel quicker and safer as the new two-way cycle path will be built between Ljubljana and the tourist-interesting Ljubljana Marsh.
