Traffic jams are a necessary evil when it comes to road maintenance, and despite the experts’ best efforts to come up with a solution to this logistical problem, motorists still have to deal with them whenever road work is required. However, Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office may have come up with an ingenious solution to revolutionize road paving. Earlier this year, it unveiled the Astra Bridge, an 843-foot-long mobile bridge that allows traffic to pass over sections of road while infrastructure is being repaired below. The mobile bridge is considered a success. Apart from preventing traffic jams and backlogs, the Astra Bridge also shields workers from the sun and rain and eliminates the need for them to work at night when road traffic is lighter. The Astra Bridge was only unveiled a few weeks ago, but countries like Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands have already expressed interest in it. Switzerland’s road authority is willing to share the technology. There is no patent registered for it and no plans to apply for one.
