The Swiss transport network contains more than 70’000 km of roads, and 5’000 km of railways and . has the 5th most densest road network in the world. The majority of the population and the infrastructures are gathered on the Swiss Plateau and as a consequence, ecological corridors are highly disturbed in this region.
In the canton of Vaud, the Oulens-sous-Echallens and Eclépens area, acts as an ecological hub on the Swiss Plateau. This rural area includes natural elements with important ecological values such as the Venoge river and the chalky Mormont mountain (classified as a protected national landscape). Both the N1 highway, connecting east and west, and the railway crossing the country from north to south, run through those natural elements.
- Visit 1 : N1 highway’s wildlife overpass at Oulens-sous-Echallens. is an integral part of the national remediation plan for the wildlife corridors, and was built during highway’s maintenance works in 2011.
- Visit 2 : amphibian tunnel, built during the rehabilitation of the railway tunnels and access through the Mormont mountain.
- Visit 3 : Ecological compensation’s measure for deforestation linked to railway rehabilitation works, with the creation of a clearing to increase the forest’s biological diversity and the value of the woodland’s lanscape.
