SAFETY ON THE CONSTRUCTION SITES

In the high mountains, working conditions were particularly difficult. Infiltration by water and dust made the air relatively hard to breathe. Companies soon began to pay attention to safety at high-level sites and organised the workers into teams.

The human factor

Huge efforts were made from the very beginning of work on Grande Dixence. Aware of the human dimension, Mr Eric Choisy, president of Grande Dixence S.A. at the time, said, “At high altitudes, technical problems are compounded by human problems to a greater degree than on the plains, and the success of a project can be envisaged only if the sophisticated tools which we now have are put in the hands of teams of conscientious workers who are spurred on by the magnitude of the undertaking on which they are cooperating”.

Despite all the precautions which were taken, fatal accidents did happen. The most serious of these occurred when the roof section of the Cheilon tunnel collapsed, and when, on 16 February 1961, an avalanche swept away three guides who were responsible for inspections.

Entrance to construction site, summer 1952	Fionnay-Nendaz Tunnel, blasting, 1958