PEDALARIA: cycle path of Rome Fiumicino airport

Work supervision and safety coordination: 2024-2025

The “Pedalaria” cycle route was conceived as a strategic connecting infrastructure between the airport, the surrounding territory, and the sustainable mobility network, transforming a technical corridor into a continuous space dedicated to people, work, and landscape. The pedestrian and cycling path extends for approximately 3.5 km from Terminal T3 until it merges with the existing cycle network of the city of Fiumicino, creating a direct link between the railway station, airport offices, and operational areas, while also offering a slow-route itinerary that passes through a context of significant historical and archaeological value.

Within this framework, the Construction Management entrusted to ADR Ingegneria was tasked with translating strategic and functional requirements into a work consistent from a technical, environmental, and landscape perspective, guiding choices oriented toward durability and sustainability: use of recycled and highly permeable materials, chromatic continuity of surfaces, introduction of Mediterranean species and new tree plantings, as well as an integrated water management system and an informational narrative along the route. “Pedalaria” thus takes shape not only as a functional connection, but as a true slow-mobility corridor capable of linking infrastructure, environment, and the identity of the place.

A qualifying aspect of the intervention is represented by the integration of nature-based solutions for sustainable stormwater management. The raingardens were conceived as linear systems for collection, attenuation, and infiltration, shaped according to the site’s morphology and built with variable trapezoidal sections. Their stratigraphy—comprising a permeable bed, a micro-slotted drainage pipe wrapped in natural fiber, filtering layers and geotextiles, topsoil, and anti-erosion biomats—allows water to be retained, filtered, and gradually returned to the ground, reducing the load on the drainage network and mitigating the effects of intense rainfall events without interfering with the usability of the path. This system works in synergy with high-drainage pavements and collection channels that transform the infrastructure into a true environmental device, capable of combining hydraulic resilience with landscape quality.

ADR Ingegneria’s Construction Management also coordinated MEP choices aimed at maximum energy and operational sustainability: lighting is primarily provided by photovoltaic fixtures with low visual impact, equipped with sensors and regulated by a “virtual midnight” system to reduce light pollution, while ensuring safety in sensitive areas such as crossings. In specific sections, the recognizability of the route is enhanced by photoluminescent pavement treatments capable of storing solar energy during the day and releasing it at night.

The landscape and irrigation design completes this environmental strategy: the water supply makes use of existing infrastructure and targeted pumping systems, with drip distribution for trees and raingardens and sprinkler systems for grassed areas. The plant species, selected from those native to the Mediterranean area and compatible with the nearby nature reserve, require low water consumption and maintenance, while offering high capacity for absorbing particulate matter and CO₂ and providing a measurable contribution to microclimatic cooling. The landscape composition thus accompanies the route with an ecological narrative consistent with the historical context of the site, extending to the areas near the Porti di Claudio e Traiano, where the chromatic and botanical choices recall the historic relationship between land and water that shaped this landscape.