Abstract
The 2007 crisis had a negative lasting effect in the Lombardy's construction industry, driving first tier suppliers to look up north to Canton Ticino, located in the Swizz Alp. In Switzerland, the crisis did not have the same effect as in Italy, in fact since 2010 the construction industry registered a steady growth. The Swizz Alps are key for cross-border for international freight movement between Italy and Switzerland, especially for Aggregates and Construction and Demolition Waste (A&C&DW). The Canton of Ticino's geomorphological characteristics of narrow roads and short distances between aggregate production in Italy, construction sites in Switzerland, and environmental recovery or recycling sites in Italy where the C&DW is deposited, constrain logisticians and transportation managers in both sides of the border to choose exclusively road transportation to fulfil their operational needs. This paper shows that crossborder A&C&DW trade, transport, customs-clearance, and their associated emissions contribute to externality costs worth 13% of the total A&C&DW direct value. It also evaluates a cross-border intermodal strategy to reduce the emissions and transport externalities.