Urban road tunnels - Recommendations to managers and operating bodies for design, management, operation and maintenance

Urban road tunnels are unique in terms of traffic characteristics (high volume, congestion during commuter periods, wide variety of vehicles, high percentage of buses, etc.), infrastructural design, difficulty of closing and urban environment. Recommendations are presented to managers and operating bodies not only for the operation of existing tunnels but also for the design, management, operation and maintenance of urban road tunnels. The recommendations for existing tunnels are aimed at traffic [...]

Road tunnels: an assessment of fixed fire fighting systems

The report reviews: the previous studies on this topic carried out by PIARC and the recent developments since the release of the PIARC report on this subject in 1999; the lessons drawn from the past fires and holistic approach to fixed fire fighting systems (FFFS); consideration of FFFS in the general framework of tunnel safety and study of their interaction with ventilation, requirements related to FFFS. In addition, the report contains many bibliographical references, a description [...]

Road tunnels: a guide to optimising the air quality impact upon the environment

Air quality has become a topic of concern in the planning, design and operation process of road tunnels. This is a state-of-the-art report on the knowledge and regulations in the field of road traffic impact on air quality. It also provides a detailed description of air quality optimization at tunnel portals, pollution dispersion from air tunnels, chimneys and openings. A diagnosis is made on the type and performance of the various measures and technologies to reduce the level of pollutant emissions [...]

Management of the operator - Emergency teams interface in road tunnels

The purpose of this report is to assist the owners, operators of tunnels and emergency services to coordinate their operations in order to improve the level of safety for users, staff members and emergency teams during serious tunnel fires and tunnel incidents. The first part presents the most relevant lessons learned from the more serious tunnel fires of the last decades. It explains the development of lorry fires and emphasizes the utmost importance of reducing the duration of all the precursor [...]

Risk analysis for road tunnels

Risk analysis is an important tool which can be used to help improve and optimise the safety of road tunnels. Risk analysis is now explicitly required by the European Directive 2004/54/EC, on minimum safety requirements for road tunnels in the Trans-European Road Network. The report summarises the worldwide application of risk analysis methodologies for road tunnels and provides details about the adopted methods, the concept of risk evaluation, the experience of practical application and the [...]