More and more tunnels are built to cross natural barriers or urban areas.Existing tunnels receive increasing traffic and a number of them need refurbishment. In all cases, effective equipment as well as efficient and safe operation is needed. For fifty years since its creation in 1957, the PIARC Technical Committee 3.3 on Road Tunnels Operation has been studying thevarious aspects of road tunnels geometry, equipment, operation, environmental impact and safety. This session on Road Tunnel Operations will present recent progress in technical equipment, including incident detection using video image processing and fixed fire fighting systems. While PIARC hasalways been reluctant regarding the use of traditional sprinkler/deluge systems before tunnel users have evacuated, water mist systems bring new possibilities: their use will be discussed on a case-by-case approach since it is not believed they bring additional or cost-effective safety in all cases. A rather new area is related to the behaviour of tunnels users as well as operators and emergency teams. The session will draw lessons from studies of normal and emergency situations. It will discuss how better take into account and if possible improve user's behaviour through tunnel design and operation. Due to very high traffic, urban tunnels raise specific questions which will be addressed taking into account the points of view of the operator as well as the users and local community. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.
Abstract