Fire safety assessment and upgrading of existing traffic tunnels

Abstract

Many traffic tunnels in the European Union need records of their conservation and safety status, including fire performance. Besides other countries the German road transport authorities plan to enhance the safety of their tunnels. As an example, the results of investigations performed with a two-tube tunnel in Northern Germany, which has been examined to assess fire safety, is reported. It turned out, that the older tube, which got fire protection boards on the ceilings and the wall crowns, fully fits the demands according to the current rules. The later tube needs an upgrading to avoid catastrophic impairment of air and car traffic in the vicinity of the tunnels. For the retrofitting a number of protection materials are in the market. The execution of the measure requires smart planning as to reach the strived goal. © Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013.