Resilience and Emergency Management of Road Tunnels: The Case Study of the San Rocco and Stonio Tunnels in Italy

Borghetti, Fabio; Frassoldati, Alessio; Derudi, Marco; LAI, IGINO; Trinchini, C.

doi:10.2495/safe210071

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The event resolution time, i.e., the total period of time in which the tunnel is closed to traffic (capacity = 0), is important for estimating the impact of the event on the transportation network (e.g., alternate routes, heavy vehicle storage, etc.) [54]. With reference to the data in Table 6, it is worth noting that the average event resolution time is approximately 97 min.…”

Section: Analysis Of the Interventions Carried Out By The Emergency T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Road Tunnels Operation: Effectiveness of Emergency Teams as a Risk Mitigation Measure

et al. 2022

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Managing a major event in a road tunnel requires more resources than an open-air event. In the case of fire, the confined environment of road tunnels can represent a critical situation for both users and rescuers. The safety level of a tunnel can be estimated by using dedicated risk models that consider, on the one hand, the traffic (type, quantity and distribution) of a tunnel and, on the other hand, the structural and plant safety measures. According to the European Directive, road tunnel managers can adopt additional safety measures aimed at increasing the level of safety for users exposed to the consequences of an accidental event. One of these measures is the rapid intervention of emergency teams located in the proximity of the tunnel. These teams use pick-up and scooter vehicles properly equipped to cope with a fire event and have detailed knowledge of the specific tunnel system. A further advantage of the emergency teams is the possibility of supporting the evacuation of tunnel users by providing indications on emergency exits, bypasses and safe places considering the evolution of the specific event. In this perspective, the present research contributes to the evaluation of the emergency teams’ effectiveness. Thus, the emergency team was included as a safety measure within a risk analysis model for road tunnels developed by the authors in previous works. After an analysis of the technical and scientific literature, we focused on 15 interventions carried out on some highway tunnels in Italy between the year 2019 and the year 2021. The intervention times of the teams were analyzed using data provided by Strada dei Parchi S.p.A., a company that manages 14 highway tunnels in Italy. These 14 tunnels range in length from 589 m to 10,121 m and are subject to the European Directive. The observed intervention times of the emergency teams range between 2 min and 10 min with an average value of 5.9 min. Such a short intervention time is possible because emergency teams are in the proximity of the different tunnels. Because of the short intervention time and the training of the personnel, all the fires were properly managed by the teams. Furthermore, considering the results of the scientific literature and the data presented in this work, it was possible to estimate and validate an effectiveness value (higher than 90%) of the emergency teams to be used within the risk analysis model developed by the authors and which can also be used in other risk analysis models.

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Section: Analysis Of the Interventions Carried Out By The Emergency T...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Road Tunnels Operation: Effectiveness of Emergency Teams as a Risk Mitigation Measure

et al. 2022

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“…Khetwal et al [21] set up a stochastic simulation model to evaluate tunnel resilience, while Zhao [22] developed a genetic algorithm for optimizing a road network. PIARC [23] presented the current state of knowledge of road tunnel resilience, whereas Borghetti et al [24] investigated the resilience and emergency management of road tunnels. Finally, Caliendo et al [25] set up a traffic simulation model for evaluating the resilience of a twin-tube motorway tunnel in the case of a traffic accident in a tube.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it is worth highlighting that, among the studies referred to, only a few have focused specifically on the resilience of road tunnels, such as Liao et al [12], Khetwal et al [21], PIARC [23], Borghetti et al [24], and Caliendo et al [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Simultaneous Analysis of the User Safety and Resilience of a Twin-Tube Road Tunnel

2022

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This study complements our previous work with a simultaneous analysis of user safety and road tunnel resilience. We developed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and simulated the corresponding egress process to evaluate the risk level of users exposed to different types of fire, such those which might occur on the undisrupted lane of a partially closed tube tunnel due to a traffic accident, or in the adjacent tube when used for two-way traffic in the case of the complete closure of the tube involved in the accident. The CFD results showed that: (i) better environmental conditions were found with the partial closure of the tube rather than the complete one; (ii) additional benefits can be achieved by activating variable message signs (VMSs) that suggest an alternative itinerary for heavy good vehicles (HGVs) only; (iii) safety issues for human health may arise only in the case of a 100 MW fire, occurring during the complete closure of the tube and the use of the parallel one for two-way traffic. The findings of the CFD simulations were subsequently used to perform a quantitative risk analysis (QRA) based on a probabilistic approach. The findings of the QRA were found to be consistent with those obtained by the tunnel resilience analysis. In particular, the lowest risk level for user safety was found with the partial closure of the tube instead of the complete one, and by activating the VMSs to redirect HGVs only towards an alternative itinerary. This finding was found to correspond to a higher resilience index of the tunnel (i.e., a lower resilience loss due to a traffic accident occurring in a tube). This study increases our knowledge on certain relevant aspects of the operating conditions of tunnels and can serve as a possible reference for tunnel management agencies (TMAs) in their choice of the most appropriate arrangement to recover the functionality of a tunnel taking into account both user safety and resilience at the same time.

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A Resilience Analysis of a Motorway Tunnel Affected by a Traffic Accident Using the Average Vehicles’ Speed as a Metric

Caliendo,

Russo,

Genovese

2023

Int J Civ Eng

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Given the role of road tunnels in a road network, it is relevant to quantitatively assess their resilience due to disruptive events. In this respect, the travel speed of traffic flow, as a metric of resilience, in the event of traffic accidents in road tunnels has been scarcely used. This represents a gap of knowledge that this paper intends to fill. For the purpose, the research method applied involves the development of a traffic macro-simulation model, and the analysis of results using the average travel speed and its spatial profile as a resilience metric. Particularly, we have evaluated the resilience of a twin-tube motorway tunnel when a traffic accident occurs in a tube. The findings showed how the best functionality level of the system, expressed in terms of average vehicles’ speed, with its related greatest resilience index, is associated with the partial closure of the disrupted tube rather than the complete one. Further benefits might be obtained by activating Variable Message Signs (VMSs) that alert only the Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) to exit the motorway before entering the tunnel and to use an alternative itinerary identified in the nearby transportation network. In this respect, we found that by means of the activation of VMSs as a traffic control strategy, the resilience index increased by about 7–17% when the traffic accident caused the partial closure of the disrupted tube for 1–3 h. Improvements might also be achieved by rapidly opening the two traffic by-passes at the tunnel portals that allow for the use of the adjacent undisrupted tube for two-way traffic. The unavailability of an alternative itinerary in the nearby transportation network along which to re-route the HGVs is also examined, finding a reduction in the functionality conditions of the system. The results obtained might serve as a support tool in the choice of functional recovery strategies in the case of the temporary partial or complete block of a tunnel tube due to a traffic accident.

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Resilience and Emergency Management of Road Tunnels: The Case Study of the San Rocco and Stonio Tunnels in Italy

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Road Tunnels Operation: Effectiveness of Emergency Teams as a Risk Mitigation Measure

Road Tunnels Operation: Effectiveness of Emergency Teams as a Risk Mitigation Measure

A Simultaneous Analysis of the User Safety and Resilience of a Twin-Tube Road Tunnel

A Resilience Analysis of a Motorway Tunnel Affected by a Traffic Accident Using the Average Vehicles’ Speed as a Metric

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