Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Austroads has released an updated edition of Guide to Road Tunnels Part 2: Planning, Design and Commissioning.
The Guide to Road Tunnels Part 2 provides guidance to those making decisions in the planning, design, operation and maintenance of new road tunnels in Australia and New Zealand. Principles and standards identified are based on both Australasian and international experience.
Part 2 sets out the Austroads expectations regarding appropriate design for road tunnels. It discusses all aspects of planning, design and commissioning of road tunnels including structural and geotechnical requirements, fire and life safety, ventilation, lighting, traffic monitoring and control, plant monitoring and control, electrical power supply and the requirements for associated building structures.
The new edition of the Guide includes significantly expanded pavement design guidance in Section 5 and updated references to Austroads Guides throughout.
Tunnel pavements include:
- Surface roads – conventional granular with a thin wearing course, flexible and concrete pavements.
- Pavements within tunnels and designed as a conventional pavement.
- Pavements that are structural slabs or floors and designed like a bridge.
- The ramp leading into a tunnel, typically a ‘U” shaped structure where the walls and base are reinforced concrete and the pavement is the structural reinforced concrete floor with an asphalt wearing course.
It is expected that the Guide will be used by engineers and technical specialists in tunnel technology working on the planning, design and operation of road tunnels, proponents of road tunnel solutions, senior decision makers (in an overview role) and regulators in the various jurisdictions associated with the construction of tunnels.
The pavements update was authored by George Vorobieff.
The PDF version of the Guide is available to download for free and the updates have been incorporated into the online version of the Guide.
Guide link: Guide to Road Tunnels Part 2: Planning, Design and Commissioning
Webinar link: Updated Guidance for the Design of New Pavements for Road Tunnels