Royal VolkerWessels company Vialis has been granted permission by the environment agency, in accordance with the contract, for the opening of the Buitenveldert tunnel at Schiphol airport. As of 1 May the Buitenveldert tunnel complies with the Dutch Supplementary road tunnel safety regulations act (Warvw).
Priority given to aircraft and traffic above the tunnel
The tunnel consists of four tubes for vehicle traffic, public transport and bicycle traffic. One of the tunnel tubes is a combined tube for vehicle traffic and public transport, while C tube provides the possibility of switching the direction of travel. During the renovation a minimum of two tunnel tubes were kept open at all times to enable the flow of traffic. The connection is crucially important to the airport and its continued availability took priority over the realisation of the works during the renovation project.
A real renovation project
The Buitenveldert tunnel project started in early 2018 with Vialis being responsible for renovating and/or installing the energy supply, ventilation, control systems, lighting, cameras and a speed detection system. In addition the roofs of the tunnel were fitted with fire-resistant cladding, new barriers were paved in record time, the road furniture (entry barriers and traffic control systems) was installed along the adjacent roads, the connection was made to the eventual control site and the operating stations were equipped. Vialis also trained the tunnel operators.
Parallel software design
The SYS-DP methodology and Lean principles were applied during the project. The control and operating software was developed in parallel to the hardware, which meant that the Graphical User Interface (GUI) could be adapted to the users at an early stage. In addition a test lab was set up for the assembly and integral testing of all the subsystems prior to their installation in the tunnel.
Supplementary road tunnel safety regulations act
The Dutch Supplementary road tunnel safety regulations act (Warvw) applies to all new and existing road tunnels with a length of over 250 metres. For further information: overheid.nl.