Tunnel for road transport

Abstract

 Tunnel for road transport, comprising a tunnel pipe 1 which is circular in cross section and comprises an horizontal floor 2 having two traffic passages each having one or more separate carriageways. Both traffic passages are separated by a vertical separating wall 5, which divides the tunnel pipe in two separated traffic passages 1b and 1c, each having its own ventilation system. The vertical separating wall is provided with escape doors. At some distance above the horizontal floor a second horizontal floor 4 is arranged, comprising a number of carriageways for passenger cars, and the vertical separating wall is extending between said both floors.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a tunnel for road transport, comprising a tunnel pipe which is circular in cross section and comprises a number of separate traffic passages, as well as ventilation and service ducts, as is known from German Patent 21 27 156 A.

[0002] In this known tunnel, there are a number of separate traffic passages for motor vehicles which are positioned in pairs above one another. The horizontal separating wall between the traffic passages located above one another in this case runs through the centre point of the circular cross section, with the result that the traffic passages located above one another are of virtually the same height. Therefore, there is also no distinction drawn between different types of motor vehicles with regard to the use of the various traffic passages. Moreover, in this known tunnel there are no escape doors in the separating walls.

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide a tunnel of the type described in the introduction, in which the traffic capacity of the tunnel is increased considerably and, moreover, the safety of the tunnel is also improved.

[0004] According to the invention, these objectives are achieved by the fact that a first horizontal floor is arranged at a certain distance below the centre point of the tunnel pipe, and a second horizontal floor is arranged at a certain distance above this centre point, a vertical separating wall extending between the two horizontal floors, so that three traffic passages are formed, the height of the bottom two passages being such that they are suitable for lorries, and the height of the top traffic passage being lower, so that it is only suitable for passenger cars. Dividing up the tunnel in this way has the advantage that it is now possible to separate certain flows of traffic. For example, the freight traffic, which represents the highest risk of fire and accident, can now be completely separated from the passenger traffic, which improves road safety and traffic flow. Consequently, the traffic capacity can be increased considerably for the same diameter of tunnel pipe.

[0005] According to the invention, an elevated platform is arranged between the two carriageways on the first horizontal floor, the separating wall extending from this platform to the second horizontal floor, which separating wall includes escape doors at regular intervals. The elevated platform in combination with the escape doors forms an escape route for people who need to escape from one traffic passage to the adjacent traffic passage in the event of a disaster.

[0006] It should be noted that German Patent 199 25 932 has disclosed a tunnel in which the tunnel pipe is divided into two traffic passages by a vertical separating wall, with escape doors arranged in the said separating wall. The separating wall in this case has removable sections, so that in the event of an accident emergency services and equipment can gain access from one traffic passage to the location of the accident in the other traffic passage. However, in this case there is no elevated platform which provides a safe escape route for people.

[0007] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the separating wall comprises separate sections which run alternately along both side edges of the said platform, with a partition panel which includes the escape door, which comprises a fireproof, automatically closing door being arranged between adjacent ends of each section.

[0008] Other characteristics and further developments of the present invention are given in Claims 2-6.

[0009] The present invention is explained in more detail with reference to the appended drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross section through a preferred embodiment of the tunnel according to the invention, and

Figure 2 shows a section through part of the tunnel on line II-II in Figure 1.

[0010] The tunnel is substantially formed by a circular tunnel pipe 1 which includes a first, lower horizontal floor 2, which is provided in the central region with an elevated platform 3, with the result that this floor is divided into two carriageways, each comprising, for example, one lane and a hard shoulder. According to the invention, these carriageways are intended only for lorries.

[0011] A second horizontal floor 4, which together with the top section of the tunnel pipe encloses a traffic passage 1a, is arranged at a distance above the first horizontal floor 2. This second floor provides enough space for three lanes which, partly because of the limited height of this passage 1a, are intended only for passenger cars. The middle lane can in this case be used as an interchangeable lane.

[0012] A separating wall 5, which extends from the platform 3 to the second floor 4, is arranged between the two floors. This separating wall divides the space between the two floors into two traffic passages 1b and 1c, so that the two carriageways are completely separate from one another. Moreover, this separating wall is provided with escape doors 6 which, in the event of an accident, form an escape route for people and comprise fireproof and automatically closing doors.

[0013] In the embodiment illustrated, the separating wall 5 comprises various sections 5' and 5" (cf. Fig. 2) which run alternately along one side edge and the other side edge of the platform 3. As seen in the transverse direction of the tunnel pipe, the successive sections of the separating wall overlap one another slightly, with a partition panel 7, which is positioned at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the tunnel pipe, arranged in the region of each overlap between the sections, each partition panel including an escape door 6.

[0014] In the embodiment illustrated, the tunnel pipe of the bored tunnel has an internal diameter of approx. 14.5 m, and the first floor is arranged approximately 2.5 m below the centre axis of the tunnel pipe. With a width of the platform 3 of approximately 1.5 m, sufficient space remains for two carriageways which may each comprise a lane with a width of 3 m and a hard shoulder with a width of 2 m. The second floor lies approximately 2.5 m above the centre axis of the tunnel pipe. The vertical height between the two floors is therefore approximately 5 m, which is sufficiently high for lorries.

[0015] The second floor 4 is provided on both sides with a vertical wall 10, 11, which in each case, together with the floor and the wall of the tunnel pipe, delimit an approximately triangular space. This space is used to carry ventilation ducts and any utility lines. The remaining surface of the second floor 4 is approximately 10.5 m wide, sufficient for three lanes each with a width of approximately 3.5 m.

[0016] Each of the three traffic passages 1a, 1b, 1c of the tunnel has, in a manner known per se, its own ventilation air supply and outlet. Supply ducts 12 and 13 for ventilation air are arranged in the space beneath the floor 2. The hollow internal space of the raised platform 3 is divided, by a vertical partition, into two ducts 3a and 3b, which ducts are each in communication with a feed line 12 or 13, respectively, for ventilation air and also, via outlet grates (not shown), with the adjoining traffic passage 1b or 1c of the tunnel. The ventilation air is extracted at the top of each traffic passage via lines 14, 15 which are located in the spaces separated by the vertical walls 10 and 11. The same spaces also hold feed lines 16 and 17 for supplying ventilation air to the traffic passage 1a, while an extraction line 18 is arranged at the top of this traffic passage.

[0017] It will be clear to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted to the embodiment illustrated and discussed here, but rather a large number of variants are possible within the scope of the appended claims. However, it is essential to the invention for there to be a separation between lorries and passenger cars, with the carriageway for passenger cars being located at a higher level than the carriageway or carriageways for the lorries. This concept is linked to the principle which has already been proposed by the applicant of creating an additional carriageway for passenger cars above existing motorways, in order in this way to tackle the problem of traffic jams. The tunnel according to the invention could readily be used in a concept of this type. In other cases, suitable approach and exit slip roads would have to be arranged outside the tunnel.

[0018] If appropriate, a separating wall could also be arranged in the traffic passage 1a which is intended for passenger cars, dividing this space into two different halves.

[0019] An additional advantage of the construction according to the invention is that the tunnel pipe acquires a considerably greater inherent rigidity on account of the various partitions and floors.

Claims

1. Tunnel for road transport, comprising a tunnel pipe which is circular in cross section and comprises a number of separate traffic passages located next to and above one another, as well as ventilation and service ducts, characterized in that a first horizontal floor (2) is arranged at a certain distance below the centre point of the tunnel pipe, and a second horizontal floor (4) is arranged at a certain distance above this centre point, a vertical separating wall (5) extending between the two horizontal floors, so that three traffic passages (1a, 1b, 1c) are formed, the height of the bottom two passages (1b, 1c) being such that they are suitable for lorries, and the height of the top traffic passage (1a) being lower, so that it is only suitable for passenger cars.

2. Tunnel according to Claim 1, characterized in that an elevated platform (3) is arranged between the two carriageways on the first horizontal floor, the separating wall extending from this platform to the second horizontal floor, which separating wall includes escape doors at regular intervals.

3. Tunnel according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the separating wall comprises separate sections (5', 5") which run alternately along both side edges of the said platform, with a connecting panel (7) which includes an escape door (6) being arranged between adjacent ends of each section.

4. Tunnel according to Claim 3, characterized in that the adjacent sections of the separating wall overlap one another slightly, and the connecting panels are arranged in the region of the overlap and are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tunnel.

5. Tunnel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the hollow internal space of the platform is divided by a partition into two ducts (3a, 3b) which extend in the longitudinal direction of the tunnel and are used to supply ventilation air to the adjoining areas of the tunnel.

6. Tunnel according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the traffic passage (1a) for passenger cars is divided into two separate traffic passages by a vertical partition.

Drawing