Improving safety at Mersey Tunnel

Consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff will upgrade the fire fighting systems in the Mersey Tunnel in the UK. This move will improve the tunnel’s safety measures and bring it into line with stringent new requirements being introduced right across Europe. Under the terms of the deal international consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff has a contract to help Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority upgrade and modernise fire fighting systems in the Kingsway tunnels, which are two of the longest road tunnels in the UK. The
April 19, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Consultant 4983 Parsons Brinckerhoff will upgrade the fire fighting systems in the Mersey Tunnel in the UK. This move will improve the tunnel’s safety measures and bring it into line with stringent new requirements being introduced right across Europe. Under the terms of the deal international consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff has a contract to help Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority upgrade and modernise fire fighting systems in the Kingsway tunnels, which are two of the longest road tunnels in the UK. The twin bore tunnels run 2.25km between Liverpool and Wallasey under the River Mersey and were originally built in the 1970s. The fire fighting infrastructure is now in need of upgrade to meet European regulations, which were introduced following fatalities in serious tunnel fires in Austria and Switzerland. Parsons Brinckerhoff is evaluating the existing fire fighting facilities in the twin tunnels and will design new systems along with nearly 100 fire hydrant points along the routes. The company has assisted the client in its selection of a main contractor and will now provide management and inspection services throughout the contractor’s installation contract. The demanding programme has seen Parsons Brinckerhoff leading feasibility, detailed design and programme management in close coordination with the client and other stakeholders including the emergency services. Final design proposals cover the tunnels and approach highways and include an installation approach to minimise disruption. Maintaining the integrity of the fire fighting protection on this busy commuter route during the works is essential and passenger safety has been a major priority
Detection, Monitoring & Machine Vision

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cost benefit: Toronto retimings tame traffic trauma
    July 19, 2018
    Canada’s largest city reckons that it is saving its taxpayers’ money simply by altering the way traffic lights work. David Crawford reviews Toronto’s ambitious plans to ease congestion Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis (and the fourth largest in North America), has saved its residents CAN$53 (US$42.4) for every CAN$1 (US$0.80) spent over a 2012-2016 traffic signal retiming programme, according to figures released by its Transportation Services Division. The programme covered 1,275 signals (the city’s
    Read More
  • Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    July 26, 2012
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
    Read More
  • Will standardisation increase ITS interoperability?
    February 1, 2012
    Theoretical balance Kallistratos Dionelis, secretary general of ASECAP, comments on the European Commission's new ICT Standardisation Work Programme. I've just read a proposal from the European Commission on the 2010-2013 ICT Standardisation Work Programme. As ASECAP Secretary General this is one of my responsibilities. I work to receive information, to disseminate information and to build bridges and mutual understanding between policy-makers and the industrial world, between ASECAP and others.
    Read More
  • ITS asset management matters
    April 26, 2013
    Maintenance of on-road ITS kit needs to become more sophisticated; while new technologies can deliver better road maintenance. David Crawford investigates both sides of the issue "Good information is key to effective ITS asset maintenance,” says Ian Routledge of the Ian Routledge Consultancy (IRC), whose Imtrac (Information Management for TRAffic Control) system is poised for European expansion. Developed as an ‘intelligent filing cabinet’ for storing information about on-road equipment, the online database
    Read More

Highlighted Content