Skip to main content

Nevada high speed tunnel gets intelligent lighting control

Quebec-based tunnel lighting specialist Nyx Hemera has completed the installation of its tunnel lighting addressable control system (TLACS) in the Carlin Tunnel, Nevada, USA, claimed to be the first highway rated speed tunnel in North America to be fully lighted with LEDs. Located in north-eastern Nevada and crossing over the Humbolt River, the quarter-mile long Carlin tunnel runs through an approximately US$31 million refurbishment project and includes enhanced roadway drainage, new concrete near tunne
June 11, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Quebec-based tunnel lighting specialist 7797 Nyx Hemera Technologies has completed the installation of its tunnel lighting addressable control system (TLACS) in the Carlin Tunnel, Nevada, USA, claimed to be the first highway rated speed tunnel in North America to be fully lighted with LEDs.

Located in north-eastern Nevada and crossing over the Humbolt River, the quarter-mile long Carlin tunnel runs through an approximately US$31 million refurbishment project and includes enhanced roadway drainage, new concrete near tunnel entrances and new lighting system.

Designed with P.K. Electrical for the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), the new lighting system includes LED luminaires, which are specifically designed for tunnel applications, and the TLACS, a sophisticated lighting control system employing dynamic dimming that responds to ambient light levels on both the inside and outside of the tunnels.

The eastbound bore was completed in December 2013; the westbound bore will be finalised in November 2014.

According to Nyx Hemera president and chief executive officer, Pierre Longtin, when LED lighting is used in road tunnels, an adapted and robust intelligent control system is necessary to be able to get the most out of the benefits offered by LEDs. “The TLACS’ exceptional increases in energy savings, safety and equipment lifetime will allow NDOT to reduce their operational costs, by approximately half, during a 20-year lifecycle. This entails dramatic savings over other conventional systems,” he says.

Karen D. Purcell, principal at P.K. Electrical, said, “The TLACS plays a vital role amongst all the innovative solutions used in the design of the tunnel lighting system. The tunnel will use a lighting control system with the latest technologies that will not only enhance energy consumption and security but also improve operational management.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Elon Musk’s underground movement
    August 3, 2020
    The Boring Company is building tunnels under various US cities – but for what? Kristina Smith delves deep into a project which may (eventually) have real appeal for mass transit providers and transportation agencies
  • LED roadway sign light
    February 2, 2012
    Dialight's new StreetSense RS Series LED Roadway Sign Light combines precision optics and the latest in advanced, patent-pending, LED technology to meet the most demanding specification criteria for road sign lighting. Designed to easily replace outdated mercury vapour and metal halide fixtures, the company says the new series' ultra-low power consumption delivers 60-70 per cent energy cost savings over the typical 250+W fixtures commonly used for road sign lighting.
  • Vital Technology data comms network deployed at Dublin Port Tunnel
    July 13, 2012
    Vital Technology has supplied a data communications network system to Egis Road & Tunnel Operation Ireland (ERTO) for the Dublin Port Tunnel which opened to traffic in 2007 and is the longest urban tunnel in Europe as well as the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in Ireland. While core components are proving durable, communication systems became subject to early obsolescence and were causing networking problems and unscheduled closures which prompted the upgrade.
  • Dynamic Message Signs : Don’t replace, refurbish and upgrade
    August 12, 2015
    Refurbishing old dynamic message signs can save money and increase technical capabilities as David Crawford discovers. Evidence is growing on both sides of the Atlantic of the scope for retrofitting old or technically out-of-date dynamic message signs (DMS) with new electronic equipment, to save on the costs of installing full-scale replacements. In the last four months of 2014, a number of US states progressed programmes that achieved savings of more than US$1.75 million (€1.56million).