France is looking to spend an estimated $70.8M in 2002 to dramatically upgrade safety standards in its road tunnels. The move comes in the wake of a series of recent fatal Alpine tunnel fires that have forced European governments to address the current European road tunnel safety crisis.
In the southern Alps, a total of $18.8M will be spent from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional budget for the 2000-2006 period to construct a second 3.2km long tunnel under the Tende Pass between France and Italy. Both countries agreed to construct the second tunnel following the existing tunnel’s ‘unsuitable’ grading for heavy vehicles.
A programme has been set up to equip the 12.9km long Fréjus tunnel between France and Italy with escape exits every 400m with tests being organised to detect engine overheating at the entrance.
A European invitation to tender was published on 5th January, 2002 by the highway company Société des Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (SAPRR) for works worth $106.2M including a new parallel escape and ventilation service tunnel to the 6.9km long Maurice Lemaire tunnel in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in the Vosges. The tunnel has been closed to trucks since March 2000.
In central France, uni-directional traffic only on an alternating system has been decided for the 1.4km long Lioran tunnel with the transport of hazardous material forbidden in summer. The Auvergne region has programmed to spend $67.2M from its 2000-2006 budget to bore a second Lioran tube and to build a rescue centre.
Other accident-prone tunnels under the spotlight are the tunnel des Montets in Higher Savoy, the Croix-Rousse tunnel in Lyon, the La Défense tunnel west of Paris, and the Aragnouet-Bielsa tunnel in the central Pyrénées.
