In Jerusalem, Israel, the Yunex Traffic tunnel management system has been installed for the new Route 16, recently opened to traffic. A large part of the highway runs through tunnels that are operated in an automated, digital and safe way thanks to software from Yunex Traffic. The new road opens another gateway to Jerusalem and connects Highway 1 with the western and southern neighbourhoods of the city. The road is about 6km long and consists of four tunnels, seven bridges and three interchanges. Most of the road will run in tunnels, which will be safely and efficiently controlled thanks to Yunex Traffic's tunnel management software.
Digital tunnel management ensures smooth operation and safe travel. The digital tunnel management system used in the Route 16 tunnels includes all central software systems and components of the central monitoring, control and guidance systems, as well as all interfaces between the system and the central equipment and external and internal systems. Since all sub-systems in the tunnel are controlled via the digital tunnel management system, the software enables short-term reactions to interruptions and thus ensures safe travel in the tunnel.
Tests were conducted with a digital twin that allowed the opening of the tunnel ahead of schedule. A digital twin of the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system was built to reduce the amount of testing required onsite and shorten the time it took to open the road to traffic. Almost all traffic scenarios could be tested in advance with external consultants and finally approved by the customer before the system was installed onsite. This saved a lot of time and resulted in the road being opened to traffic two months earlier than the original schedule.
Many of the dangers for traffic users and operators can be reduced either preventively through automated test procedures or situationally by enabling immediate reactions, explains Holger Erhardt, senior vice president for interurban and tolling at Yunex Traffic. “I am convinced, that to ensure safe travel in tunnels therefore there is no other choice but to use digital systems. And on the Route 16, you can see how it’s done.”
Indeed, visitors to this year's World Tunnel Congress 2022 in Munich, Germany last August, were also able to see how its’s done. Yunex focused on two solutions, its Varia and the digital twin.
Varia
Varia is an integrated traffic and plant management system that combines tunnel operation technology and highway control technology. It is a modular software which can be adapted to specific customer demands and requirements. Various subsystems can be integrated, monitored and controlled by the integrated traffic and plant management system to ensure reliability, availability, maintainability and safety of the infrastructure asset.
Automatic response plans and strategies are in place to immediately react to any detection result, traffic situation and incident, like a blocked lane, a stopped vehicle or even a fire in a tunnel. In this way, they also contribute to greater safety in tunnels and on highways - and protect people, structures and the environment.
The ease of operations is ensured by guided workflows for the operator and by the interoperability of all sub-systems, for example, various systems will automatically interact without any human intervention.
Digital twin
A digital twin is a virtual representation of real-world infrastructure, systems, and processes, where the representation is kept in-sync with the real world. It is the result of combining a building information system, with traffic and plant management system, traffic simulation and asset management. The digital twin can replace real systems in many process steps to increase efficiency or perform actions that would be very difficult in the real world. The benefits include a higher project quality, faster implementation, reduced project costs and optimised operation.
With live demonstrations and a VR booth on site, Yunex Traffic will bring these solutions to life at the World Tunnel Congress 2022. In addition, visitors to the booth will have the opportunity to gain insight into ongoing projects of Yunex Traffic.
The company’s digital solutions are in use or being implemented in tunnel projects and infrastructure around the world – Stockholm Bypass, the North-South Expressway in Singapore, the A7 tunnel chain in Hamburg and the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland.
