Skip to main content

Communications systems key to tunnel safety

Paul Ducker Systems (PDS), a sub-contractor to Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, has appointed Team Simoco to provide communication systems for the new A3 Hindhead road tunnel and the refurbishment of the A1 Hatfield road tunnel. Specialising in supplying transportation infrastructure for tunnels and road networks, PDS also provides solutions to metro, rail and airport operators, and the Hindhead and Hatfield road tunnels, near London, are the latest contracts to be won by the company. PDS has selecte
May 15, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Hindhead road tunnel.
Paul Ducker Systems (PDS), a sub-contractor to 1146 Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, has appointed Team Simoco to provide communication systems for the new A3 Hindhead road tunnel and the refurbishment of the A1 Hatfield road tunnel.

Specialising in supplying transportation infrastructure for tunnels and road networks, PDS also provides solutions to metro, rail and airport operators, and the Hindhead and Hatfield road tunnels, near London, are the latest contracts to be won by the company.

PDS has selected Team Simoco to design and implement an extensive communication system for the tunnels, with each requiring GSM mobile, Airwave, fireground, DAB, voice-break in and a dedicated PMR radio system.
Chief executive of Team Simoco, Ian Carr, says: “Both the Hindhead and Hatfield road tunnels are designed to offer vehicles more convenient and quicker journeys, but due to the high volumes of traffic that travel along these routes, it is imperative that the communication systems in place offer reliable and uninterruptable access in case of accidents or fires.

“Team Simoco has extensive experience of confined space radio engineering, leaky feeder technology and the specific signal propagation challenges of combining multiple radio services in enclosed environments such as tunnels. This expertise enabled us to work with PDS to design the best operational solution for the Hindhead and Hatfield tunnels.”

Located in County Surrey, between London and Portsmouth, the Hindhead twin-bore road tunnel is designed to remove traffic congestion from the A3 and the local road network. Work began on the project in 2007 and the tunnel is scheduled to open to traffic in summer 2011. The Hatfield road tunnel in Hertfordshire is also due to be reopened to traffic in the summer of 2011.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK's M25 junction works planned
    May 25, 2022
    The UK government is planning two contracts on London’s orbital M25 motorway.
  • Managing urban motorway complexity in Sydney
    October 4, 2012
    Sydney’s Hills M2 motorway is being widened while still carrying traffic and meeting tough environmental criteria More than 100,000 vehicles and over 27,000 bus commuters use the Hills M2 motorway on a typical workday, making it one of Sydney’s busiest motorway corridors. Owned and managed by Hills Motorway Ltd (HML) and a key part of the city’s orbital motorway network, the road stretches over 21km, providing a seamless link between the Lane Cove Tunnel and Westlink M7. The Hills M2 Upgrade is one of many
  • New safer road workzone practices
    September 15, 2014
    In the UK, the construction business Connect Plus Services is implementing new practices that reduce the need for crossings of live carriageways. These practices are expected to save the lives of road construction workers. Connect Plus Services is the company that has the contract to maintain, operate and upgrade the M25 motorway around London over a 30-year period. The contract is carried out on behalf of the Highways Agency. The firm has developed a new method of managing traffic approaching road construc
  • High-tech, high places: 3M in US and MetService in New Zealand
    August 1, 2017
    The US state of Michigan sets up a high-tech test road while New Zealand’s transport officials buy in some high-tech weather forecasting. The road safety division of 3M will provide the US state of Michigan with lane markings and retroreflective signs for a connected vehicle technologies trial along the I-75 highway. Around 5km of the Interstate 75 work zone in Oakland County will be transformed over the next four months to improve safety for drivers and test advanced vehicle-to-infrastructure technologie