TECNALIA contributes to greater safety in the Avanzada tunnel in Bizkaia

This section of the BI-637 has an average daily traffic volume of around 100,000 vehicles

TECNALIA heads the Bizkaia Tunnel Inspection Body (OITB), responsible for tunnel safety in Bizkaia

The TECNALIA research and technological development center, as a member of the Bizkaia Tunnel Safety Inspection Agency (OITB), has participated in the review of the safety requirements for the Avanzada tunnel in Leioa, Bizkaia.

The Provincial Council of Bizkaia, responsible for the provincial road network, promotes and coordinates the necessary actions to ensure compliance with the Provincial Decree on Tunnel Safety (DF135/2006) and its Technical Instructions, ensuring that the infrastructure meets the highest standards of safety and comfort for users. The Provincial Council of Bizkaia has entrusted the OITB, which TECNALIA has led for more than a decade, with reviewing this regulatory compliance.

Thus, after two and a half years of construction work, the Avanzada tunnel now complies with the Provincial Decree on Tunnel Safety in Bizkaia, incorporating improvements that increase safety, reduce noise impact, and promote urban integration. This section of the BI-637, with an average daily traffic volume of around 100,000 vehicles, is key to the connection between the right bank and the Rontegi bridge and the Txorierri corridor, which has posed a challenge in terms of carrying out the work without affecting traffic, including actions such as: improved lighting, ventilation, and emergency systems; evacuation galleries; updated signage; and sound-absorbing screens to reduce noise.

Likewise, the OITB led by TECNALIA has participated in the procedures for the commissioning of the tunnel, including staff training and a full-scale drill with intervention teams and emergency services such as firefighters, Osakidetza, local police, and Ertzaintza.

With this action, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia has brought the tunnel into line with the Provincial Decree on Tunnel Safety in Bizkaia, improving tunnel safety and urban integration and reducing the acoustic impact generated by traffic in the area. This has had a positive effect on users in terms of both safety and quality of life.