Emergency exits maintenance on the M30 guarantees safety in a possible evacuation of people trapped by an accident, a fire or by the effects of the weather.
The tunnels on the M30 have an emergency exit every 200 metres. Emesa monitors the status of these exits. Regular inspections are carried out and the entire mechanism is continuously checked to ensure that it is working perfectly.
Among the maintenance tasks of the M30 emergency exits we explain the importance of the following:
The Department of Roads is responsible for cleaning the evacuation routes and conserving the drainage system. This work is essential to avoid water accumulating in any of the affected areas in case of flooding. This ensures that users can safely evacuate the tunnel. Similarly, the dirt that can accumulate is cleaned, as the obstacles can be dangerous for people.
The conservation of equipment and facilities such as pressurisation, gates and their opening systems and SOS posts is essential. In order to guarantee the total availability of evacuation routes if needed, a full revision of each mechanism is completed on a regular basis. We pay special attention to make sure SOS posts function correctly so that any user can ask for help when needed, checking the connections and their functionality. The continuous revision of the gears of the opening systems assures the unquestionable importance of this part of the maintenance tasks.
Checking the photo-luminescent signs of the evacuation route or PCI systems and communication with the Control Centre is also a vital task. These are the three pillars on which the success of any evacuation intervention is based. It is essential that drivers know where the evacuation route is and that the Control Centre can act quickly and efficiently.
These tasks are carried out by the facilities and incident departments.
An emergency exit should always be easy to find and clean. In this area of the tunnels, the work to be done is called routine maintenance operations, and usually have the following features:
In order to achieve the highest possible reliability, the work is divided into three main shifts. This means that any procedure can also be carried out at weekends. The service is active 24 hours a day to be able to solve any incident immediately.
The maintenance plan acts as an essential guide so that the work is better organised and to get the most out of each day. Its constant revision makes it possible to improve efficiency and to make emergency exits safe, reliable and functional.
Maintaining emergency exits on the M30 is a never-ending task. Given its importance, it is necessary to address it with the necessary dedication and specialisation. The main objective is to solve any incident or accident in the shortest possible time, thus avoiding problems on the road and ensuring the safety of users.
