A shining example of tunnel safety

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15th February 2006 – Mersey Tunnels in collaboration with Amco Donelon and Mott Macdonald has completed a major refurbishment project of the Queensway tunnel in Liverpool.

The tunnel originally opened in 1934 by King George V carries four lanes of traffic for just over two miles between Liverpool and Birkenhead. 

Fire safety has always been a major concern for Mersey Tunnels and they wanted to ensure all fire safety signage was manufactured to the highest quality and consistent in design to meet British Standards.

Mersey Tunnels also insisted on all signs being supplied in Jalite AAA Photoluminescent material to ensure that the signs would be illuminated at all times in any situation including loss of power.

Mersey Tunnels specified Jalite AAA material as it had been used previously and found to have luminance characteristics far superior than the industry norm.

Due to these requirements Mersey Tunnels specified Jalite AAA Rigid Photoluminescent Safety Signs which had been previously used and tested within the tunnel.  Jalite Photoluminescent signs absorb the light in the environment, and in total darkness emit this stored light, assisting evacuation and locating life saving equipment.

Solutions Fire Safety Ltd was chosen as the supplier of the signs as they are one of the leading distributors of Jalite AAA photoluminescent products. They worked in conjunction with Mersey Tunnels to design the bespoke safety signs within a demanding timescale.

Consideration had to be given to the size of the signs, viewing distances, and graphical symbols to be used. The signs also included wheelchair symbols to illustrate the newly constructed refuge areas within the tunnel complex.  All signs were designed to meet British Standards.

After all the signs were approved, Solutions Fire Safety worked with Amco Donelon the contractor commissioned by Mersey Tunnels due to their vast experience in the construction and refurbishment of tunnels.

Here again there were logistical difficulties, as the signs were required to be fitted on the days when the tunnel was closed to traffic.

To accelerate the fitting of the signs Solutions Fire Safety added an extra strong adhesive to the back of each sign to aid the siting of the sign before they were mechanically fixed to the tunnel wall.

Fire Exit signs were placed every 50 metres in the tunnel, showing the nearest means of escape or refuge areas. Other bespoke signs such as ‘Mind Your Head’, ‘Do not return to Vehicle’ and ‘SOS Firebox’ were also supplied.

Once supplied and fitted the safety signs will now show the most direct route of escape or refuge at any time of the day. Even if there is a total loss of power the photoluminescent signs will continue to deliver the safety measure extremely effectively. As long as they are cleaned on a regular basis there is no degradation in their effectiveness and they will continue to deliver the safety message for years to come.

For further information on the full range of Solutions Fire Safety services, please call 0845 601 2632 or e-mail info@solutionsfiresafety.co.uk.