Simulated traffic accident in the Vallvidrera tunnels

13/10/2023 - 09:05 h

The simulation will be held early Wednesday morning inside the Valldoreix tunnel, in the Sant Cugat-direction lane. The tunnel will close to north-bound traffic at 1 am (just past the toll booth), with the other lane affected five minutes before the start, at around 1.55 am (exit 11, towards the roundabout in Carretera Sant Cugat- Rubí). It will re-open to traffic at 5 am.

The simulation taking place early Wednesday morning between 2 am and 4 am will be that of an emergency case, enacted as realistically as possible, which could occur in the specific area of a tunnel and its purpose is to assess the operational capacities and responses of all the emergency bodies involved and the coordination between them.

The simulation will involve several halted vehicles, with the Catalan government’s Fire Brigade and Barcelona City Council’s Fire Brigade collaborating to tackle the emergency scenario occurring inside the tunnel.

Barcelona’s Fire Brigade will be mobilising four vehicles:

  • 2 fire engines
  • 1 ambulance
  • 1 fire command vehicle

The simulation is being organised in collaboration with Barcelona’s Guàrdia Urbana [city police force], which will carry traffic-control and diversion operations so that the emergency teams can perform their victim-rescue and assistance operations; the Mossos d’Esquadra [Catalan regional police force]; the Medical Emergencies Service (SEM), and the contractor Túnels Barcelona-Cadí.

The Barcelona Fire Brigade’s accident-prevention work in the city’s tunnels is rounded off with constantly updated accident-prevention recommendations and periodic visits to facilities, and under an existing agreement to open barrier in the event of an emergency.