Within a few months this cladding had begun to crack and water entered the part of the tunnel reserved for traffic; although no structural problems were found the water staining on the cladding gave the impression of a poorly built tunnel. Saltash Home Saltash Heritage. Saltash People. Henry Goodman. Saltash Railways. Saltash Waterside. Saltash History. Training Ship Mount Edgcumbe.
South East Cornwall. Royal Albert Bridge. Saltash Home. The Tunnel In the long awaited proposals for the new trunk road from the Tamar Bridge to Trerulefoot, linking up with the new by-pass for Plymouth, running in a direct line through the city from Marsh Mills to the Tamar, were published by the Dept. The memorial stands next to the bridge office. Published 31 January Published 6 December Published 24 October Most tunnels are either single-lane or double-lane.
Its method of construction may at the time have been leading-edge technology, but we have leading-edge technology in the Royal Albert bridge, which is still standing. Although it is more than years old, it still takes thunderous great trains across it. It is looking perfectly okay and will hopefully go on for a long time to come. The Tamar bridge has its so-called Nippon clipons—additional lanes that were constructed in a very difficult environment.
They look right and seem to operate well. A tunnel would not seem to be in the same sort of league, yet for more than a decade we have suffered from its inferior construction, and we are now being asked to pay for something that should already have been done by and charged to the contractors. I congratulate the hon. Member for South-East Cornwall Mr. Breed on securing the debate and on the forceful way in which he made his points on behalf of his constituents.
I shall gloss over some of his earlier comments about Saltash being the gateway to England. Of course, it is a fine old settlement, as we know, but—if I may tease him gently—his constituents move over the river into Devonport, my constituency, to find employment, as well as to do their shopping.
He is right that Saltash is a fine town, and I am sure that he is very proud to represent it. I shall start with some historical information to explain what lies behind the works that are being undertaken in the tunnel. Such was the Government's concern following the European tunnel disasters that the Prime Minister required that all United Kingdom tunnels should be assessed to ensure that fire, or a similar serious accident, would not lead to such loss of life and disruption. There were clearly lessons to be learned from the disasters.
They included the need for modern and robust environmental control, television monitoring and smoke and firefighting methods. A review of fan and water control also took place. As the hon. Gentleman said, Saltash tunnel is a single-bore, three-lane tunnel situated on the A38 trunk road below Saltash in Cornwall.
It is approximately m long and includes a m bored tunnel section with an unreinforced concrete permanent lining. The Highways Agency is responsible for operating the A38 trunk road and the tunnel, maintaining them in good condition and carrying out any improvements.
It was opened to traffic in Its length exceeded m, and Saltash was clearly a tunnel to be taken seriously. It is the only single-bore tunnel on the trunk road network and it also operates a tidal flow traffic management system. That permits two lanes for the morning Plymouth-bound traffic—all the people who leave Cornwall and come into Devon—and one lane against that flow for the out-bound traffic.
That is switched after the morning peak flow for the rest of the day and during the night. The tidal flow system operates in tandem with the newly widened Tamar bridge, which Cornwall county council and Plymouth city council own and manage jointly. The electronics and signs create additional maintenance problems in the confines of the single bore. Modern, state-of-the-art monitoring equipment is included in the current works to replace the year-old, out-of-date systems that have become unreliable and expensive to maintain.
Gentleman said, seepage of water through the concrete lining has caused unsightly staining, emphasised the cracking and led to public concern about the structural adequacy of the tunnel. As the Minister knows, I use the tunnel regularly. Sometimes I have the misfortune to have to leave Cornwall and cross the border into his constituency in England. I hope that he will assure us that, although the tunnel will look much better cosmetically, there will be no further deterioration in the tunnel's structural integrity, which we will not be able to see because of the new lining.
That is critical. The hon. Gentleman has pre-empted my comments. The tunnel was constructed to last more than years and the structure is intact and in good condition. When the tunnel was designed, knowledge and technology was not as good as it is today. There was little experience of building such a tunnel.
At the time, it was leading edge technology. It was built to the specifications of the Department of Transport, and although it was known that it would crack, neither the designers nor the Department anticipated the number of cracks that appeared and the amount of water that poured through.
However, that is history. Gentleman made specific points about the designers not taking note of local experience. I cannot comment on that because it happened more than 20 years ago. If voices had been heard, perhaps the tunnel would have been designed differently. However, if it had been designed to be totally watertight, the cost could have been so enormous that it prohibited construction. The exercise, run in partnership with local authorities and health and emergency services, will take place at night to minimise disruption to traffic.
The scenario will involve a collision between several vehicles inside the tunnel, and will test the response of fire, police and ambulance teams, Cornwall County Council emergency planning team and the Highways Agency and Tamar Bridge authorities. It was also announced that the tunnel will be closed for regular routine maintenance overnights 6 and 7 October. Saltash tunnel is a single-bore, three-lane tunnel situated on the A38 trunk road below Saltash in Cornwall.
It is approximately m long and includes a m bored tunnel section with an unreinforced concrete permanent lining.
0コメント