The 45km Simplon Pass between Brig and Iselle is one of the most important transit routes through the Swiss Alps, and with 2,500 vehicles passing through its numerous tunnels, galleries and bridges each day along this stretch of the Swiss national highway, its 1970s construction was beginning to show its age. The 500m long Schallberg tunnel at the start of the pass, not far from Brig, was submitted to a complete renovation taking 2.5 years, including construction of new escape tunnel and a lowering of the road in some places to provide more clearance for trucks. The project also included upgrades to operational and safety equipment, ventilation, power supply and controls and installation of a new LED lighting system.
Using equipment from Swiss tunnel lighting specialist Rigamonti, powered by components from Tridonic, part of the Zumtobel Group based in Dornbirn, Austria, crews installed a total of 100 transition zone luminaires and 150 interior zone luminaires. Emergency and escape route lighting, indicators and exit signs were also built on Tridonic LED components.
The entrances to and exits from tunnels are high-risk areas for accidents because the lighting conditions change so abruptly. The risk can be reduced, however, with the right artificial lighting. The installation in Schallberg tunnel used low-profile Rigamonti luminaires with two LED modules each but for the last three fixtures in the transition zone, each of which had only one module, providing a gentle transition to the interior zone of the tunnel. Interior zone luminaires using five Tridonic LLE modules each provide comfortable, safe and energy efficient illumination.
The lighting uses dimmable (1%-100%) constant-current LED drivers that feature adjustable output currents along with integrated protection against overheating, short-circuits and overloads, all controlled by a versatile one4all interface.
The resulting installation is a high-performance lighting system that offers a high level of visual comfort and has a positive effect on the sense of safety among vehicle drivers, said a Tridonic press release.