Cleaning ensures safe tunnels
Norway is one of the countries in the world with the most tunnels, and to maintain safety along the roadmap, tunnel cleaning is an integral part of road maintenance. This applies to the entire country, but especially in the western region, where there are extra many tunnels. Cleaning is crucial to tunnel safety.

Pollution reduces safety
Sand, dust and exhaust gather in the tunnel and create pollution – which can be damaging both to health, environment and safety. Particulate matter is a great challenge both on roads and in tunnels. Pollution particles floating around in the tunnel will also affect the lighting quality, which again leads to poor visibility in the tunnel.

Frequent cleaning and maintenance of tunnels are therefore crucial to safety.

Increasing the tunnel’s life span
Most tunnels are frequently cleaned, both because it increases security, but also because it extends the tunnel’s life span.

We use vehicles equipped with specially designed flushing beams. They have a good range and can flush in all directions, both tunnel walls and ceilings.

The purpose of tunnel cleaning is to reduce floating dust and maintain good vision, as well as increase the life span of the tunnel. In other words, traffic safety, accessibility and the life span of equipment placed inside tunnels.

Tunnel cleaning contributes to a positive experience for motorists by ensuring an aesthetically pleasing and safe tunnel, and a pleasant working environment for those who perform work in the tunnel. By washing frequently, we contribute to a low concentration of dust in the tunnel air, which again means increased life span for installations and low operating costs, achieved by removing unwanted or foreign objects, materials or coating.

Environmentally friendly cleaning
Normally, only water is used for flushing tunnels. Norva24 strives to avoid chemicals because of the environment. That is why we use high pressure during tunnel cleaning.

The choice of cleaning method is crucial to how much pollution can be produced in a tunnel. Using detergents may increase the cleaning effect, but the soap in the detergent also contributes to the polluting effect of the cleaning water. That is why we have abandoned detergents.

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has performed cleaning experiments to document the effect of cleaning measures using different methods and equipment. The goal was to improve equipment and methods for cleaning of the road surface and tunnel vaults. Different types of equipment available for tunnel and road cleaning were examined, and differences in efficiency was documented through the use of different methods (purity, lightness, texture, remaining moisture and environmental parameters).

The experiences from tunnel cleaning show that less focus should be placed on dust stuck in the asphalt texture, and that it should rather be placed on the cleaning of loose dust in roadways, banquets and emergency stopping lanes. There should be an even higher frequency when it comes to sweeping of the roadway, banquets and emergency stopping lanes, and fewer partial or full tunnel cleanings.

Norva24 has good routines and equipment for tunnel cleaning.

Crag cleaning
In connection with tunnel cleaning, we also deliver cleaning of crags in connection with the tunnel area. We use a lift to get close to the crags, and to be able to easily remove pebbles that might otherwise fall onto the roadway.

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