# Directional signage in tunnels



## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

There are enormous differences between (and even within) countries in the way they place directional signage (i.e. signs with destinations, road numbers, arrows) WITHIN tunnels. In some tunnels this is combined with roadnumbers and/or (abbriviations of) citynames markings on the pavement.

For my own country (NL) I know there are no guidelines for directional signage in tunnels, that's why there are a lot of differences between the tunnels that have this feature. If you know online PDFs for international guidelines on directional signage in tunnels, you're welcome. 

If you have pictures of directional signage (or GM-links) in tunnels all over the world, please post them here. It doesn't matter if these tunnels are part of a motorway/freeway/autobahn or not, just mention the name of the tunnel and the road number or municipality.

In the Netherlands some of the directional signs in tunnels are just retroreflective, not internally lit. Which has a davastating result on legibility...

Ketheltunnel, A4:
http://www.wegnummers.nl/nba/2019/DSC05363a4zkethel.jpg
https://www.google.nl/maps/@51.9412...iwx0ozHL5G-kyjYwOw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1

http://www.wegnummers.nl/nba/2018e/DSC08978a4zkethel.jpg
https://www.google.nl/maps/@51.9368...8jNItJp6KZ3JNAiFkg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1

http://www.wegnummers.nl/nba/2018e/DSC08978a4zkethel.jpg
https://www.google.nl/maps/@51.9332...q8YmXXV9kSt8d0fHhA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1

http://www.wegnummers.nl/nba/2019/DSC05366a4zkethel.jpg
https://www.google.nl/maps/@51.9303...6Mv5KTIqs2gericY9g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1

(for some reason putting the jpg's between


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## MattiG (Feb 11, 2011)

aswnl said:


> If you have pictures of directional signage (or GM-links) in tunnels all over the world, please post them here. It doesn't matter if these tunnels are part of a motorway/freeway/autobahn or not, just mention the name of the tunnel and the road number or municipality.


There are not many such long tunnels in Finland, which need directional signage inside. In all of those, the signage is similar (standard overhead signs). If there is a junction right after a short tunnel, the signage is usually positioned in front of the tunnel.











_Tampere city tunnel (road 12)_

https://goo.gl/maps/qvEPSo8jkAoAWTV1A
_Tervakorpi tunnel, Lohja (road 1/E18)_



> In the Netherlands some of the directional signs in tunnels are just retroreflective, not internally lit. Which has a davastating result on legibility...


I tend to disagree. The retroreflective surfaces of the traffic signs are amazingly good, and the signs are well visible in the dark, too. (Sometimes even too good: The car automatic lights might interpret traffic signs to be an oncoming vehicle, and switch to the dipped beam.) Finland gave up the road sign lighting 15-20 years ago.


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## PovilD (Dec 26, 2011)

Interesting topic. I think, most of directional signs in European tunnels are in mountainous regions. Mostly in The Alps region, Norway and Faroe Islands.


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## x-type (Aug 19, 2005)

PovilD said:


> Interesting topic. I think, most of directional signs in European tunnels are in mountainous regions. Mostly in The Alps region, Norway and Faroe Islands.


I wouldn't bet on it. I'd say that most of directional signs inside the tunnels one could find in urban tunnels or cut'n'covers.

In Croatia they are rare. Existing ones are lit separately, just as all directional portal signs at open motorways.


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## Penn's Woods (Apr 8, 2010)

I passed through the Fort McHenry Tunnel (on I-95 in Baltimore) just yesterday (and the other direction a couple of days earlier); I don’t think there’s much signage at all in it. Certainly no directional signs. Also it’s brightly lit, so things like speed-limit signs are visible even without special lighting for them. The tunnels pictured in this thread look relatively dark. (The walls and ceiling in the Fort McHenry are light-colored).

Other than that, I don’t have much occasion to use tunnels....


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## Highway89 (Feb 19, 2015)

M-30 in Madrid, Spain



























Abbreviations:
c/ = calle (street)
Pº = paseo (promenade)
gta. = glorieta (circus)
pza. = plaza (square)
est. = estación (station)


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## Highway89 (Feb 19, 2015)

Other signs from Spain.












https://www.google.es/maps/@41.3571...4!1sRojZuokTYty-s_oIViBxAA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656









https://www.google.es/maps/@41.6702...4!1snxtPeY1-j-xa-bFHnQUSaQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Non-urban tunnels:








https://www.google.es/maps/@43.4870...4!1suUNkIm8w9nyLMOJaKHRwUA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656









https://www.google.com/maps/@43.357...4!1ssWfXoRxKQlJGUKfkWJb95g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656









https://www.google.es/maps/@42.7472...4!1sC_zUSR4WKKivq0WOBhUFXQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

Thanks for the locations so far !


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

MattiG said:


> I tend to disagree. The retroreflective surfaces of the traffic signs are amazingly good, and the signs are well visible in the dark, too. (Sometimes even too good: The car automatic lights might interpret traffic signs to be an oncoming vehicle, and switch to the dipped beam.) Finland gave up the road sign lighting 15-20 years ago.


In NL external lighting of signs has been abandoned since 1990. However in tunnels the capital height of the font is so small that you can't read the destinations while the sign reflects the headlights (170mm or 200mm instead of the usual 360mm). When you get close enough to read the destinations, your headlights don't hit the sign anymore so there's no retroreflection. That's the main problem.


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## MattiG (Feb 11, 2011)

aswnl said:


> In NL external lighting of signs has been abandoned since 1990. However in tunnels the capital height of the font is so small that you can't read the destinations while the sign reflects the headlights (170mm or 200mm instead of the usual 360mm). When you get close enough to read the destinations, your headlights don't hit the sign anymore so there's no retroreflection. That's the main problem.


Sounds interesting. The text sizes in Finland are 300 mm (default) and 200 mm. The texts are all-uppercase, which might have an impact.


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E (Oct 26, 2007)

Signage in tunnels is mentioned in the tunnel manual N500 of the Norwegian road authority, subsections 5.1 and 5.2.2: and the signage manual N300 (https://www.vegvesen.no/***/publikasjoner/handboker, in Norwegian only). In general, the same directional signs should be used as everywhere else. There are some adjustments regarding placement, however. Overhead signs are common, but ventilation / clearance need to be taken into consideration, of course.

Directional signage inside tunnels is common in Norway. All major Norwegian cities have tunnel systems with junctions (including grade separation / slip roads) inside or just after the tunnels, and there are also plenty of examples outside the cities, although at least junctions inside tunnels now are discouraged (ref. N500, Section 3.7). There are also regulations regarding the distance between tunnel openings and junctions and signage. 

Some examples of many around the country of varying image quality:










Oslo (Ring 3 / Rv 150 I believe)








Trondheim, Rv 706








Oslo again (in Norway, orange is used for temporary signage). Formally, this is for some strange reason part of E6. 








Kristiansand, Fv 456








Oslo third time, E18, traffic police in action ;-)








Tromsø, E8, all roads going to Sentrum (= city center)








Fv 572 / Rv 13 junction (close to the Hardanger bridge)


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## aswnl (Jun 6, 2004)

MattiG said:


> The texts are all-uppercase, which might have an impact.


The legability of capitals-only ("all uppercase") is worse than lowercase, because recognisition of destinations can be obtained a lot easier with lower case fonts. When I look at the picture of the tunnel in FIN you showed, I see signs not very different from anywhere else outside tunnels with quite a big capital height. That is possible in a round-profile tunnel, but not in a cut-and-cover or caisson based tunnel with a very limited headway, like tunnels in NL.


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## MattiG (Feb 11, 2011)

54°26′S 3°24′E;165476538 said:


> All major Norwegian cities have tunnel systems with junctions (including grade separation / slip roads) inside or just after the tunnels, and there are also plenty of examples outside the cities, although at least junctions inside tunnels now are discouraged (ref. N500, Section 3.7).


A pretty explicit statement, indeed: "Kryss skal ikke anlegges i tunnel." Any idea on how hard it is to obtain an exception to this basic policy? (I was reading plans on the Sotrasambandet earlier today, and one of the junctions seems to be in a tunnel.)


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E (Oct 26, 2007)

^^ As you indicate, the Vegvesenet / Vegdirektoratet (road authorities) may approve exceptions from these specifications. For N500, exceptions from "Shall" specifications can only be approved by the Vegdirektoratet, i.e. the national road directorate. https://www.vegvesen.no/***/publikasjoner/handboker/om-handbokene/vegnormalene/fravik
Hence, decision to build a junction in a tunnel can no longer be made locally.

Generally, tunnels are as least as safe as other roads, and I assume that the probability of accidents in a junction inside a tunnel is similar or lower than other places. After all, the environment is stable and controlled, and generally there are no pedestrians or cyclists in tunnels. Hence, this measure is mainly due to a potential consequence of small probability from a tunnel crash: tunnel fires. But, assumed increase in risk with tunnel junctions must in some cases be weighed against the cost of not having one. 

One rather extreme example I am aware of is in E39 Rotsethorntunnnelen in Volda, where there is junction to a side tunnel leading to a small village at the fjord. The tunnel was built because the existing road around the mountaint was subject to frequent rock fall and hence dangerous. The alternative to having the side tunnel was basically to ask the people out there to move.
https://goo.gl/maps/XssyPd4o2sPKqFAS6

Even though I am aware of another project with tunnel ramps that was just approved (E18 Porsgrunn: https://www.bygg.no/article/1417723), exceptions are not always approved. E.g., in Trondheim, the local road office, pressured by the politicians, filed for three exceptions in 2017 on the projected Byåsentunnelen:

Underground roundabout
Single tube even if estimated traffic levels prescribe two tubes
Inclination steeper than 5 %

Of these, only item 3 was partly approved (5.5 %, short section with 6%). By avoiding the underground roundabout, many users will have to drive a bit longer, but in the end the benefit does not justify the increased risk. And, the dual tube alternative was actually only slightly more expensive than single tube, so in that case, the slightly higher investment cost is well worth the decrease in risk. Steeper tunnels means a slight increase of fire probability, but a 5 % inclination would mean a much longer and more expensive tunnel.









E18 Porsgrunn








Byåsentunnelen in Trondheim, as it was planned 10 years ago.


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## Highway89 (Feb 19, 2015)

A couple more from Spain. I think these are the newest and also the most similar to the signs outside tunnels.

AP-8 southern bypass of Bilbao, AKA Supersur



















https://www.google.es/maps/@43.2485...4!1sJgnqYOUprEXuq4MhyjU1sw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656


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## 54°26′S 3°24′E (Oct 26, 2007)

To make the selection from Norway more representative, I have also added two more pictures

A motorway example, where an exit ramp starts just before the tunnel exit. I wonder whether this would have been allowed today?
A simple (but submarine) T-intersection

Even though junctions in tunnels now are discouraged in Norway, there are according the public road data base already 65 tunnel ramps, 15 tunnel roundabouts, and 19 secondary tunnel tubes, some of which come from the tunnel roundabouts, but some also from other types of tunnel junctions, e.g. T-intersections. In total there are now 1218 Norwegian public road tunnels (some with parallel tubes), with a total tube length of 1 465 km, but there are also some private ones not included in the database.









Close to the southern exit of E6 Norbytunnelen motorway tunnel with exit ramp to Drøbak /RV23.








Overview of t-intersection between Fv 519 Finnøy tunnel and close-up of directional signs on the wall to the right in the first picture as seen from the Talgje side tunnel


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