Working on the future of mobility

Between 2000 and 2009, Yunex Traffic impressed with the construction of the high-speed railway line (HSL) between Schiphol Airport and Antwerp. In a public-private partnership, they were responsible for the design of the safety-critical installations and for 25 years of maintenance with an availability of no less than 98 percent. "That's where the foundation was laid for what we are now doing in the tunnel domain and now also at movable bridges, locks and flood defenses," says Peter van Duijvenbode, sales manager at Yunex Traffic, a company that also develops its own partial installations.

According to Van Duijvenbode, Yunex Traffic is a true technician's club, and operates exclusively on projects in infrastructure. "A large part of these relate to underground engineering structures, tunnels. Our specialization is then particularly in safety-critical installations and industrial automation. We are called in to create the safety scenarios and the operation and control of the somewhat more complex projects. We take on the role of system integrator and ensure that all installations work well together. There are 45 sub-installations in a tunnel that individually all perform very well, but they must also all work together in good harmony. Therein lies the crux, and we do that at the technical level and on the 'soft side,' coordinating with the operators of the tunnel and the competent authority. In practice, that's usually the fire department." 

Operating independently

So we put a lot of effort into preparation and testing, says Van Duijvenbode. "We don't put problems ahead of us, but try to overcome anything we can tackle as early as possible. Then when we finally install the system in the tunnel, we can be sure that the technology is 100 percent right." Yunex Traffic is an organization of around 200 permanent employees in the Netherlands, including more than 100 engineers. "We also employ 50 technicians for maintenance and upkeep, the necessary project managers and some ancillary positions around that. So we have all the technology in-house and can operate completely independently. By the way, we operate in 29 countries. The more complex tunnel projects abroad often receive support from the Center of Competence in the Netherlands."

Own partial installations

In addition to its role as a system integrator, for which Yunex Traffic purchases components from suppliers, the company is also known for its own subsystems. "Among other things, we produce dynamic traffic management solutions, such as controlling matrix signs, as well as systems for automatic incident detection," Van Duijvenbode explains. "Those systems monitor the speed of traffic in a tunnel and signal any deviation to the operator. Then the operator turns the cameras toward the (potential) incident. And if the tunnel proves unsafe, the operator closes the barriers so that traffic is kept out. We also produce a system for height detection, where excessively tall vehicles are alerted with roadside signs to take a different route."

Tunnel renovations

Yunex Traffic is involved in many tunnel renovations. "During the renovation of the Koningstunnel in The Hague, we proved that our approach of thorough preparation works out very well in practice. We were able to open the tunnel six weeks earlier. That is truly unique, because normally people rather count on months of delay," Van Duijvenbode knows. "Recently, as a system integrator, we carried out the complete renovation of the Piet Hein Tunnel and replaced the operation and control of the Vlacker Tunnel." 

Tunnel new construction projects

Yunex Traffic supplies its sub-installations in many projects, including the Gaasperdamer Tunnel on the A9, the Leidsche Rijntunnel on the A2, the Rottemer Tunnel on the A16, the Corbulo Tunnel on the N434, and the Hollandtunnel and Maasdelta Tunnel on the A24 Blankenburg connection.

However, Yunex Traffic's services do not stop at tunnels and viaducts. Van Duijvenbode: "Wherever high safety and availability are required, we can make our contribution. For example, we are also involved in movable bridges, locks and primary flood defenses. Although this requires a different type of technology than tunnels, it is a safety-critical operational process. For example, we are currently contributing to the renovation of the Spijkenisse Bridge where the complete brain is being renewed."