Reason enough for the municipality of The Hague to issue a renovation order, including a multi-year maintenance contract.
The winning offer came from Strukton and ICT Group, who have been working together for many years. In this project, ICT Group is upgrading the operation and control to the Hague Tunnel Standard.
Strukton and ICT Group worked together at the King Willem-Alexander Tunnel in Maastricht. "Especially in recent years, our relation have intensified. Since 2018, we have also been jointly responsible for the maintenance of the Hubertus Tunnel," says Coen van Ommen, project manager at Strukton. "In these kinds of projects, we complement each other perfectly. The culture at our companies is also very similar. That's what makes it such a good match. We are open and transparent with each other." For the upgrade of the Hubertus Tunnel, both companies are working from a collaborative office in Zoetermeer.
The Hague Tunnel Standard
The Hubertus tunnel is undergoing limited structural work. In both tunnel tubes, the walls of the 1600m long tunnel will be repaired and provided with a dirt-repellent layer. Heat-resistant cladding will also be installed in the closed sections of the access ramps and the asphalt in the tunnel will be replaced. The majority of the scope focuses on replacing or modifying the installations and designing a completely new operation and control system. "It is the third tunnel in The Hague to have a control system that has been realized in accordance with the Hague Tunnel Standard," says Marco Plug, consultant at ICT Group. Coen adds: "In the past, the municipality of The Hague has developed a solid vision to be able to operate the three complex objects in The Hague's area, including the Hubertus Tunnel, from a new control centre in Scheveningen in the future. This resulted in the Hague Tunnel Standard (HTS) as a precursor to the development of the National Tunnel Standard (LTS), which was introduced three years later. The HTS has a number of installations that the LTS doesn't, such as air velocity meters and alarm/exit signs, but the biggest difference is in the distinct look and feel of the control interface. This is different from that of the LTS and, in contrast to the current user interface of the Hubertus Tunnel, is much more focused on the process of operating the tunnel towards the traffic rather than towards the technology."
Smart tooling
In order to be able to carry out the renovation, the tunnel will be completely closed for nine months from the end of July 2025. "One of the conditions for being allowed to close the tunnel is that the software for the entire operation and control system is delivered completely free of residual points before that time," says Marco. "We use all kinds of smart tooling to simulate the software behaviour. We have carried out a similar exercise for the Maasdelta tunnel and the Holland tunnel on the A24 Blankenburg connection. The first design phase has now been completed, with the 'proof of concept' we have demonstrated the operating principle. This forms the basis for the framework of the operating environment. In 2025, we are scheduled to deliver the software, which we will then test. To this end, we are building an integrated test environment, in which we link the control system to the new installations."
The goal is to have a fully integrated tested system by mid-2025, without any test findings, says Coen. "So that you have more certainty at the front end that you are going to build a working tunnel. A piece of certainty that The Hague imposes as a client, but is very useful for us as a contractor to comply with. After all, it is a measure that removes most of the integration risks." Marco adds: "Because we involve our colleagues from Managed Services within ICT Group, who are responsible for the management and maintenance of the tunnel, in all important decisions, we also monitor continuity up to and including the last day of the future maintenance scope." Coen concludes: "In the new contract, maintenance is based on total cost of ownership, a way of maintenance in which the accountability goes further than in the current contract. So it's all about getting it right the first time, because then we'll be able to enjoy it for fifteen years."
