Túnels de Barcelona has launched a digital twin of Barcelona’s complex of Vallvidrera road tunnels. This is allowing the city to carry out road simulations to enhance and streamline operational processes through one of Europe’s largest complex of road tunnels.

The Vallvidrera tunnels are a network of tunnels beneath the Collserola coastal mountain range on the north eastern edge of Barcelona, that connect the city to the Vallès Occidental region. The tunnels are a key transport infrastructure that allows commuter traffic between the city and a key commuter region of the city. The tunnels, officially opened in 1991, were designed to improve transportation, access and safety through the mountain range.

Together with Yunex Traffic, an intelligent traffic systems specialist, and Túnels parent company Autopistas, the project aims to improve the safety and sustainability of the tunnel and surrounding road infrastructure, and enable greater connected mobility.

The digital twin is created from a Building Information Model (BIM). The BIM model has been generated by a dynamic scan of the entire geometry of the tunnel and its installations.

The digital twin makes it possible to virtually reproduce different drive-through scenarios and simulate potential design changes in order to analyse them and then provide efficient solutions in the real environment.