March 1st Tunnel
Sustainable LED lighting solution for safety and comfort
The March 1st Tunnel was built between Sarajevo and Zenica to connect the two economic centres and create a European traffic corridor running from Croatia in the north to the Adriatic coast in the south. This 3km long tunnel, which was inaugurated in 2014, is named after the date of Bosnia’s independence referendum.
It helps to shorten the travel time between the two towns to about 30 minutes.
The local authorities wanted a modern and sustainable lighting solution for this strategic tunnel. After analysing the different solutions available on the market, they opted for the GL2 Compact. This flexible luminaire offers modular quantities of LEDs to perfectly match the requirements for the entrance, threshold and interior zones so only one luminaire is needed.
Its high-performance enables the number of luminaires needed to be reduced to a minimum providing an optimised total cost of ownership.
A total of 890 GL2 Compact luminaires are installed at a height of 6m to light both tubes of the tunnel. They significantly reduce operating and maintenance costs compared with other tunnels in the region while diffusing a bright light that provides excellent visibility and comfort, thus optimising safety in the tunnel.
BalPlast marker lights were installed along the entire length of the tunnel. Permanently illuminated, they clearly indicate the road and guide drivers naturally through the tunnel under normal circumstances and pedestrians in case of fire.
BT004 LED are installed vertically in the emergency exits. They create a “light curtain” which enables drivers to rapidly identify the shelters in case of an incident.
This is the first 100% LED tunnel lighting scheme in the country and the local authorities are delighted with the results.