About
Tunnels are common elements of transport infrastructure projects in most EU member states and the benefits are many: they ensure the passage of physical obstacles such as mountains, they reduce travel distances and travel time, they can alleviate surface congestion, they can contribute to climate change mitigation and -adaptation and they can improve traffic flow, leading to faster and more reliable transportation.
Further, tunnels are expensive and complex structures established in (very often) environmentally and geologically complex and vulnerable locations.
Consequently, while tunnels can reduce some types of environmental impacts, they also have the potential to create other types of environmental impact.
Around 80 participants connected, from both inside and outside of EU, on 5th October 2022 to the webinar on "Sustainable Underground Infrastructures Development. Methods, tools and applications".
Target audience
The main target audience was composed of authorities and project promoters involved in underground tunnelling projects, with a water and transport focus.
Objectives
Early identification of potential environmental impacts and corresponding mitigation in tunnel projects, can contribute to reduce the risks of environmental damage as well as save time and resources. Consequently, this promotes economic and environmental feasibility as well as public consent.
Tunnels, by nature, impact on water bodies and, as a large proportion of NATURA 2000 sites include water dependent elements, an early attention to water bodies also facilitates attention to possible hydraulic links between projects impact zone and NATURA 2000 sites.
The Hydrogeological Excavation Code (HEC) is a series of investigative tools aimed at promoting timely and environmentally sustainable tunnel project development.
The application of the HEC can provide preventive measures in order to avoid issues such as project delay, cost increase, negative public opinion, economic and environmental irreversible damages etc.
The webinar aimed to raise the awareness of stakeholders on topics such as:
- General aspects related to developing tunnel projects
- The EU environmental directives and their significance in the planning, design and construction of tunnels (including the application of JASPERS’ checklist tool on the Water Framework Directive).
- Ex-ante project risk analysis with focus on hydrogeological risk, and importance of project specific and geotechnical data.
- The Hydrogeological Excavation Code (HEC) and the use of HEC in tunnel design, in environmental impact assessment and in the identification of mitigation measures.
- Case studies including pre-submitted contributions from participants.
Participants had the chance to join Q&A sessions.
Resources
Presentations
1. Sustainable underground infrastructures. Jeroen Van Oel. DG REGIO G1 ‘Smart & Sustainable Growth: Transport & Connectivity
2. The Hydrogeological Excavation Code.Tools and data for planning tunnels. Reducing negative environmental impacts. Lise Præstegaard, Senior Environment Specialist; Lorenzo Martelli, Senior Transport Engineer; Inge Vermeersch, Head of Division, Regional Transport Advisory. JASPERS.
3.HEC case studies. Prof. Massimo Coli. Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Universitá degli studi Firenze.
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) training session in Italy
The training was delivered over a period of two weeks in four half-day morning sessions, on 3, 7 and 10, 14 of February 2025. The event attracted 61 participants from 27 major cities, several regions and ministries involved in implementation of SUMPs across Italy. The training included three core modules on SUMP methodology and six selected modules that provided an in-depth look at specific SUMP-related topics specifically relevant to the country. The training began with introductions by representative from the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, along with a representative from EIB Advisory -JASPERS, followed by a virtual tour de table. Participants then engaged with presentations and interactive exercises covering the training modules selected, with high participation rate demonstrating a major interest in the topic and future challenges in implementing SUMPs.
Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) training session in Portugal
The Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) training session in Portugal, hosted by JASPERS from the European Investment Bank (EIB) advisory, provided urban transport planners and stakeholders with hands-on experience in developing and implementing SUMPs. Participants enhanced their expertise in multimodal transport systems, decarbonisation strategies, urban nodes and the interface between local and strategic transport collective passenger transport, and sustainable urban mobility solutions. This event significantly contributed to advancing urban mobility planning and promoting efficient, low-emission urban transport networks in cities and regions.
National SUMP Support Programme (NSSP) in-presence Workshop
Learn in this seminar delivered by JASPERS, EIB's largest advisory programme, about the National SUMP Support Programme (NSSP) Introductory Workshop. The purpose of the event is to discuss NSSPs, to showcase best practice examples and to identify additional NSSP training needs for national and regional authorities and for the 432 urban nodes on the TEN-T network.
Questions?
For any further enquiry on this webinar and in general on the activities of the JASPERS Knowledge Platform please write an email to jaspersnetwork@eib.org