The impulse galleries of the M-30: one of the least known tunnels in Madrid

In a big city there are usually many little-known places, and the least visited of these are some that are underground.

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Among those solitary tunnels in Madrid there are old sewers and abandoned metro lines, but also a very modern facility that passes under a tunnel used by thousands of Madrid residents every day: the South Bypass of the M-30 , whose two tunnels (each with three lanes) measure 4,280 meters and which go from the Manzanares tunnels, at the height of the Praga Bridge, to Conde de Casal. These tunnels were opened to traffic on May 8, 2007. This South Bypass was built at a great depth: its middle section is 75 meters below the surface.

Under the tunnels through which the cars circulate there are drive galleries. The Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM) states the following about these galleries:

"Due to the great depth at which the tunnels run, and in order to guarantee the evacuation of users in the event of a serious incident in one of them, it has been planned, in compliance with international regulations and recommendations more demanding, the evacuation of users to the lower galleries of the tunnels every 200 meters and the evacuation of vehicles from one tunnel to another through cross-sectional galleries arranged every 600 meters. These galleries, connecting between tunnels and from these with the lower galleries of the section, are equipped with the corresponding pressurized independent vestibules that prevent the passage of fire and smoke to the evacuation route."

When explaining how these tunnels are built, the COAM adds: "In the lower part of the section is the gallery for driving fresh air into the tunnel, with air injections at level Likewise, these galleries, with a width of more than 5 meters and a free gauge of 3.90 metres, will simultaneously function as a tunnel service gallery, a rescue vehicle access gallery and a user evacuation gallery. in the event of an accident. Direct evacuation from the tunnels to the outside is carried out through seven emergency exits, evenly distributed along its route."

This interesting video from Idealista News showed images from these drive galleries, which in the event of a disaster could save the lives of thousands of people (the video is in Spanish, you can activate the automatic subtitles in English in the bottom bar of the player):