In Korea, a vehicle overtaking is prohibited by the law in tunnel and bridge sections where a road section has lanes with solid line. However, this regulation has some problems in terms of traffic operation and safety. So, it is necessary to find a way to improve the lane operation in tunnel and bridge sections. The objective of this research is to propose a systematical logic and specific standards to draw up an improvement of lane operation in tunnel and bridge sections on expressways. For that purpose, the status of lane operation in tunnel and bridge sections on both of the domestic and the abroad expressways and the improvement effect of the lane management were analyzed and, followed by it, the ways to improve lane management were suggested. In the comparison of the number of traffic accidents between road sections and tunnel sections, it was resulted that the number of traffic accidents per unit length (1km) of tunnel sections was lower than that of road sections. In addition, in the comparison of the fatality of traffic accidents, the fatality of tunnel sections on expressways was lower than that of other road tunnel sections. Through the analysis, it was resulted that there was a low correlation between the permission of the lane change in tunnel sections and the increase of traffic accidents. Moreover, in the comparing the traffic accidents between expressway tunnels and other road tunnels as well as between road sections and tunnel sections on expressways, there was no significant difference in safety between the solid line sections and the dotted sections. As a result of the analysis on the pilot operation section, it was expected that there would be no serious problems even if the permission of the lane change in tunnel and bridge sections was implemented, because the difference between in the existing solid-line sections and the pilot dotted line sections in terms of the lane change rate, the traffic characteristic, and the traffic accidents is not significant. Therefore, it needs to improve the current solid-line lane operation forbidding the lane change in tunnel and bridge sections. It is necessary to allow the lane change in tunnel and bridge sections with an appropriate level of facility conditions. In the long run, as in the cases of foreign countries, it is require to establish a principle to permit the lane change in tunnel and bridge sections. However, if necessary, it is need to consider the prohibition of the lane change in some tunnel sections by the engineering judgment. Allowing the lane change of the car in tunnel sections is not only merely a change of the lane operating method but also it is expected to be an important opportunity to increase the adherence of the driver to the laws and regulations and to change the drive culture by introducing a consistent traffic regulation.

• Seungkirl, Baek(Research Institute, Korea Expressway Corporation)
• Seungjun, Lee(Research Institute, Korea Expressway Corporation)
• Donghui, Han(Research Institute, Korea Expressway Corporation)