The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has awarded a contract worth AED375M ($102M) for the construction of the tunnels and roads leading to the Jewel of the Creek project.
Swedish construction firm Skanska has bagged a NOK516M ($60.4M) contract to renovate two road tunnels in Oslo, Norway.
US-based engineering firm Aecom has been selected by Highways England to offer technical support in the detailed design and planning application process for the £1.4bn A303 Stonehenge scheme in the UK.
The Norwegian government has unveiled plans to build the world's first tunnel for ships.
A join venture (JV) comprising CPB Contractors, a CIMIC Group company, and John Holland has been selected by Transurban to deliver the West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne, Australia.
A consortium of Ramboll, Arup and TEC has won a €114M order from Femern to provide technical consultancy services for the Fehmarnbelt fixed link between Denmark and Germany.
“The Thames Tideway Tunnel is the biggest construction project ever undertaken in the UK water industry,” says Mark Sneesby, Thames Tideway Tunnel chief operating officer.
Written by Alex Conacher
Work is set to commence on a potash mine project in North Yorkshire after Sirius Minerals secured £1bn in funding for the first stage of the project.
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) has honoured eight projects and individuals from the tunnelling industry at its annual ITA Tunnelling Awards.
Swedish construction firm NCC has won a contract to build two road tunnels worth about SEK2.7bn ($300M) in the Faroe Islands.
The University of Malta has been chosen by Transport Malta to carry out studies on the proposed Malta-Gozo subsea tunnel.
China Railway Group, through its subsidiaries, has won a RMB8.1bn ($1.2bn) contract for the construction of a large railway section in Laos.
An Astaldi-led joint venture has been awarded a €1bn contract to build the Italian stretch of the Brenner Railway Tunnel. The JV will be responsible for all underground works of the railway section from Mezzaselva, Fortezza, to the Italian border with Austria. The main works will involve the completion of the exploration tunnel and the two main line tunnels — 23km to be dug using traditional methods and 46km to be dug using mechanised excavation with TBMs. This contract, which ratifies the start-up of works, follows a preliminary contract awarding in March 2016. Astaldi Group CEO Filippo Stinellis said: “We are proud to be able to contribute to one of the most important works under construction in Europe to date. The Brenner Tunnel, once completed, will be the longest underground railway in the world. “The project is a great opportunity for us and for Italy, for the employment levels it will guarantee during its construction, but also because it is a pioneering work of engineering that, once completed, will significantly enhance passenger and freight transport through the heart of Europe.” Construction work in this section is expected to be complete within seven years, with the tunnel to become operational by 2025.The €8.8bn Brenner Base Tunnel will be a new 64km-long railway link between Italy and Austria — forming part of the Helsinki-La Valletta Corridor 5.
UK-based construction and project management consultancy Turner & Townsend has been chosen to provide commercial support services for the £4.2bn Thames Tideway Tunnel in London.Under the contract, the company will provide project and programme management resources for the super-sewer project over the next four years.The 25km sewer tunnel — expected to be the second largest infrastructure project in London, after Crossrail — has been designed to reduce the millions of tonnes of raw sewage that overflows into the River Thames each year. Turner & Townsend’s director of infrastructure Peter Depledge said: "We're delighted to be playing a role in ensuring the timely delivery of such a huge and important project which will deliver a positive outcome for Londoners for generations ahead."Thames Tideway chief operating officer Mark Sneesby said: "As we start main construction work on the Thames Tideway Tunnel, we are confident that having the knowledge and expertise of three of the most prominent consultancies will be a huge asset in our work to clean up London's river."Turner & Townsend is one of the three consultants on the project’s framework.
Construction work on the Glasgow Queen Street tunnel in Scotland has been completed.The £60M project included the renewal of 1,800m of concrete slab track and installation of over 4,000m of new rails.It also involved the extension and alteration of station platforms and track layouts within Queen Street.The tunnel and station have also been prepared for the electrification of the main Glasgow-Edinburgh line, which is anticipated in 2017.Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: “I am pleased to see the work on the Queen Street tunnel completed ahead of schedule and on-budget. This has been an unprecedented project, both in engineering terms and in the scale of the operation required to keep people moving and services diverted via the underground platforms during the works. “This is a key milestone in our programme of investment for Scotland’s railways and literally paves the way for the introduction of a new generation of electric trains.”ScotRail Alliance’s managing director Phil Verster said: “The successful, early delivery of this project will allow us to introduce faster, longer and greener trains on the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line — delivering thousands of extra seats, shorter journey times and improved accessibility for customers.”In the coming three years, works will continue within Glasgow’s Queen Street with the extension of the station out towards George Square and the creation of new concourse and passenger facilities.
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission has awarded a $755M contract to Dragados Team joint venture for the construction of a new parallel tunnel at the Thimble Shoal Channel.The new tunnel will be around one mile in length, and will have an outer diameter of 42ft. Construction work is set to commence in late 2017, with the renovation of the Island 1 fishing pier.
India-based Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) has secured an INR17.49bn ($260M) contract to build two tunnels and a bridge in Jammu and Kashmir, India.Under the contract, awarded by IRCON International, HCC will be responsible for the construction of two main tunnels, the T13 and part of T14, totalling 12.8km along with parallel safety tunnels, a 200m bridge adjoining the two tunnels and a station yard at Basindadhar.HCC’s president and CEO Arun Karambelkar said: "The company is currently engaged in tunnelling works of over 280km across various sectors. Repeat orders from IRCON reflect our expertise in executing complex projects under challenging conditions."The project will be executed within 30 months.
A joint venture between Kenny Construction and Obayashi has secured a $279m contract to build the South Hartford Conveyance and Storage Tunnel (SHCST) in Hartford, Connecticut.
Tunnelling work has commenced on the WestConnex M4 East motorway in New South Wales, Australia. Four road headers have been placed underground to start work on the first WestConnex tunnel. Construction work will be carried out in both directions to create the 5.5km tunnels that will link Homebush with Haberfield, in the first stage of WestConnex.The section between Homebush Bay Drive and Underwood Road is surface motorway, while the rest is twin 5.3m-high tunnels — three lanes in each direction from Homebush to Haberfield.New South Wales premier Mike Baird said: “This is a milestone event for the congestion-busting WestConnex motorway, which will deliver more than $20bn in benefits to NSW and create 10,000 jobs during construction.“Sydney can’t wait a minute longer for WestConnex which will cut 40 minutes from a typical journey between Parramatta and Sydney Airport, and bypass up to 52 sets of traffic lights.”New South Wales minister for roads and freight Duncan Gay said that the government was getting on with delivering much-needed infrastructure for Sydney’s growing population, with tunnelling starting at four different sites over the coming months to build the M4 East, which will open to motorists in 2019.Upon completion, WestConnex will join the M4 and M5 in a continuous motorway with connections at Rozelle, Camperdown, St Peters and Sydney Airport.