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Trans-Andean multimodal tunnel proposed

Trans-Andean multimodal tunnel proposed

The authorities in Lima, Peru are funding EUR1.4 million for feasibility studies for a 31 km-long multimodal road/rail tunnel on the route between Huancayo and Lima, reducing journey times from seven to four hours. More Information

Austunnel partners with Globalchimica

Austunnel have partnered with EPC Consulting www.epc-consulting.it and Globalchimica to provide sales and support for the Globalchimica range of tunnelling and mining products within Australia and the surrounding region. Globalchimica manufactures More Information

New agreement for Lyon-Turin line

On 30.01.2012 France and Italy signed a new intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the Lyon-Turin railway line for submission to the parliaments of both countries for ratification. More Information

Independent certification for Aker Wirth

Aker Wirth, a leading supplier to the tunnelling industry for more than a century, was recently audited by the accredited certification body DNV. More Information

Tunnel Technology 2012 for Shanghai

The third Tunnel Technology Summit will be held 28th-30th May, 2012 in Shanghai, China organized by Shine Media and Shanghai Transportation Trade Association. The theme is new technology, equipment and construction methods for propelling tunnel design, construction and operation. More Information

Final breakthrough for Sorbas tunnel

On 18.01.2012, excavation of the second tube of the 7.5 km-long Sorbas tunnel on the Sorbas-Barranco de los Gafarillos section on the Almeria-Murcia Region high-speed railway was completed. More Information

CEVA rail link under construction

CEVA rail link under construction

Work on the 16 km-long Cornavin-Eaux-Vives-Annemasse (CEVA) rail link commenced on 15.11.2011 to provide a 20 minute connection between Cornavin station (Geneva) and Annemasse municipality in France with five new stations at Lancy-Pont-Rouge, Carouge-Bachet, Champel-Hopital, Geneve-Eaux-Vives and Chene-Bourg More Information

Wayss & Freytag awarded Emscher sewer tunnel

W & F, a subsidiary of Royal Bam group, has been awarded the EUR420 million construction contract for a 35 km-long wastewater tunnel between Dortmund and Bottrup in Germany. More Information

Conceptual design for Feltre tunnel

On 18.01.2012 Anas Veneto presented the conceptual design to complete the SS50 Feltre bypass, which includes construction of a 3.5 km-long bi-directional tunnel under the Telva mountain. More Information

Xiushan rail tunnel completed

Xiushan rail tunnel completed

The 10,303 m-long Xiushan railway tunnel on the 141 km-long Yuxi-Mengzi line of the Pan-Asia Railway eastern line was completed on 10.01.2012, after six years’ work. More Information

Toven tunnel holing imminent

Construction of 13.5 km of dual carriageway from Brattlia in Drevja to Leirosen in the county of Nordland, Norway is underway as part of the new Fv 78 link between the E6 motorway in the east and Rv 17 county road in the west. More Information

Jacobs Engineering awarded I90 contract

Jacobs Engineering Group has been awarded a contract by Washington State Department of Transport WSDOT to provide design services for fire and life safety systems improvement in the Interstate 90 Mount Baker and Mercer Island tunnels. More Information

Cairo metro breakthroughs

Despite a year of political upheaval in Egypt, on 10.01.2012 the 9.46 m-diameter NFM TBM on Line 3, Phase 2 of Cairo metro project broke through into Stadium station after a 1,579 m drive during which best production figures were 24 m/day and 109.5 m/week. More Information

Robbins opens office in Chile

The world presence of Robbins Company has increased with the opening of their 14th office, in Santiago, Chile. More Information

Tender 053/2001 – First Stage - PQ for the Design Build of TBM tunnels contract for Tel Aviv metropolis RED and GREEN LINES

NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd is an Israeli government owned company in charge of the design and construction of the mass transit system in Tel Aviv metropolitan area, Israel. More Information

Lai Chi Kok drainage tunnel breakthrough

Construction of Hong Kong’s Lai Chi Kok drainage tunnel has entered its final stage following main tunnel breakthrough in December. The EUR1.3 billion project involves construction 3.7 km of 4.9 m-diameter tunnels to intercept and transfer stormwater from the uphill areas of Lai Chi Kok More Information

CIFA announces new shotcrete machine

CIFA will be unveiling its new CST 8.20 compact shotcrete jumbo at Intermat in Paris on April 16-21. The CST 8.20 joins the established CIFA shotcreting line-up alongside the CSS-3 Step 3, the CSS-3 Crawler, and the PCS 209. The CST 8.20 is designed for tunnels up to 10 m in height and for mining applications. More Information

Sandvik jumbos on five-lane tunnel in Brazil

Sandvik jumbos on five-lane tunnel in Brazil

Four Sandvik drill jumbos are engaged in developing the widest tunnel in Latin America to house four conveyor runs and a service road. More Information

HS2 railway London-Birmingham approved

The second high speed railway line to be built in the UK will run 225 km from London Euston to Birmingham New Street. The first section out of Euston will require a 4.4 km tunnel at Ruislip, and a second new 2.25 km-long tunnel will be driven beneath the Chiltern hills at Amersham. More Information

Odebrecht and Robbins triumph at Olmos

Odebrecht and Robbins triumph at Olmos

The Olmos aqueduct in the high Andes will transfer water from the Atlantic basin to the Pacific basin to irrigate one of the driest regions of Peru. Breakthrough of the final 12.5 km-long section was achieved by a 5.3 m-diameter Robbins main beam TBM on 20.12.2011 after an epic drive through bursting rock using novel support and operating techniques. More Information

Big Chinese TBM for Yangtze crossing

The first independently developed compound slurry TBM has been presented by China Communications Construction Company Tianhe. More Information

Turin Hosts INTERtunnel 2012

INTERtunnel 2012 will be held in Turin 27-29th March, 2012 at Lingotto Fiere exhibition centre along with the rail EXPO Ferroviaria. INTERtunnel is an established platform for the international tunnelling industry to showcase new products and technologies. More Information

Spain – Updates from Line 9 at Barcelona

The EPB/hard rock mixed-mode 11.95 m-diameter tunnelling machine known as Besi, supplied by NFM for the excavation of metro line 9 in Barcelona, has reached Lesseps station. More Information

Crossrail tunnelling to commence from Royal Oak

The first of eight TBMs for London’s Crossrail project is a 140 m-long, 1,000 t machine manufactured by Herrenknecht, which is currently undergoing factory testing prior to being shipped and reassembled at Westbourne Park. More Information

Happy holidays to all our readers!

The management and staff at tunnelbuilder ltd send greetings and good wishes to all our readers around the world at this festive time. It has been a tough year for some of our supporters, but a good year for the tunnelling industry, with over 500 valuable bids advertised on our front page. So eat, drink and be merry! And be thankful that our industry is proving resilient enough to survive the ongoing financial trauma facing everybody else…..51/11. More Information

Chile cross-border priorities

According to the new ten-year plan agreed by Union de Naciones Suramericanas, 31 major projects are to be undertaken in South America. Chile’s priorities have not changed, and remain: the ... More Information

Letter of intent signed for Karawanken dualling

Slovenia and the Austrian province of Carinthia signed a letter of intent on 09.12.2011 to build a second tube for the 7,864m-long Karawanken road tunnel. More Information

Robbins EPBs bore Final Meters in Zhengzhou

Robbins EPBs bore Final Meters in Zhengzhou

Zhengzhou, China is one step closer to becoming a national crossroads for rail traffic with the breakthrough of two EPBs. The 6.3 m (20.7 ft) Robbins TBMs have set a Chinese EPB record in the process, excavating up to 720 m (2,362 ft) in one month. The swift machines boring the Metro Line 1 holed through in October and November 2011—at least two weeks ahead of schedule. More Information

Atlas Copco to acquire GIA.

Stockholm, Sweden, December 16, 2011: Atlas Copco AB has agreed to acquire the underground business of GIA Industri AB from Vätterledens Verkstad AB. With the acquisition, Atlas Copco broadens its offering with products including electric mine trucks, utility vehicles and ventilation systems. More Information

Listec line type heat detector

Listec GmbH of Isen, near Muenchen in Germany is supplying its line type heat detector to two major European projects: Line C of Rome metro, and Frejus road tunnel. More Information

Crossrail unveils its first tunnelling boring machine

Crosssrail has unveiled the first of eight, 1,000 tonne tunnel boring machines that will construct the its tunnels under central London More Information

Emcor SA seeks agents to promote their products.

Emcor SA, a Spanish company that manufactures and supplies materials for the tunnelling and mining industry, is looking for agents and/or companies to introduce and sell these products in Austria, Germany, France, Finland and Russia. More Information

New Rotterdam river crossing approved

New Rotterdam river crossing approved

On 08.12.2011 Dutch transport minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen gave the green light to build the Blankenburg road tunnel, west of Rotterdam. More Information

Chile – Seli has completed the exploratory tunnel for Los Bronces mine

On November 17, 2011 just over two years after works began, the Seli TBM completed the excavation of an 8km exploratory tunnel for the Los Bronces mine. Los Bronces is one of the largest copper mines in the world, and is located near Cordigliera in the Andes. More Information

USA – The state of Virginia signs off road and tunnel contracts worth USD 3 Billion

A joint venture between Skanska Infrastructure Development and Macquarie Group worth US$2.1 Billion was approved by VDOT to build a new Midtown Tunnel and to rehabilitate the existing Midtown tunnel in Virginia. More Information

CIFA formworks for Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (STEP)

As a part of the new Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (STEP) awarded by ADSSC of Abu Dhabi to Impregilo for the construction of the 2 lots T02 and T03, CIFA will supply formworks for the cast lining on site. More Information

Tunnelling News

IN MEMORIAM - OLIVIER VION (1962-2024)

Through the past decades, the energy and foresight to lead the management of the ITA International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association has been in the hands of Olivier Vion, a man ... More Information

Amtrak awards construction contract for East River Tunnel rehabilitation

The $1.6 billion project calls for demolishing all existing tunnel systems down to the liner, then restoring both tubes. During the project, one tube ... More Information

Strabag in €110 million deal to equip transalpine tunnel

Austrian contractor Strabag has won a €110 million (US$120 million) to equip a transalpine tunnel linking Austria and Slovenia... More Information

19 tunnel boring machines for Manila subway set

A close-up of the tunnel boring machine head, with a diameter of 6.9 meters. ... The first cutter head of the first tunnel boring machine (TBM), named ... More Information

$16 billion Gateway Tunnel Project gets federal funding boost after years of delays

The $16.1 billion project includes a new rail tunnel linking New York and New Jersey — and is set to be open by 2035 ... More Information

Preferred bidder announced for second tunnelling contract

The global consortium of WeBuild S.p.A, GS Engineering and Construction Australia and Bouygues Construction ... Tunnel Project, North East Link ... More Information

Bechtel Picked as CM for $12.7B Single-bore BART Extension

Officials with the VTA are aiming to begin major construction and tunnelling for the $12.7-billion BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project next ... More Information

Stonehenge could be put on world heritage danger list over tunnel plan

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recommended that Stonehenge be listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’ due to the A303 upgrade scheme and is ... More Information

World’s longest railway tunnel to reopen after a year

The tunnel closed on 10th August last year following the derailment of a freight train, and SBB has since been pushing ahead with repair work... More Information

Afcons Infrastructure Wins Bid for Thane Tunnel Project

Afcons Infrastructure secures the L1 bid for a tunnel project in Thane, marking a significant milestone in infrastructure development. More Information

Kolkata Metro: D-Wall's Construction Work At Victoria Metro Station Is Advancing Swiftly

For the tunnelling work of the stretch from the Khidderpore to Park Street stretch of this Corridor, two Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) will be deployed ... More Information

K2D Skøyen – Vækerø

Implenia has been awarded the contract for section K2D Skøyen - Vækerø, which is part of the entire Fornebu line that will be completed in 2030... More Information

Massey Tunnel replacement project hits design-build proposal stage

Tunnel replacement project has finally hit the design-and-build proposal stage. The Transportation Ministry announced Wednesday that three bid ... More Information

Barhale wins £36m East London sewer remediation

Thames Water has appointed Barhale to deliver essential remediation works on a Victorian gravity sewer as it passes above the Jubilee Line and Docklands Light Railway in East London... More Information

Reaping Rewards From Continuous Innovation

In boring underground tunnels for Malaysia's MRTs, Gamuda developed the world's first autonomous tunnel boring machine (A-TBM), utilizing in-house ... More Information

5 of the longest tunnels in the world and how they were built

Since the invention of the tunnel boring machine in 1853, engineers have used advanced technology to drill, blast, and bore into the earth. From ... More Information

Femern - inauguration of the first tunnel element

We are pleased to announce that H.M. King Frederik X will take part in the inauguration of the first tunnel element on the construction site on 17 June. H.M. King Frederik X will arrive at ... More Information

HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture (HMJV)

A busy first half of the year on the HOCHTIEF-MURPHY Joint Venture (HMJV) Package 5 Headhouses & M&E contract on National Grid’s LPT Phase 2... More Information

Tesla Cybertruck escorts Boring Co's Prufrock-3 tunnel boring machine

The Boring Company's Prufrock-3 tunnel boring machine (TBM) recently completed a tunnel to Giga Texas, and in true Elon Musk fashion, ... More Information

Kazakhstan’s First Automobile Tunnel and Largest Bridge to be Completed this Year

As reported by the Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, Kazakhstan’s first automobile tunnel through the Shakpak Baba Pass and the country’s largest bridge over the Bukhtarma Reservoir ... More Information

HRBT Expansion Project hits big milestone, could be on track for early completion

The tunnel boring machine, known as Mary ... construction of our two new bored tunnels,” said Project Director Ryan Banas... More Information

TBMs Pass Factory Test For Lesotho Highlands Water Project

A team of engineers and tunnel experts from the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) together with consultants and contractors working on the Polihali transfer tunnel recently ... More Information

Royal Cargo opts for Goldhofer heavy transport equipment

It has also been in action moving tunnel boring machines (TBM) for the Metro Manila Subway project ... machine part posed a significant challenge due ... More Information

Tunnel breakthrough on NI Water's £7.8M Portadown wastewater project

The tunnel boring machine excavated roughly 1,000m3 of material, which would have risen to 8,000m3 of spoil with a more traditional open-cut method. More Information

The Boring Company announces Cybertunnel at Tesla Texas HQ

In January, the company's latest tunnel boring machine (TBM), Prufrock 3, was first spotted near Tesla's Giga Texas. Prufrock-3 has ... More Information

How do you build tunnels and bridges underwater?

Underground construction usually uses powerful tunnel-boring machines to excavate soil directly. This machine is often called a mole for a reason. More Information

Five Huge New Construction Projects Coming To The US

A spokesperson for the project told Newsweek: "The Hudson Tunnel Project is a generational investment that is expected to create 95,000 new jobs and ... More Information

Chennai Metro Corridor 3: Adyar River Tunnel Work Hampered By Geological Setbacks

For the stretch between Greenways Road and Adyar, CMRL engaged two TBMs, 'Kauvery' and 'Adyar.' These machines were launched from Greenways Road ... More Information

French and Danish firms to build Valby 'cloudburst tunnel'

The underground tunnel will be 2,380m long and will be constructed as a drilled tunnel with an internal diameter of 3.4m. The tunnel will have the ... More Information

Howard's approved budgets include $44.9M for Ellicott City tunnel

The Howard County Council has approved a $2.4 billion operating budget for fiscal 2025, along with a $413 million capital construction budget that ... More Information

DC Water Breaks Ground On Potomac River Tunnel Project

DC Water on May 21 hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to officially commence construction activities for the Potomac River Tunnel Project... More Information

Silvertown Tunnel portal connections completed

A complete transformation of the tunnel shape was needed to connect the circular tunnel boring machine (TBM) constructed ... More Information

The $4BN Tunnel to Save Stockholm - The B1M

Above: A tunnel entrance under construction. When it completes in 2030, the $4BN project will be one of the longest road tunnel systems in the world. More Information

OHLA awarded the Gjønnes tunnel in Norway for nearly 160 million euros

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) has awarded the company the design and construction of the Gjønnes tunnel for 156 ... More Information

Utilities tunnel dug through 'challenging' ground conditions under River Tees

Main contractor Farrans Construction worked with specialist contractor Joseph Gallagher to construct the tunnel. During its five weeks of tunnelling ... More Information

China develops world's first boring and blasting machine

In a groundbreaking development, the world's first boring and blasting machine, jointly developed by Tsinghua University and China Railway Science and Industry Group, has successfully ... More Information

Tunnel boring machine wedged in hard rock, leaving Snowy 2.0 hydropower project with new issues

Tunnelling problems are plaguing the $12 billion Snowy 2.0 hydropower project, with a boring machine previously bogged in soft ground now wedged in ... More Information

Construction Complete On New High-Speed Rail Tunnel

Inside the completed Desheng Tunnel, and inset, a Chinese high-speed train. Work on the project is now complete. © China ... More Information

DC Water Breaks Ground on Potomac River Tunnel Project

The Project consists of a large-diameter deep sewer tunnel, diversion facilities, drop shafts, and support structures to capture flows from existing ... More Information