Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority appraising bids for design/build of tunnels and deep stations from Convention Place to 45th St station. Prequalified bidders are Modern Transit Constructors (Modern Continental/SA Healy/Impregilo/Hochtief/Parsons/Robison); Obayashi (Obayashi/Atkinson/Jacobs); Puget Link Constructors (Traylor/Shea/Frontier-Kemper); and Puget Sound Constructors (Hatch Mott MacDonald/Sverdrup/Sauer/Golder). March 2000.   The design/build contract for the Puget Sound tunnels and deep stations will be bid in late February 2000. Prequalified joint ventures are: Modern Transit Constructors (Modern Continental, S.A.Healy/Impregilo, Hochtief Ag, Parsons Transportation Group and Robison Construction); Obayashi (Obayashi Corp., Atkinson Construction, with Jacobs Associates Design Consultant); Puget Link Constructors (Traylor Bros. Inc., J.F. Shea Co. Inc., Frontier Kemper Constructors Inc.); Puget Sound Constructors, LLC and Hatch Mott McDonald-Sverdrup JV design consultant, Dr. G. Sauer- design sub consultant and Golder Associates- Geotechnical Sub consultant). March 2000. The Obayashi/Atkinson team is reported to have dropped out, and it is reliably reported that there are only two remaining of the four prequalified teams that were competing for this design/build project. June 2000. Modern Transit Constructors has been chosen as contractor-elect to design and build the 7.2 km-long Central Link light rail tunnel in Seattle, WA. The contract will be for the twin-bore tunnels only and does not include trackwork, signals and power. Negotiations are proceeding with Modern Transit Constructors with a view to awarding the contract by early-November. The joint venture is led by Modern Continental, with S A Healy, Impregilo, Parsons Transportation, Robison and Dumez-GTM. The runner-up team, Puget Link Construction comprises Traylor Brothers, J.F. Shea, Frontier-Kemper and Atkinson Construction, with Hatch Mott McDonald-Sverdrup JV as design consultant and Golder Associates as geotechnical subconsultant. Visit www.soundtransit.org Sept 2000.Negotiations with Modern Transit Constructors, a consortium headed by Modern Continental Construction Co. Cambridge, MA, with S.A. Healy, McCook, IL; Impregilo, Italy; Dumez-GTM, France; Parsons Transportation Group, Pasadena, CA and Roison Construction Group, Sumner, WA are reported to have been suspended due to potential cost overruns. The proposed design-build subway tunnel was more than $200 million over the Transit Agency budget estimate of $557 million. The board will study new options on construction methods to reduce cost. Visit www.soundtransit.org and www.moderncontinental.com December 2000.There are two bids to build a light rail tunnel through Beacon Hill as part of contract 710 of the 22.4 km initial segment from Convention Place in downtown Seattle to Tukwila. However, the lowest bid from Obayashi is USD280 million, USD41 million higher than Sound Transit's USD239 million estimate. The other bid is from Kiewit and its partners Traylor, Frontier Kemper and Beton und Monierbau in Beacon Hill Constructors with USD305 million. The project includes the entire tunnel and station complex, consisting of a 15.24 m-diameter main shaft to house the elevators leading to the concourse tunnel connecting a 5.75 m-inner diameter 1.6 km twin tunnel, a 9 m-diameter auxillary shaft to house emergency stairs, a ventilation adit, cross passages, surface buildings, architectural finishings, landscaping, mechanical and electrical work, elevators, ventilation fans, etc., except systems work (power supply and communications, etc.). The contract also includes the adjacent McClellan station (aerial station and aerial guideway at the east portal and aerial guideway at the west portal). A 30 m-deep shaft has been sunk to investigate the Beacon Hill tricky glacial soils. Contract to be awarded by end of May or June 2004 for start of station excavation at fall 2004 and start of tunnel boring with EPB TBMs in 2005. Subscribe to E-News Weekly 30/2003 & 13/2003. Visit www.soundtransit.org 22/04.Sound Transit has awarded URS Corporation a three-year contract to provide construction management services for the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) project. The project is part of the 22.5 km Central Link. The light rail will travel under downtown, sharing the 13-year-old tunnel with buses. The 2.1 km tunnel was built with rails for future light rail. However, they need to be insulated from the ground, and the roadbed is 15.2 cm too high to accommodate trains and newer buses. The tunnel will remain closed for two years for a retrofit that includes a new short cut-and-cover "stub tunnel" at Pine Street where trains can stop and turn around. All the buses that now use the tunnel will return to the surface during construction. URS will manage the DSTT retrofit totalling approximately USD60 to USD80 million in construction. Other work includes upgrades and improvements to the mechanical, electrical, fire, and safety systems, a state-of-the-art communications system, and a new integrated signalling system for both buses and trains. Construction is scheduled for completion in June 2007. Read E-News Weekly 22/2004. Visit www.urscorp.com and www.soundtransit.org 23/04.Balfour Beatty Construction bid USD82.7 million to retrofit the 2.1 km downtown Seattle bus tunnel for joint rail-bus use, which is nearly USD11 million (12%) less than Sound Transit's estimate. The contract, which includes construction of a short, dead-end tunnel under Pine Street, is a major component of Sound Transit's 22.5 km light rail line from downtown Seattle to Tukwila. Preliminary work on the new Pine Street stub tunnel between Seventh and Terry avenues could start in about four months. That tunnel will provide space for trains to turn around. The entire tunnel project is estimated to take 21 months. Visit www.soundtransit.org and www.balfourbeatty.com 30/04.Northlink Transit Partners, a joint venture of Earth Tech, HNTB, and Jacobs Associates, was awarded a USD38.9 million contract by Sound Transit for the final design of the University Link light rail extension. The 5.1 km extension will run in tunnel from Westlake station to the University of Washington, with stations at Capitol Hill and on the UW campus near Husky Stadium. The final design project includes a tunnel crossing under the Lake Washington Ship Canal between Portage Bay and Union Bay. Earth Tech's responsibilities will include providing project control systems, managing the design of the two rail stations, tunnel ventilation, mechanical and electrical systems. The project is expected to take two years to complete. Construction is scheduled to begin at fall 2008, with service starting in 2016. Read E-News Weekly 50/2006, 24/2004 & 13/2003. Visit www.soundtransit.org/x1171.xml, www.earthtech.com, www.hntb.com and www.jacobssf.com 03/07.Jacobs Engineering Group announced that the Seattle Tunnel and Rail Team (START), a joint venture between Jacobs and CH2M Hill, has been selected to receive a construction management services contract from Sound Transit to extend light rail service to connect the region's three most densely populated urban centres in Washington state (downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill/First Hill and the University district). The 5.1 km project entails constructing two parallel tunnels that run northward from Westlake to the University of Washington, with stations at Capitol Hill and on the University of Washington campus near Husky Stadium. It is anticipated that the new addition will start operation in 2016 and add 70,000 daily riders to the regional light rail system. Visit www.jacobs.com, www.ch2m.com and www.soundtransit.org/x1171.xml 29/08.Initial contract for site preparation on University Link awarded to West Coast contractor Condon-Johnson & Associates, www.condon-johnson.com/seattle/, value EUR13.93 million. Contact Eric Dybevik, tel +1 206 575 8248, e-mail edybevik@condon-johnson.com. Meantime, voter approval gained for 58 km-long expansion of Link light rail system with 19 stations including 20 km extension north from University of Washington to Lynnwood with underground stations at Brooklyn and Roosevelt. Contact Jeff Munnoch jeff.munnoch@soundtransit.org or visit www.soundtransit.org. 52/08.

East Side Access project will extend the Long Island Railroad commuter service to Grand Central terminal on the east side of Manhattan. Ten year scheme will cost $3.2 billion and involves construction of a new line between Queens and Manhattan requiring more than 6 km of tunnels together with refurbishment of existing tunnels under East river. New soft ground tunnels will be driven in Queens to connect to the existing 63rd Street tunnel and hardrock tunnels will be needed under Manhattan’s east side to the Grand Central Terminal. Scheduled for completion 2009 to provide 172,000 rides/day to and from the east side of Manhattan with connection to the new line from JFK airport to Jamaica, Queens. Technical consultant Mott MacDonald. Project managers Bechtel Infrastructure/URS Greiner. Tunnel engineering services to be provided by jv of Parsons Brinckerhoff and STV Inc under a contract valued at $184 million. Construction value of the tunnel contract is $1.4 billion. April 1999.  East Side Access will extend LIRR service from Queens to Grand Central Terminal on Manhattan's East Side. Soft ground tunnels in Queens, rock tunnels in Manhattan, and platform caverns beneath GCT station. In design for 2012 construction completion. Visit www.pbworld.com and www.urscorp.com 15/01.A USD6 billion tunnel under the East River from Brooklyn is the best option for the lower Manhattan rail link, a new project to connect non-stop lower Manhattan to Long Island and JFK Airport. It is hoped construction will begin by 2006, when an environmental impact study is expected to be completed. The line could be operational by 2013. The project would be undertaken by New York City in coordination with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Subscribe to E-News Weekly 8/2004. 20/04.Open competitive bidding, deadline 29th June, 2004 for excavation of the Manhattan tunnels from beneath East 63rd Street and Second Avenue to beneath Park Avenue at East 38th Street to connect the Long Island Railroad to Grand Central Station. The total length of the tunnel will be approximately 9,455 linear metres. The diameter will be approximately 6.56 m for an excavated rock volume on the order of 315,180 cu m. Eight TBM drives are planned using two TBMs. Construction cost over USD100 million. Contact MTA Capital Construction, Phil Avello or David Cannon, 469 Seventh Avenue, 6th floor, New York, NY 10018. Tel. +1 212 6952973, 212 9674748 , fax +1 212 6434735, e-mail esaproc@mta-esa.org. Visit www.mta.info 23/04.The excavation of the Manhattan tunnels (contract CM009) for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) East Side Access has been re-bidded. The total length of the excavated tunnel, from beneath East 63rd Street and Second Avenue to beneath Park Avenue at East 38th Street, will be appoximately 7,620 m. The diameter will be approximately 6.56 m. Four TBM drives are planned using two TBMs. Drilling and blasting will be used to excavate starter tunnels, assembly chambers, caverns, cross passages, etc. Initial rock support will be by reinforced shotcrete and rockbolts to ensure stability of the excavation. The contractor will be responsible for the installation of some temporary construction utilities to service and maintain the excavated tunnels and the existing 2,680 m-long 63rd Street tunnel utilized for access. Other contract work includes medium voltage temporary power substation, reconstruction of invert in the 63rd Street tunnel, installation of instrumentation in the new tunnels, etc. Visit www.mta.info/nyct/procure/vendorlists/cm009phl.pdf to view the list of the contract documents holders. E-mail mtaccpro@mta-esa.org for more or contact Dan DeLilla, tel. +1 2126434705. Also visit www.mta.nyc.ny.us/capconstr/esas 10/06.The three bidders for the Manhattan tunnels (contract CM009), which form part of the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) East Side Access, are a JV of Dragados and Judlau with USD427,954,000; then the SSTB JV between Slattery Skanska and Traylor Bros., with a bid of USD495,879,300; and lastly a JV of J.F. Shea and Schiavone, with a bid of USD519,600,000. Click us/18 for details. Visit http://enterprise.nyct.com 22/06.Dragados in JV with its local partner Judlau Contracting, which is 70% owned by the Spanish firm, were awarded the contract to connect the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Queens and Grand Central station in Manhattan by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The contract has a value of USD428 million. The project is named East Side Access, Manhattan tunnels.Dragados will use two rock TBMs to bore four tunnels totalling 7.5 km and 6.7 m in diameter. No tunnels have been built for more than 20 years to expand the subway or suburban rail systems in New York. In the years 1980-1984, lot 5B of the LIRR in Manhattan has been excavated with a 6.20 m-diameter Robbins TBM. The main contractor was then Impregilo. That was the first time a TBM was used for metro or rail systems in New York. The New York subsoil is rock and 265,000 cubic metres will be extracted. Work starts immediately and will take up to four years and two months. Click us/18. Visit www.dragados.com, www.mta.nyc.ny.us/capconstr/esas/index.html and www.mta.info/lirr/pubs/aboutlirr.htm 29/06.Request for qualifications, deadline 15th August, 2007 for contract CQ031, construction of Queens bored tunnels, structures and trackwork for the East Side Access project. The MTA Capital Construction (MTACC), acting as an agent and in behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), is seeking individual firms or joint ventures who are interested in being the prime contractor for contract CQ031, to submit qualification documents as part of a two step Request for Proposal (RFP) process. For more information visit www.mta.info/nyct/procure/contracts/cq031.pdf 31/07.A single bid to help carve out space for a new Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) terminal under Grand Central Terminal came in USD200 million higher than anticipated. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) had estimated the job to cost USD670 million. Instead, the bid came in closer to USD870 million. The sole bid was submitted by a joint venture between Judlau Contracting and Dragados. Last year, Judlau and Dragados were awarded a separate USD428 million contract to tunnel under Manhattan in preparation for the LIRR's expected 2013 arrival at Grand Central. The MTA explains that an uncommonly large number of construction projects in the US and worldwide may have led to less interest from bidders. The job may be split into several smaller contracts and the MTA is currently exploring whether a new call for bidders could delay the project beyond its expected 2013 completion. 46/07.Jacobs Engineering Group announced on 29th April that it received, in joint venture with its partner LiRo Engineers, a contract from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction Company to provide consultant construction management services for the East Side Access project in New York City. The value of the seven-year contract is estimated at USD75 million. The project involves boring nearly 11.2 km of railroad tunnels in Manhattan and Queens, laying 15,250 metres of track, building a new terminal under Grand Central Terminal, and building a new commuter station in the Sunnyside Yard in Queens in addition to extensive infrastructure work. Visit www.jacobs.com and www.liro.comThe new tunnel and track system will provide an alternative route for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) trains that currently travel underground to Pennsylvania station on Manhattan's West Side into the new terminal under Grand Central Terminal on the East Side. The connection will increase the LIRR's capacity into Manhattan and shorten travel time dramatically for commuters travelling from Long Island and eastern Queens to the East Side of Manhattan.The project requires using tunnel boring machines to excavate more than 1.5 km of hard rock dual-bored tunnels under Park Avenue in Manhattan and to bore four soft ground tunnels to the Sunnyside Yard in Queens. In addition to building the concourse under Grand Central Terminal, the project includes construction of new entrances, ventilation buildings, and substantial surface work, such as retaining walls and track realignments, that will be completed during ongoing rail activity in Sunnyside Yard. 20/08.