AECOM/Arup jv appointed for engineering services on £5.6 billion Second Avenue Subway System project in Manhattan, accelerated after the events of 11th September, 2001. New 13 km subway line with 15 stations to run under east Manhattan from 125th Street to the Battery at the island's southern end. Both cut-and-cover and bored tunnelling in clays and hard rock with connections to unused tunnels built in the 1960s. Visit www.aecom.com and www.arup.com 45/01. Plans for a Second Avenue subway line from Harlem to the southern end of Manhattan include 16 stations, several connections to other trains and a spur in midtown to link with lines running along Broadway. A preliminary MTA map shows the northern terminus of a Second Ave. line at 125th St. and Lexington Ave., with connections to the 4, 5 and 6 trains and the Metro-North Railroad. Stops would be at 116th, 106th, 96th, 86th, 72nd, 54th-57th, 42nd, 34th, 23rd, 14th, Houston and Grand Streets., followed by Chatham Square. Two more stops south of the Brooklyn Bridge would follow, but the locations have not been determined. The federal government has allowed the MTA to begin preliminary engineering. Project to involve cut-and-cover construction but officials underground boring to be used as much as possible. Construction time estimated at 15 years for a cost of $12 billion. Begin of construction by end of 2004. Visit www.mta.nyc.ny.us/planning/sas/index.html 04/02.Vollmer Associates has been selected by MTA Capital Construction Corporation (MTACC) as the prime design consultant on the design/build team of Schiavone Construction and Granite Halmar Construction, a joint venture for the new South Ferry terminal structural box. The project consists of design and construction of the structural box for the new South Ferry station on metro line 1 in lower Manhattan. The new terminal station will consist of two tracks and a 10-car-length centre island platform. The station will replace the existing substandard 5-car length station. The proposed approach tunnel and station will be constructed underneath three existing metro tunnels. Valued at over USD200 million, the project begins with modifications to be made at the existing metro tunnel under Greenwich Street, north of Battery Place so that the new tunnel can diverge to the west and proceed beneath a portion of Battery Park and then cross beneath the existing tunnel approach to the South Ferry loop tracks, and beneath the Line 4/5 metro tunnel to Brooklyn. The new station alignment will continue adjacent to State Street and terminate under Peter Minuit Plaza in front of the newly constructed Whitehall Ferry terminal. When completed in 2007, the new station will allow increased throughput and therefore increase the overall capacity of the entire 7th Avenue/Broadway Line. Visit www.lowermanhattan.info, www.mta.info/capconstr/sft and www.vollmer.com 26/05.A joint venture named S3 Tunnel Constructors comprising Skanska USA Civil (37.5%), Schiavone Construction (37.5%) and J.F. Shea Construction (25%) has been contracted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to manage and carry out construction of the new Second Avenue subway line in New York City on Manhattan's East Side. The contract amount is USD337 million. The contract is for construction of a 245 m-long by 23 m-wide launch box between 92nd and 95th streets, which will be the future 96th Street Station. Two parallel, 4 km-long train tunnel shafts will be advanced from this box, from 92nd to 63rd streets, using a TBM. Also included in the first contract is the construction of two access shafts at 69th Street and 72nd Street for the construction of the 72nd Street Station. Part of the approximately 100,000 cubic metres of the soil and rock to be excavated is contaminated and must be treated in an environmentally correct manner. Also included in the contract are extensive utility relocation and construction, temporary road decking and an electricity substation. Construction will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed during 2010. Work on the new subway line is divided into four phases, of which this is start of the first. The Second Avenue line will be a total of 14 km long and relieve congestion on the Lexington Avenue line, which carries more than one million passengers daily. Read E-News Weekly 39/2006. Visit www.skanska.com, www.schiavoneconstruction.com, www.jfshea.com and www.mta.info/capconstr/sas/index.html 14/07.The MTA Capital Construction Company has awarded a contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff to provide construction management services for the first phase of the Second Avenue subway project. The Second Avenue subway will include a two-track line along Second Avenue from 125th Street to the Financial District in Lower Manhattan. It will also include a connection to existing subway lines. Sixteen new stations will be constructed.As the construction management consultant, PB will provide resident engineering and inspection services. The firm will be responsible for design/constructability reviews, contract management and administration, project controls, value engineering, utility coordination, maintenance and protection of traffic, commissioning and startup, and project close out. The company will manage the contract interfaces for six concurrent construction contracts.Phase 1 of the project involves construction of twin tunnels from 96th Street to 63rd Street. A tunnel boring machine will bore one tunnel from 96th to 63rd streets and a second tunnel from 96th to 72nd streets. The remainder of the second tunnel from 72nd to 63rd streets will be constructed using the drill-and-blast method. Three new stations will be constructed and the rehabilitation of the 63rd Street station will enable the new line to connect to existing service. This project phase also entails the launch box for the TBMs, two access shafts, and installation/integration of all systems components. Construction of phase one is scheduled for completion in 2013. Read E-News Weekly 17/2007 & 39/2006. Visit www.pbworld.com 34/07.

  TBM-driven 3 km mountain tunnel between Mill Creek and Bull Creek just started by Traylor Bros. for the El Dorado Irrigation District. Drive end in June 2002. Expected rate of 152 metres per week. TBM equipped with seventeen cutters, 43 cm in diameter, by maker Construction and Tunneling Services (CTS). The cutterhead can produce more than one million pounds of thrust. 90% of the tunnel unsupported, 10% resin bolts and some 4WF13 ribs. Visit www.traylor.com and www.ctstbm.com 50/01.

  Site suitability study approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an underground dump consisting of some 50 parallel tunnels within which radioactive waste from more than 100 commercial, industrial and military sites would rest. Cost estimated at $57.5 billion. Public hearings by the Department of Energy underway until mid-December. Construction could begin by 2005, assuming it gets congressional approval, with first shipments by 2010. Visit www.ymp.gov 49/01.

The following submitters have been short-listed for the Alaskan Way viaduct replacement, now known as SR 99 bored tunnel design-build project, in Seattle, WA. They are: Seattle Tunnel Group (STG) comprising S A Healy/FCC/Parsons/Halcrow; AWV Joint Venture (KBB) comprising Kiewit Pacific/Bilfinger Berger/AECOM; Vinci/Traylor/Skanska (VTS JV) with Arup; Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) comprising Dragados-USA and HNTB Corporation. Draft version of Request for Proposal (RFP) to be released to Proposers on 26.02.2010. Technical contact is Brian Nielsen of WSDOT. More at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/. For project background visit tunnelbuilder archive us/69. 07/10.

Award of design/construct contract for 2.7 km-long tunnel to replace earthquake damaged Alaskan Way viaduct, value EUR823 million (USD1.09 billion), to Seattle Tunnel Partners jv comprising Dragados USA/HNTB/Tutor Perini/Coluccio/Mowat. Contractor will use 18.46 m-diameter EPB through mix of fill soil, clay, glacial till and boulders at depths to 64 m from Sodo to South Lake Union. More from tunnelbuilder archive us/69. Visit www.perini.com and www.grupoacs.com/index.php/en/c/pressroom_news. 50/10.

FHA approval of initiation of design/construct contract for 2.7 km-long tunnel to replace earthquake damaged Alaskan Way viaduct, value EUR823 million (USD1.09 billion), by Seattle Tunnel Partners jv comprising DragadosUSA/HNTB/TutorPerini/Coluccio/Mowat. Contractor will use 18.46 m-diameter EPB through mix of fill soil, clay, glacial till and boulders at depths to 64 m from Sodo to South Lake Union. More from tunnelbuilder archive us/69. Visit www.perini.com and www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct. 38/11.

Proposed 8 km tunnel to avoid San Clemente seashore on Los Angeles-San Diego high speed rail project to be assessed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority board on 14th November, 2001. Route would run from north of the pier at Avenida Pico following the freeway before reconnecting with existing coastal tracks around San Onofre. Visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov 43/01. The California High-Speed Rail Authority is to commence a $700 million EIS to determine the best route alignment for the 1,100 km-long high speed link between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The railway will have to comply with antiseismic standards and to cross two mountain massifs, requiring a 50 km tunnel. Cost of $25 billion. Visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov 02/02.The California High-Speed Rail Authority and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released a draft environmental impact report and environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS) for the planned 1,130 km high speed line from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Public hearings on the draft environmental report will be scheduled throughout the state beginning in mid-February. Tunnel segments of the alignment are proposed through the mountain passes in Diablo mountain range/Pacheco Pass between south San Jose and the Merced, and the Tehachapi mountains between Bakersfield and Sylmar. Visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov 08/04.A study by Geodata of Italy shows that routing the proposed high speed train through the Antelope Valley would be safer from earthquake hazards and far better serve southern California's transportation needs than the alternative Grapevine route also being considered by the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA). The Antelope Valley route is cheaper, faster to construct and safer to build than the Grapevine option which poses greater earthquake hazard and would cost more.The CHSRA has proposed a high speed train from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in about 2.5 hours. The project would cost an estimated USD35 billion and be the most expensive public works project in US history. Present plans call for Bakersfield to be the last Central Valley station before southern California. The train then would either follow a route through the Antelope Valley, with stops in Palmdale and Sylmar, or down the Grapevine route along the I-5 Freeway and stop in Sylmar before proceeding to Union Station downtown. The Palmdale to Union Station trip would take about 26 minutes. Visit www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov and www.geodata.it. More in E-News Weekly 17/2004. 17/04.A joint venture involving URS Corp., Hatch Mott MacDonald and Arup won two contracts for engineering and environmental work for California's proposed high speed rail system. The joint venture will do preliminary engineering and environmental analysis for a proposed 310 km segment between Fresno and Palmdale. This six-year contract could be worth USD41 million to URS. The joint venture will do similar work for a proposed 98 km rail line from Los Angeles to Palmdale, which could be worth USD21 million to URS. Read E-News Weekly 16/2007. Visit www.urscorp.com, www.hatchmott.com, www.arup.com, www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov 18/07.

  Proposed 35 km-long extension of San Francisco BART will include 14.5 km alignment in tunnel with five underground stations at Berryessa, Alum Rock, Civic Plaza/SJSU, Market St and Diridon/Arena, terminating at Santa Clara Caltrain station. Visit www.hatchmott.com and www.pbworld.com 26/01. 5.4 km-long, 5.5 m-diameter TBM-driven, segmentally-lined twin-tube railway system with eight NATM stations in design for MWAA Dulles airport for completion by 2006. Visit www.hatchmott.com and www.ilf.at 31/01.A USD51.2 million spending has been approved by the Valley Transportation Authority to begin planning the tunnel that will carry BART trains under downtown San Jose. Preliminary engineering is for a 7.2 km twin-bore tunnel that will run 15 to 23 m below ground starting at 28th and Santa Clara streets and extending to west of Interstate 880. Studies are expected to take two years or more. The VTA expects to award USD119 million in contracts for a half-dozen more studies by the end of summer. Visit www.vta.org 09/04.Proposed 25.76 km-long, USD6.1 billion extension of BART to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara will include 6.4 km of twin running tunnels and three underground stations at Alum Rock, Downtown San Jose, and Diridon/Arena to terminate near Santa Clara Caltrain station. EIS during 2009, with construction scheduled 2009-2015. Visit www.vta.org/bart. 08/09.

The deadline for the SOQ (Statement Of Qualifications) submission for RFQ S20221 BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Program / Tunnel / Trackwork Contract 2 has been postponed from 26/02/2021 to 12/03/2021.    

The 10 km (6-mile), BART Phase II Extension Project will extend southwest from the newly opened Berryessa/North San José Station with three more stations in San Jose and one in Santa Clara adjacent to the existing Santa Clara Caltrain Station.  About 8km (5 miles) of the alignment will be underground, with a single bore tunnel containing side-by-side and stacked tracks and platforms. Construction is planned to begin in 2022, with substantial construction completed by 2028, followed by system testing and then passenger service.  

By 23/04/2021 the Short-List Announcement. Three or up to four of the highest-ranked Respondents will be invited to submit proposals in response to VTA’s forthcoming Request for Proposals (RFP) about Contract 2.   

Contact  VTA- Department BART Silicon Valley, attn Mary Talentino (Contracts Manager), tel (408) 321-5733, email mary.talentinow@vta.org.   Please click here for further on the tender, here and us/61 for tunnelbuilder archive. Ref.n. S20221. 08/21. 

12.8 km x 6 m-diameter TBM-driven sewer in design for Nancy Creek, Atlanta for completion in response to consent decrees by February, 2003. Hard metamorphic rocks expected with gneiss, schist, quartzites and granite predominating. Internal lining to 5 m-diameter proposed. Design/build request for proposal due end-June, 2001. Visit www.jjg.com 25/01. Award imminent for $40 million, 1.28 km-long x 3.65 m-diameter steam distribution conduit to be driven for ConEdison beneath 1st Avenue by hardrock TBM between two 33.5 m-deep x 7 m-wide x 12 m-long shafts. Design/build contractor will select lining. Visit www.jenny-engineering.com 29/01. The Atlanta City Council has approved a $131.5 million contract for Obayashi Corporation to construct the Nancy Creek sewer tunnel. The purpose of the tunnel is to store rain and sewer overflows until the water can be treated. Much of DeKalb County's sewage flows into the Nancy Creek basin and the city system. The tunnel will originate in north DeKalb where about 4,000 feet (1,220 m) is to be built, and will continue another 7.9 miles (12.7 km) to an Atlanta sewer plant on a bank of the Chattahoochee river. Visit www.obayashi.co.jp/english/index.html 31/02.DeKalb County commissioners voted a resolution backing the city of Atlanta's plans to build part of the 12.9 km-long Nancy Creek sewage tunnel underneath the homes of several dozen DeKalb residents in a neighbourhood between Dunwoody and the city of Chamblee. The $131.5 million tunnel would begin just east of the Chattahoochee river near I-75 and run underneath parts of Atlanta. It would end in DeKalb. Construction awarded to Obayashi. Read E-News Weekly # 42. 42/02.

2.64 km-long twin-bore rock tunnels under active runways with NATM station to be excavated in limestone beneath Minneapolis/St Paul airport. EPB with precast concrete segmental bolted lining specified by designer HNTB Corporation, who have also designed five cut-and-cover tunnels at the airport. Visit www.brierleyassociates.com October 2000. Obayashi-Johnson Bros to commence boring in October, 2001 using refurbished Herrenknecht dual-mode EPB/open TBM in sandstone for $110 million, 1.8 km-long twin tubes at Minneapolis-St Paul. Visit www.hntb.com or www.mottmac.com 28/01. TBM, 6.86 m-diameter, started driving two 2.8 km tubes, 6 metres apart, underneath Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on the Hiawatha line from downtown Minneapolis to the Mall of America in Bloomington. Sandstone boulders and hard limestone. Machine expected to surface near the airport's Humphrey Terminal in March, 2002 before being taken apart, trucked back to its starting point and reassembled to bore the second parallel tunnel. Lining ring consisting of six large concrete segments, each 1.5 m-wide by 1.8 m-long and 25 cm-thick, plus one smaller keystone. Also includes the 161 m-long Lindbergh station, 20 metres underground. Opening programmed by late 2003. Cost of $142 million financed by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, plus federal, state and Metropolitan Council funds. Visit www.dot.state.mn.us, www.mspairport.com and www.herrenknecht.com 49/01.$49.5 million has been granted by the Federal Transit Administration for the construction of the Hiawatha Light Rail Transit project. President Bush has proposed $7.2 billion for the 2003 budget. The Hiawatha line extends from the transit mall at Fifth Avenue in downtown Minneapolis along Hiawatha Avenue to a terminus, across 24th Street to the Mall of America in Bloomington. The 18.7 km line includes 17 stations and two 2.2 km tunnels under runways and taxiways to provide two new stations serving Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Breakthrough of the first tunnel took place on 25th April, 2002 (see E-News Weekly # 19). Service is scheduled to commence in December 2004.

Brown & Root jv designing 1.9 km-long x 7 m-diameter Waller Creek tunnel for City of Austin between Texas State Capitol and Town Lake with special intake and outlet structures.Mainly in Austin Limestone and Eagle Ford Shale with numerous faults. More information at www.halliburton.com July 2000.The Austin city council approved Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the Waller Creek tunnel project, which includes funding for design, bidding and construction. The USD28.3 million design contract went to a joint venture between Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and Espey Consultants. That process is expected to be complete in 2010. The build portion will include an estimated USD100 million contract for construction of the project. Construction is expected to take place from 2010 to 2014. Click here. Read E-News Weekly 26/2007, 16/2007, 34/2006, 27/2006, 32/2003, 22/2003, 20/2003 & 12/2003. Visit www.kbr.com and www.espeyconsultants.com 38/07.

Invitation to prequalified contractors to bid, opening date 11.03.2010, for construction of new 5.63 km-long, 2.7-3.3 m-ID Irvington tunnel, estimated value EUR184 million (USD251 million). Contract award April/May, 2010 for start June, 2010 and completion May, 2014. Visit tunnelbuilder archive us/49 for project background, and www.sfwater.org for update. 07/10.