15 km-long, 3.5 m-diameter Saavedra-Moron tunnel reaching completion by Wayss & Freytag/Sollazo Hnos for Aguas Argentinas using Herrenknecht EPB. Safege Montgomery Watson are client's engineer. Tunnelling conditions post-evaluation study carried out by team chaired by Mike Kobler of Underground Construction Managers and including Alastair Biggart of Hatch Mott MacDonald and Gary Brierley of Brierley Associates. Visit www.brierleyassociates.com January 2000.   Completion of $65 million Saavedra-Moron reported. The tunnel comprises four drives of 3.56 km, 4.2 km, 3.7 km, and 3.8 km at depth 35 m from five shafts. Ground conditions were variable, ranging from quicksands under 2.5 bar pressure, through green sandy clays to hard consolidated silts with calcareous nodules. Soil conditioning using bentonite or foam, or both. The two Herrenknecht 4.3 m-diameter EPBs averaged 20 x 1.2 m-wide gasketed rings/day with a best performance of 35 rings. Visit www.herrenknecht.com March 2000.

Three pre-qualified bidding teams have been selected to participate in the Request for Proposals (RFP) stage for the contract to build the EUR1.93 bn (CAD2.83 bn) Broadway subway extension project in Vancouver.

The Acciona-Ghella JV, composed of Acciona Infrastructure Canada, Ghella Canada, IBI Professional Services (Canada), DIALOG BC Architecture Engineering Interior Design Planning, Mott MacDonald Canada Ltd, Ingenieria Especializada de Obra Civil e Industrial SA, Parsons and Corporacion Acciona Infraestructuras); the Broadway Connect JV, composed of Dragados Canada, Aecon Infrastructure Management, ACS Infrastructure Canada, Aecon Concessions, a division of Aecon Construction Group, Dragados SA, Aecon Group, Hatch Ltd, WSP Canada, Dr. G. Sauer & Partners, VIA Architecture, Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions, a Division of Wood Canada Ltd and Sener; the West 9th Partners, composed of SNC-Lavalin Capital, SNC-Lavalin Constructors Pacific, SNC-Lavalin, SNC-Lavalin Grou will have until next year to submit their bids for the design, build and finance project.  Contact Broadway Subway Project, Vancouver, email BSPContact@gov.bc.ca. For more information click here. 31/19.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) awarded the EUR20.9 million (CAD30 million)   contract FE85-2 for Tunnel Design Services for the Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE) to Hatch Mott MacDonald Limited. Duration contrat five years from the

Notification of Award. The 7.5km three-stop subway was approved by the city council in October 2013. It will extend the existing Bloor-Danforth subway line to Scarborough Town Centre, replacing the aging Scarborough Rapid Transit line, which went into service in 1985. Click here and visit www.hatchmott.com. 05/15.

Spadina Link Project Managers, a joint venture of Hatch Mott MacDonald, Delcan Corporation and MMM Group, has been awarded a CAD100 million project management services contract for the Spadina subway extension by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) for a period of seven years. With an estimated final cost of CAD2.63 billion, the Spadina subway extension is the largest transit expansion project to be undertaken by the TTC in 40 years. The project is unique in that the TTC subway network will go beyond the city of Toronto limits for the first time and link neighbouring communities in York Region. The 8.6 km extension to the existing Spadina subway line will be underground, running from the existing Downsview station to Vaughan Corporate Centre, and will add six more stations including a new station at York University. The project is expected to commence in April 2008 with an anticipated completion in 2015. Read E-News Weekly 15/2006. Visit www.toronto.ca/ttc/spadina_extension/index.htm, www.hatchmott.com and www.delcan.com 15/08.

Three teams were shortlisted through a Request for Qualification (RFQ) process conducted earlier this year by Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and Metrolinx for the Advance Tunnel Contract package for the Yonge North Subway Extension. The Yonge North Subway Extension will extend the TTC’s Line 1 subway service approximately 8 kilometres from the existing terminus at Finch Station into the City of Richmond Hill.  

CrossTransit Group 

• Applicant Leads: VINCI Construction Grands Projets, Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc. 
• Design Prime Team Member: SENER SES Canada Inc. 
• Construction Prime Team Members: Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc., Janin Atlas Inc.    

North End Connectors 

• Applicant Leads: Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada Inc., Ghella Canada Ltd.  
• Design Prime Team Members: EXP Services Inc., TYPSA Inc. 
• Construction Prime Team Members: Aecon Infrastructure Management Inc., Dragados Canada Inc., Ghella Canada Ltd.   

Toronto-York Tunnel Connectors 

Applicant Leads: Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc., Bouygues Construction Canada  

Design Prime Team Members: Hatch Ltd., Parsons Inc. 

Construction Prime Team Members: Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc., Bouygues Construction Canada    

The 3 teams  are now invited to respond to the RFP with proposals that detail how they will deliver the project. Upon evaluating the proposals received, IO and Metrolinx expect to award this tunnelling contract in late 2024.  

The Yonge North Subway Extension is one of the priority transit projects announced by the Province for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including the Ontario Line, the Scarborough Subway Extension, the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension and the Hamilton LRT.  

 For more information visit https://www.metrolinx.merx.com and https://www.infrastructureontario.ca.  Ref.n. 0000222315. 48/23.   

Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) has been selected to design twin tunnels for the Evergreen LRT line in Vancouver. The two 1.9 km-long tunnels will have a diameter of approximately 5.7 metres, will be constructed by pressurized face tunnel boring machines, and will be lined with precast concrete segments. Key elements of the project include the configuration of the portals within the urban environment and dealing with spatial constraints for construction. HMM is responsible for management of the geotechnical investigation, design, and preparation of procurement documents for construction, which is expected to proceed in 2007. Read E-News Weekly 51/2004. Visit www.hatchmott.com 30/06.

Ontario - ca/13HydroOntario Power reports that the 10 km-long, 14 m-diameter Sir Adam Beck power station tunnel project to divert water from the Niagara river, shelved following award to Obayashi/Kenaidan jv in 1998, will now go ahead in 2002. The alignment through limestone and shale will require a double gripper hardrock TBM to drive from the power station upgrade to a cofferdam in the centre of the river. The $320 million design/build project bid was prepared by Acres/Bechtel. Harza Engineering is consultant to the contractor, with sub-consultancy services provided by Parsons Brinckerhoff. April 2000. Request for proposals for a feasibility study of the Beck 3 generating project to be issued before the end of March 2003. The study is expected to be completed by fall. The Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will proceed with a 10.5 km-long 12.5 m-diameter tunnel project, an expansion of the existing Sir Adam Beck generating station at Niagara Falls. The Beck 3 project would have a maximum generating capacity of just under 1000 MW. Visit www.energy.gov.on.ca and www.ontariohydroenergy.com. Read E-News Weekly # 47. 07/03.Further to the Ontario government's endorsement of the project, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is about to seek requests for proposal (RFP) in an open, competitive and international bidding to select who will construct the third Niagara Falls tunnel. The successful bidder will be required to construct the tunnel as a turnkey project. The tunnel project will expand the capacity at Sir Adam Beck 1 and 2 hydro generating stations by about 15% by boring a new 10.5 km-long 12.5 m-diameter tunnel under the city of Niagara Falls to divert more water from the Niagara River to the station complex. During construction, approximately 8 million tonnes of material will be moved and 1 million tonnes of concrete will be poured. Construction could begin as early as next year, with completion of the project expected in 2009. When completed, the new tunnel will deliver about 1.6 TWh of electricity every year.To run the Niagara Falls generating stations, water is diverted from the river above the falls and channelled through two tunnels to power stations at Queenston. A treaty with the United States sets a limit on the amount of water each country can divert to its power stations. The two existing tunnels cannot carry all the water Canada is allowed to use. The new third tunnel will allow Canada to use all the water the country is permitted. However, a study undertaken in the wake of August 2003's blackout by Klohn Crippen and Stone & Webster concluded that there is not enough water on the Canadian side of the Niagara river to justify building a third Beck plant. The Niagara third tunnel project is expected to cost an estimated CD600 million. Subscribe to E-News Weekly 47/2002. Visit www.opg.com and read the study at www.energy.gov.on.ca/english/pdf/electricity/040616_Beck3%20Report.pdf 28/04.Call for expressions of interest, deadline 26th August, 2004 for design and construction of the third Niagara Falls tunnel. The objective of the project is to provide at least 500 cu m of water per second to the generating stations. The contractor will be responsible for finalizing a design to meet this objective. It is expected that a single tunnel 10.5 km will be constructed. The internal diameter of the finished tunnel will be at least 12.5 m. Intake and discharge structures will be included in the contract. Geology is sedimentary rock with the bulk of the excavation in shale. A single TBM is most likely. Support system will be designed by the contractor. A conveyor belt system is most likely for the mucking-out. A single design/build contract will be released for bid by year end 2004, to those parties who have been prequalified. Contract award in mid 2005. Construction work to begin in mid 2005. Cost estimates are under review. This information is based on early conceptual work and are subject to change during the design process. Documents available on 21st July, 2004. For further info on the prequalification process, contact Harry Charalambu, tel. +1 9054034210, fax +1 9058552607, e-mail hcharalambu@hatch.ca. Visit www.opg.com/info/ads/OPG_NiagaraAd_Globe.pdf 30/04.The four prequalified companies invited to submit their detailed proposals for the design and construction of a new 10.5 km tunnel to carry water from the Niagara River above the falls to the Adam Beck generating plant located at Queenston Heights are Niagara Tunnel Constructors (Aecon Constructors, Hochtief Construction AG, J.F. Shea Construction Inc., Traylor Bros. Inc.); Niagara Tunnelers (Obayashi Corporation / Kenaidan Contracting); Peter Kiewit Sons Co.; and Strabag. The successful bidder will be required to construct the tunnel as a turn-key project. Construction activities are expected to start in the summer of 2005, with completion of the tunnel expected in 2009. Visit www.opg.com 03/05.Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has awarded a CAD600 million contract to Strabag to design and build a new 10.4 km-long 12.7 m ID tunnel to supply additional water from above Niagara Falls to the Sir Adam Beck 2 generating plant at Queenston Heights. Strabag will be supported by ILF of Austria, Morrison Hershfield of Toronto, Dufferin Construction of Oakville and several other local subcontractors. A 14.4 m-diameter TBM will be used to excavate the tunnel about 140 m below ground level. The TBM will cost between CAD75 million and CAD80 million and will take up to a year to build. Preparation work will start in September. The site construction work force is expected to average about 230 workers, with peaks of up to 350 workers. The tunnel will supply 500 cu m/sec of additional water to the power plant and will enable energy output to increase by an average of about 1.6 Terawatt hours/year. It is expected to be producing new clean electricity for the Ontario market by late 2009. Visit www.opg.com and www.strabag.at 35/05.The largest hard rock TBM in the world (14.4 m in diameter) will be designed and manufactured by Robbins for the Niagara Falls tunnel project. The project is to bore a third tunnel at the famous waterway that flows between the USA and Canada, providing water flow of approximately 500 cu m/sec and ultimately increasing power production by 14% - enough to meet the annual needs of a city of 700,000 people. The 10.4 km tunnel will have a finished diameter of approximately 12.5 m.The Robbins TBM will be an open, hard rock, main beam TBM that utilises the proven Robbins floating gripper design. The TBM will be manufactured with a state-of-the-art ground support system. The cutterhead will be powered with a 4,725 kW variable frequency drive system that can be increased to 5,040 kW. For optimum tunnelling performance, Strabag elected to utilise Robbins 20-inch cutters mounted in a back-loading cutterhead. Alternately, Robbins 19-inch cutters can be used without modification of the cutterhead. The geology is varied consisting of limestone, dolostone, sandstone, shale, and mudstone. The rock strength ranges from 15 to 180 MPa, with most of the rock in the 100 to 180 MPa range. With the exception of the sandstone, the geology is largely non-abrasive. The Robbins TBM will be delivered in 12 months and is scheduled to begin boring in the autumn of 2006. The TBM excavation is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2008. Click here for more. Visit www.robbinstbm.com 43/05.

Scheme approved and now under preparation by Delcan and Mott MacDonald with NTA Urban Construction Lines, a government corporation. BOT tenders will be called for US$2bn first phase which includes underground section from Petah-Tikva to Bat-Yam. Six-year construction period. Dec 1998. De Leuw Cather awarded preliminary design contract for the first 18 km of line which will now be built for light rail operation with a view to possible conversion to metro standards in the future. Sept 1999. Approval given for Red Line, partly in tunnel, to run between Peta-Tikva and Bat-Yam. It will be designed with overhead power supply for initial use, but alignment geometry and tunnel diameter will permit easy future conversion to heavy metro. Visit www.mottmac.com Sept 2000.BOT tenders expected end-2000 for 21 km Red line from Peta Tikva to Bat Yam via Jabitinsky Road, Hameslia and Jaffa, with 7 km Peta Tikva to Jaffa in cut-and-cover tunnel. Construction to start within two years for completion by 2008. Promoter NTA Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd for Municipality of Tel Aviv. December 2000. Tender documents in preparation for 22 km Red Line to start construction in 2003 for opening 2008. Now to include 9 km of tunnel bored 40 m below street level. In first stage, 7 km will be driven between Allenby and Ben Gurion, to be followed later by 2 km extension from Ben Gurion to Geha. Project management by Mesillot, a jv of Hatch Mott MacDonald, Delcan, and Amy-Metom. Green Line from Rishon and Holon in the south, via the city centre, to Arlosoroff in design as LRT with interchanges with Red Line at Allenby and Arlosoroff. Visit www.hatchmott.com 03/01. Invitation to tender for BOT construction of 22 km-long red line with 7-9 km of tunnels expected September, 2001. Visit www.hatchmott.com 34/01. Invitation to prequalify, deadline 23rd May, 2002 for the US$1 billion 22 km Red Line under BOT contract. Includes 7.5 km of tunnels in the city centre and elevated sections to Petach Tikva and Bat Yam. Work on first stage to start in 2004 with commissioning expected for 2009. Contact NTA (Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd.), 13 Gush Etzion St, 3rd floor (Shay Sohlberg, Manager of the Economics and Legal Division), Givat Shmuel, 54030, Israel, tel +972-(0)3-5320530, fax +972-(0)3-5480354, PQ_TENDER@nta.co.il. To get the 'Right to Participate and Threshold Requirements' document, e-mail thierry@tunnelbuilder.com. Also under planning are the Green Line from Rishon Lezion via Holon to Tel Aviv where it will cross the Red Line, the Yellow Line from Tel Aviv to Ramat Gan, Ramat Hasharon and Herzliya, and the Purple Line to Kiryat Ono. 51/01. Three international consortia will submit their bids on 31st July for the construction of the Tel Aviv metro. They are: Afriqua Israel, Siemens, Aecon (Canada); Dragados, Israeli construction firm Ashtrom, Alstom, Vivendi Environnement unit Connex; and RATP, Boig (France), Bomvred (Canada). The latter consortium is currently negotiating with two Israeli companies to get them to join the project. The first two consortia are also candidates for the Jerusalem light rail project. Read E-News Weekly # 24. The Tel Aviv metro is a 22 km network, both elevated and below ground, from Petah Tikva, north of Tel Aviv, to Bat Yam in the south. Estimated cost of $1.2 billion. 27/02. Four international consortia have submitted bids in the first tender to build and operate the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Light Railway Red Line. The first consortium comprises Siemens, Aecon Group, HTM (Netherlands), Africa-Israel Investments, and Egged Bus Cooperative. The second consortium comprises Bombardier, Bouygues, Paris metro operator RATP, and Israel's Property & Building and the Dan bus company. The third consortium is headed by Polar Investments, with Ashtrom, Alstom, Connex-CGEA, and Housing & Construction Holding Co. (Shikun u'Binui). The fourth consortium comprises Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), Daewoo International, BVG (Germany), and Israel's Ocif Investments & Development, Shafir Civil & Marine Engineering, Gmul, Granite Hacarmel Investments, and Bateman Engineering.The consortia for the final stage will be chosen by early 2003. The final tender will be published by mid-2003 and construction will begin in early 2005. The first trains are scheduled to operate in 2010. 45/02. The subcommittee for important infrastructure plans approved the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Light Railway Red Line. The line will be completely underground in the 7.5 km from Manshieh, through Ramat Gan, to the border of Bnei Brak. 32 stops are planned, including 11 underground. An award is pending. 12/03.The three shortlisted groups for the first phase of the Tel Aviv light rail are Siemens, Aecon Group, HTM, Africa-Israel Investments, and Egged Bus Cooperative; Bombardier, RATP, Bouygues, Property & Building, and Dan Bus Cooperative; and Alstom, Connex, Ashtrom, Housing & Construction Holding, and Polar Investments.The 22 km first phase includes 7.5 km of tunnels. 30/03.Five companies have joined forces to make up the Metropolitan Transportation Solution (MTS) consortium, which is competing in the Tel Aviv light railway tender. The companies are Africa-Israel Investments, Egged Bus Cooperative, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Portugal's Soares da Costa and Siemens. Each company will have a 20% share in the consortium, which will be led and managed by Africa-Israel. The tender is for the digging and construction of two light rail lines, one from Petah Tikva to Rishon LeZion, and the other from the Glilot junction in north Tel Aviv to western Rishon LeZion, with several branches and sublines. Construction will take an estimated 5-10 years. 27/04.MTS, a consortium which consists of Africa-Israel, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Soares da Costa, the Egged bus cooperative, Siemens, and the leading Dutch transportation company HTM won a BOT contract for the 22 km Red Line. The contract is worth ILS7.1 billion, the biggest private sector contract ever tendered in Israel's history. MTS' bid was just ILS400 million under that of rival Metrorail, who bidded at ILS7.5 billion. The defeated Metrorail consortium is expected to file suit against the award to MTS. Even if MTS finally succeeds, it will have first to finish detailed planning and overcome many other financial and administrative difficulties, including working with the mayors of five different municipalities along the route. Visit www.africa-israel.com, www.ccecc.com.hk and www.soaresdacosta.ptThe line runs from Petah Tikva bus station through Bnei Brak and Ramat Gan through to central Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Bat Yam. About 10 kilometres of the line is to be built underground, with ten underground stops (Allenby, Carlebach, Yehudit, Shaul HaMelech, Arlozorov, Abba Hillel, Bialik, Ben Gurion, Aharonowitz, and Em HaMoshavot), with an average distance of 500 metres between them. Tunnelling is due to begin in late 2008-early 2009. The first phase is expected to be operational in 2013. MTS will operate the line for 22 years. Read E-News Weekly 6/2006, 24/2005, 6/2005 & 47/2004. Click il/13. 03/07.

Tunnel contractors are advised that the Middlesex County Utilities Authority is soliciting contractors with extensive tunnelling experience to submit Requests for Qualifications, until 31st October, 2006 for the construction of a 3,900-linear foot (1,190 m) tunnel beneath and at the mouth of the Raritan River in Central New Jersey. Tunnel construction will consist of the installation of a 12-foot 10-inch (3.9 m) ID bolted, gasketed, fully grouted segmental concrete tunnel in soft soil using a pressurized face TBM. The tunnel construction will include the installation of two new 60-inch (152 cm) diameter parallel force mains within the tunnel. The design engineer is Hatch Mott MacDonald. Interested parties are urged to visit the Authority's website for further information, www.mcua.com/request_for_qualifications.htm, or contact Donato J. Tanzi, P.E., Division Manager/Chief Engineer, Middlesex County Utilities Authority, PO Box 159, 2571 Main Street Extension, Sayreville, NJ 08872, tel. +1 7327213800, fax +1 7327210206. 38/06.

Proposal by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District to build 64 km of tunnels and sewers as part of a $519 million project to clean up Lake Erie. Tunnels would be 1.8 to 7.3 m in diameter with 23 km from E. 55th St to E. 185th St and under the University. Time frame spread over 25 years or more. 48/01. The regional sewer district plans to build 35 miles (56 km) of sewers and storage tunnels as part of a $371 million project to reduce pollution flowing into the Cuyahoga river and several tributaries. The project is the fourth and last that the regional sewer district has developed over the past eight years to control the amount of both sanitary sewer waste and storm water that goes into Lake Erie, the Cuyahoga and other Greater Cleveland's waterways. The project will replace aging sewer systems on Cleveland's south side and in Brooklyn, Newburgh Heights, Cuyahoga Heights and Linndale. Two deep sewer tunnels are the centrepiece of the southerly plan, which cost $8.5 million. They will collect and hold 100 million gallons (378 million litres). Work to start in 2007 and to be done over 30 years. 26/02.With more than 120 km of tunnels built over a span of 30 years, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) is one of North America's more experienced agencies in tunnel design and construction. The NEORSD has selected Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) to design the Euclid Creek storage tunnel project, the largest diameter tunnel in their conveyance network to date. The tunnel will store 208.2 million litres of combined sewer overflow along a 4.8 km alignment and will range from 7.3 to 8.5 m in diameter. The tunnel will discharge by gravity into a future pumping station at the Easterly wastewater treatment plant. The project will help limit and control CSO discharges to Cleveland's east side creeks, streams, and Lake Erie. Project facilities will include numerous construction shafts, diversion structures and drop structures, and 1.6 km of near-surface consolidation sewers. Design completion is targeted for June 2007, with start of construction expected in early 2008. Visit www.hatchmott.com and www.neorsd.org 30/06.

EUR160 million, 5.74 km-long, 7.64 m internal diameter Euclid Creek Storage Tunnel (ECT) getting underway by contractor McNally/Kiewit ECT JV in Chagrin Shale, with possible gas, at average depth 63.65 m. Contract includes construction of four flow drop shafts and 12.7 m-diameter access shaft completed on 5.4 acre site at Bratenahl. Tunnel lining from within TBM tailskin using bolted, gasketed, steel fibre reinforced concrete segments with backgrouting. More from Kellie Rotunno at NEORSD in Cleveland, OH, tel +1 216 881-6600 or visit www.neorsd.org/ect. Project history in tunnelbuilder archive us/76. Project management by Hatch Mott MacDonald www.hatchmott.com/projects/euclid-creek-cso. 23/12.

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.