Hindhead bypass comprising 1.6 km-long twin-tube, two-lane, 11.5 m-diameter NATM tunnels in cemented sands and gravels with up to 60 m cover to be let by Highways Agency as design/build contract, value $150 million. Prequalification expected this year. Visit www.mouchel.co.uk and www.highways.gov.uk 19/01. Preinformation notice published on 2nd October for planning, design and contruction of a 6.5-km dual 2-lane road in Surrey including the 2 x 1.7-km Hindhead tunnel with a 11-12 m diameter depending on excavation technique. NATM assumed. Geology consisting of sand and weakly cemented sandstone. Tunnelling costs of £67 million funded by central government. Consultants Mouchel involved up to 1995. WS Atkins recently appointed to prepare contract documents and act as Employers Agent. Visit http://ted.eur-op.int, document S 189-129630, or fax +44 1306878123. Also visit www.highways.gov.uk 42/01. Restricted tender, deadline 3rd December, 2001 for 6.5 km of dual two-lane trunk road including the 1.7 km twin bored tunnel under Hindhead Common. Visit http://ted.eur-op.int, document S 213-146004 or contact Highways Agency, Dorking, fax +44 013 06 878123. 46/01. The Highways Agency has awarded a £320,000 contract for ground investigation work for the A3 Hindhead tunnel scheme to Soil Mechanics Ltd. The work involves the drilling of twelve boreholes to determine ground conditions and monitor groundwater levels between August and November 2002. It forms part of the investigations being undertaken to provide 1.7 km twin tunnels beneath Hindhead Common for the realignment of the A3. The contract to design and build the new road will be awarded in September 2002. Work would start in 2005 and be completed by 2009. Visit www.highways.gov.uk 34/02. Five consortia have prequalified for the design and construction of the 6.5 km realignement of motorway A 3 including the 2 x 1.7-km Hindhead tunnel. They are: Amec and Halcrow; Balfour Beatty and Mott McDonald; Costain, Scott Wilson and Symonds; Alfred McAlpine; Bouygues, Mouchel and Donaldson; and Nishimatsu, Mowlem and Brown & Root. Visit www.highways.gov.uk 37/02.Balfour Beatty has been selected by the Highways Agency for the 6.5 km A3 Hindhead scheme, a £129.8 million design/build project including a 1.9 km two-lane twin bore tunnel to remove the A3 trunk road from Hindhead village and the Devil's Punchbowl, a famous natural landmark. Mott MacDonald will act as designer to Balfour Beatty. The two companies will develop the scheme design in sufficient detail to permit publication of draft orders and preparation of the environmental statement in late summer 2003. Detailed design and construction will begin immediately the final scheme is approved, with a completion target date of 2009. Mott MacDonald is responsible for all design aspects, including civil, structural, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical, fire and safety systems engineering. Probably NATM tunnel. Visit www.highways.gov.uk, www.balfourbeatty.com and www.mottmac.com 41/02.Sandvik will supply Balfour Beatty with three DT820-AC twin boom tunnelling jumbos for the 2 x 1.9 km Hindhead tunnel project, which will complete the dual carriageway link between London and Portsmouth, in the west. Click here. Visit www.sandvik.com 52/07-01/08.Balfour Kilpatrick, the services and power systems business of Balfour Beatty, has been awarded a GBP25 million contract to deliver mechanical and electrical services for Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, which is currently working on the GBP371 million A3 Hindhead tunnel project on behalf of the Highways Agency. The scheme includes a 1.8 km twin-bore tunnel under the Devil's Punch Bowl. The Hindhead tunnel will feature cross-passages every 100 metres and state-of-the-art safety and communications systems, including high quality lighting and ventilation, CCTV surveillance and radio-rebroadcast systems to convey appropriate information to tunnel users. Click here. Visit www.balfourkilpatrick.com 22/08.

  Westminster, the final station on the Jubilee Line Extension, opened on 22nd December just in time to ferry members of Parliament to the Millennium Dome for the New Year celebrations. The line had been opening in sections since 14th May, 1999 and trains had been running along its full length since 20th November without stopping at Westminster. The new station extends 38.2 m below street level to service the JLE lines (which are stacked at this point) and interchanges with the existing Circle and District line. It has 17 escalators, two elevators and four fixed stairways from the JLE platforms to the ticket hall, and another two elevators and two staircases from the Circle and Disrict line. The station forms the foundation for Portcullis House, a new office block opposite Big Ben reputed to be the most expensive accommodation in London at $1.6 million/room. January 2000. The Crossrail and Chelsea-Hackney underground railway proposals have received a $200 million allocation to fund further design work, for which tenders will be invited soon. Administrators will be Sir Alastair Morton's Strategic Rail Authority and Mayor Livingstone's Transport for London, run by Bob Kiley. Both schemes have been on the back burner for years, with Crossrail having completed its final design in the early nineties. Mott MacDonald and Maunsell designed the Crossrail tunnels; Symons/Travers Morgan, Liverpool Street station; Babtie, Farringdon station; Mott MacDonald, Tottenham Court Road station; Halcrow, Bond Street station; and Benaim/Golder, Paddington station. Dr Sauer was NATM consultant. Halcrow had earlier completed the preliminary design for the Chelsea-Hackney line.Crossrail was kicked into touch in favour of the Jubilee Line Extension, a project subsequently consigned to the Chamber of Horrors on account of its time and cost overruns. Before Crossrail can be tendered, Messrs Morton and Kiley have to overcome the public resentment generated by the JLE debacle. In the meantime, they have briefs to remedy the infrastructural dereliction of both Railtrack and London Underground. With the best will in the world, they cannot do both, and Crossrail will be the inevitable loser. Visit www.dr-sauer.com 27/01.A team led by Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering including Balfour Kilpatrick for the mechanical and electrical works and Stent for ground improvement, has secured a GBP115 million contract. The scope of the work is predominantly below ground and comprises the construction of the Northern ticket hall adjacent to King's Cross main railway station. It includes construction and fitout of a three-storey concrete box which will provide improved access to the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines via new escalators and accessible lifts. Fitout works include both architectural finishes and the installation of a full range of building services.Mobilisation has already started and work will start in the summer. The works will be undertaken without impeding the station's 80 million annual passengers. Partial completion of the works in 2008 will allow access for Network Rail to proceed with the redevelopment of the mainline station. When finished in 2011, the station is estimated to be handling 92,000 passengers during the daily morning peak. Works at both the underground and mainline stations will be completed for the 2012 Olympics. Visit www.balfourbeatty.com 23/06.The Morgan Est / Beton- und Monierbau joint venture (MBJV) has been awarded a GBP55 million programme of tunnelling works by Metronet Rail to provide additional underground pedestrian links at King's Cross station. The tunnelling works form part of the new Northern ticket hall that will link the metro station to the King's Cross and St Pancras main line stations and the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link terminus at St Pancras. The contractors will build over 300 linear metres of tunnels ranging from 4 metres to 9.5 metres in diameter. These will then connect and provide passengers with new underground links from the Northern ticket hall to the deep-level Piccadilly, Northern and Victoria lines. The works will also include the construction of stairways, escalator shafts and an elevator shaft which will provide lifts for the mobility impaired within the underground station. The project involves building new works underneath King's Cross main line station and adjacent to St Pancras Chambers, which are Grade I listed, and the Great Northern Hotel, which is Grade II listed. The tunnelling project is due for completion in spring 2008. View schematic here. Read E-News Weekly 23/2006. Visit www.morganest.com and www.bemo.net 23/06.Negotiated call for bids, deadline 4th February, 2008 for the Victoria station upgrade, comprising civil engineering, fit-out and services installations for a new subsurface Northern ticket hall, for extension to existing subsurface Southern ticket hall, new subsurface tunnels to provide access to existing platforms, and other minor works. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=7696-2008, OJ S 7, or contact London Underground Ltd, London, fax +44 2079183800. E-mail chris.eaglen@tube.tfl.co.uk 05/08.Negotiated procedure, deadline 03.11.2008, for design, supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of integrated distributed control system (TCCS) for cooling and ventilation equipment for a number of ventilation shafts and stations on the London Underground system, value STG4 million, duration of contract 48 months. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=260596-2008, OJ S 197. Contact Julian Frost at LUL, julian.frost@tube.tfl.gov.uk More at www.tfl.gov.uk 44/08.Invitation to tender by negotiated procedure, deadline 20.02.2009, for repair and maintenance services of underground installations operated by Metronet. Five year overall value of contracts ranges from EUR517 million to EUR595 million. Companies expressing interest will be sent a prequalification questionnaire. Further information from Alan Chowles at Metronet, tel +44 2070 384504, e-mail TPSInfo@metronetrail.com. http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=008978-2009 03/09.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has selected Hampton Roads Connector Partners, a design-build team, to deliver the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) Expansion Project.

Hampton Roads Connector Partners is a joint venture consisting of multiple partners, with Dragados USA (42%) serving as lead contractor and HDR and Mott MacDonald as lead designers. The team also includes Flatiron Constructors (25%), Vinci Construction and Dodin Campenon Bernard.

The EUR2.9 billion (USD3.3 billion) contract to be implemented in April 2019, involves extending and upgrading the I-64 between Hampton and Norfolk. Duration contract 18 months of studies and 56 months of works.

The contract must to be completed by November 1, 2025. The contract involves designing and building 5.3 km of viaducts over the sea and new tunnels, as well as widening 14.5 km of existing roads. The new component involves digging two tunnels, each 2.4 km long, between two artificial islands using a variable density TBM with a diameter of 13.56 m. Visit https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2019/february/headline-838681-en.html

and

https://www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/press-releases/pages/20190218-0835.htm.

08/19.

Chicago Infrastructure Trust (CIT) awarded the Boring Company the contract to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Chicago Express Loop, an O’Hare Express service between O’Hare International Airport (Terminals 1-3) and Block 37 in downtown Chicago. In March, the city had announced that it had shortlisted the Boring Company and O’Hare Xpress LLC (Meridiam, Antarctica Capital, JLC Infrastructure, Mott MacDonald and First Transit). Loop is a high-speed underground public transportation system in which passengers are transported on autonomous electric skates traveling at 201—241 km/h (125-150 miles per hour). Click here for a video. Visit http://chicagoinfrastructure.org/2018/06/14/company-selected-to-build-and-operate-chicago-express-service/,

https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2018/june/ChicagoOHareExpress.html

and https://www.boringcompany.com/chicago/. 25/18.

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.

$100 million project involving 4.12 km-long x 4.12 m i.d. North Dorchester Bay and 830 m-long x 4.12 m i.d. Reserved Channel CSO consolidation conduits to be constructed mainly in glacial outwash sands and Boston Blue Clay at depths of 8 m to 17.5 m for MWRA. Tunnels to be constructed from large diameter shafts and connections with existing CSO outfalls to be made by drop shafts. Visit www.pbworld.com August 2000.The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority approved a USD300 million project which includes a 3.4 km 5.2 m-diameter tunnel near the shoreline in Dorchester and south Boston to collect the mix of storm water and sewage and hold it for processing. It also includes an odour control station at Carson Beach and a pumping station to be built at Conley Terminal in south Boston. If approved by state environmental officials, the project plans a "Little Dig" under Day Boulevard and Columbia Road, with a TBM burrowing the tunnel through soft ground. The tunnel is expected to start processing water when the station is completed in 2011. The plan is designed to close a gap in the USD4.5 billion Boston Harbour cleanup. Rain can overwhelm the city's combined system of storm drains and sewers, pushing untreated waste straight into the harbour. Visit www.mwra.state.ma.us 17/04.The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) on 19th July, 2006 awarded a USD145.7 million contract for the construction of a 5.2 m-diameter, 3,380 m-long tunnel in South Boston that will virtually eliminate combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and stormwater discharges to the beaches in South Boston. The contractor, a joint venture of Shank / Balfour Beatty / Barletta, will construct the North Dorchester Bay CSO storage tunnel in soft ground using a pressurized face TBM. The work will include a mining shaft at the downstream end of the tunnel, an equipment removal shaft at the upstream end of the tunnel, six intermediate drop shafts at the existing CSO outfalls, CSO and stormwater diversion and odour control structures, and associated shallow piping and utility conduits. The tunnel is expected to be completed in 2009. Visit www.balfourbeatty.com and www.mwra.state.ma.us 31/32/06.A JV team led by Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) will provide construction management services for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's North Dorchester Bay CSO storage tunnel project, which forms part of a programme to eliminate CSO discharges into North Dorchester Bay in South Boston. The project will include an approximately 3,380 m-long, 5.2 m inside diameter tunnel. Start of construction is anticipated in late 2006. Visit www.hatchmott.com and www.mwra.state.ma.us 31-32/06.

Twin bore, four-lane, subaqueous road tunnel in design to connect Port of Miami Dodge Island to Route I-95 beneath part of the Intracoastal Waterway. Probable EPB job requiring one machine. Moving to final design and awaiting funding. Visit www.mrtunnel.com for more detailed information. March 2000.  Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) has been awarded the contract to act as owner's representative in the development of a cost-effective programme to link the Port of Miami with interstate highways I-395 and I-95. The project, which will provide improved port access for trucks and cruise passengers, consists of roadway approaches and two 3,000 ft-long (915 m) two-lane tunnels crossing under the main shipping channel between the MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island and the Port of Miami on Dodge Island, all located in Biscayne Bay.The tunnel will take heavy traffic off the streets of downtown Miami, thereby eliminating a source of congestion. Watson Island is a rapidly developing island in Biscayne Bay that is crossed by the MacArthur Causeway connecting downtown Miami to Miami Beach. Dodge Island is the home of the Port of Miami's cruise and cargo terminals. The cruise terminal is the largest, busiest cruise port in the world, serving over 3.6 million passengers in 2002.The project will be performed in several phases, the first of which is to re-evaluate the original study completed in 2000, including the alternatives of immersed tube or bored tunnel. Visit www.pbworld.com 51/03.Request for qualifications (RFQ), deadline 17th March, 2006 for a public-private partnership (PPP) concession sought by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to develop, design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Port of Miami tunnel project. A shortlist of no more than four qualified bidders will be selected by FDOT in April. Those shortlisted will receive the Request for Proposals in mid June. Award of the project to the winning bidder is expected in December 2006. This is believed to be the first attempt at using PPP financing in the US market for this class of transportation infrastructure. FDOT is using Jeffrey A Parker & Associates and Asesores de Infraestructuras as joint financial advisers. Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas is the appointed consulting engineer. The project will link Interstate 395 and the MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island with Port of Miami facilities on Dodge Island. Read E-News Weekly 46/2004, 45/2003 & 13/2003. Visit www.portofmiamitunnel.com/Documents/06-0216-RFQ-Final.pdf 10/06.The Florida Department of Transportation is extending the deadline to 12th April, 2006 for submission of Requests of Qualifications (RFQ) for its Port of Miami tunnel project, through which it intends to select a candidate that will design, finance, build, operate and maintain the Port of Miami tunnel. The Florida Department of Transportation is also releasing a supplement to its Project Information Memorandum (PIM) which has been provided to help prospective bidders understand the project as well as the state transportation agency's approach to it. The PIM is not a binding document and information within it may change as aspects of the project become further refined. Prospective bidders can obtain the RFQ, RFQ addenda and PIM supplement on the project website www.portofmiamitunnel.com 14/06.The three shortlisted consortia by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for the Port of Miami tunnel are FCC Construccion and Morgan Stanley, including FCC, Morgan Stanley, Hatch Mott MacDonald and Edwards & Kelcey; Miami Access Tunnel, with Bouygues Travaux Publics and Dutch bank ABN Amro; and Miami Mobility Group, including Dragados Concesiones de Infraestructuras and its subsidiary Dragados USA, Brazil's Odebrecht Investimentos em Infra-Estructura, its subsidiary Odebrecht Construction, and US companies Parsons Transportation Group and DMJM Harris.The three consortia will be requested to submit their financial and technical bids next June. The winner of the tender will be disclosed in December. The project, estimated at USD1 billion, is to design, build, finance and operate the tunnel, which will provide a direct access between Dodge Island and interstate highways I-395 and I-95 and offer an alternative to the port bridge which is currently the unique connection. The project, which is expected to be completed in 2012, will be developed using a public-private partnership (PPP) concession. Click us/43. Visit www.portofmiamitunnel.com/Documents/Shortlisted-firms.pdf 19/06.Technical bids from the three construction firms competing to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the tunnel connecting Watson Island to the Port of Miami-Dade were unveiled on 3rd April, 2007. The lowest of the three ''maximum availability payments'' (MAPs) - maximum yearly costs based on the construction firm meeting specific goals - was USD33.2 million a year from Miami Access Tunnel including Bouygues Travaux Publics and their Canadian financing partners, Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group US, which said it would take 47 months to build the tunnel. That was followed by a 50-month construction plan with yearly payments of USD39.7 million from Miami Mobility Group including Spain's ACS Infrastructure Development, Dragados USA, Brazil's Odebrecht Construction, Parsons Transportation Group, and DMJM Harris. The high MAP came from Spain's FCC Construccií³n, Morgan Stanley investment bank, Hatch Mott MacDonald and Edwards & Kelcey at USD63.2 million. That company said it could complete the project in 42 months.The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will pay the winning team USD100 million based on milestones during the 42 to 50-month construction phase and the remainder after completion, when the first truck rumbles through the tunnel. The winning firm will be required to finance the project, then be repaid by FDOT and the Miami-Dade County over a 35-year period.The tunnel project would run from the west end of the MacArthur Causeway, burrow under Watson Island, cut across Government Cut and pop up at the port. The plan still needs Miami-Dade County commission approval to move forward. Construction could begin as early as next spring. Read E-News Weekly 11/2007, 35/2005 & 46/2004. Visit www.portofmiamitunnel.com 16/07.The Florida Department of Transportation selected on 2nd May, 2007 Miami Access Tunnel, a consortium headed by the French construction giant Bouygues Publics Travaux, global investment bankers Babcock & Brown, Jacobs Engineering and Australian transport operators Transfield Services to finance, design, build and operate the Port of Miami tunnel. The team will be repaid by the state of Florida and local governments under a 35-year concession agreement that could be negotiated later this year. The tunnel is designed to improve access to the port from the expressway and remove thousands of trucks from the street grid near the downtown core where high-rise condos, museums, parks and cultural centres are emerging.A lot of variables still need to be hashed out, especially local governments' part in the financing, but under a couple of best-case scenarios, the tunnel could be under construction by next year and open in 2012. The state is waiting for Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami to firmly guarantee they will cumulatively pay around USD450 million for their half of the construction and a major contingency fund out of existing gas and growth-management taxes, bonds and port fees. Click us/43. Visit www.portofmiamitunnel.com 19/07.The consortium Miami Access Tunnel was chosen in May, 2007 by Florida Department of Transportation to finance, design, build and operate the Port of Miami tunnel, a project that has been mooted since March, 2000, see tunnelbuilder archive us/43. On 12.12.2008 DBOT decided not to close this deal after consortium member Babcock & Brown failed to raise the necessary finance, visit www.portofmiamitunnel.com. This project will now probably be rebid. 08/09.

  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.