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United States, Massachusetts - us/15

MetroWest Water Supply

  Shea/Traylor/Healy well into contract 2 with 8.3 km of total 19 km of 4.93 m-diameter drive completed using Robbins TBM with CTS backup and now gearing up for contract 3A which involves another 1.34 km using roadheader and TBM. Obayashi/Modern Continental meanwhile have completed over 3.4 km of contract 6054 which comprises 7.82 km of 5 m-diameter rockbolted drive using a CTS TBM. Some 1.2 km was in hard, abrasive rock which necessitated cutter changes at a rate of one every 1.5 m of advance. March 1999.   Contract 242 by Shea/Traylor/Healy has completed 8.75 km drive west to break into shaft constructed by adjacent contractor Obayashi/Modern Continental under separate contract. The latter have advanced 5.9 km using 5.25 m-diameter CTS TBM with 2.26 km to complete. Shea/Traylor/Healy now halfway through their 11 km drive west while also mining 1.4 km TBM/roadheader drive under contract CP3A. Sept 1999.  Obayashi/Modern Continental reports mining in difficult ground through a fault zone on contract 6054 with 6.4 km of the total 8.15 km completed. Grouting with steel sets and wire mesh lagging. November 1999.At 31st October, 2001, work was well underway on the 28.6 km MetroWest water supply tunnel (MWWST). The 7.9 km western tunnel segment CP-1 from Shaft E in Southborough to the 62.8 m-deep Shaft D in Marlborough was 79% completed by the Obayashi/Modern Continental jv using a TBM. The contractor completed the excavation of the tunnel in July, 2000. From Shaft D, the MWWST will connect to the Walnut Hill water treatment plant and to the existing Cosgrove tunnel. Tunnel concrete lining operation began in December, 2000 and by end-October 2001, over 4.1 km of the tunnel has been lined which represents a 53% completion. Over the next few months, the contractor will carry on with the tunnel lining and the grouting operations in the lined section. Work on the CP-1 segment is about seven days behind schedule. Completion is expected for April, 2003. Contract value is $149.7 million. Visit www.obayashi.co.jp and www.moderncontinental.comThe 19.1 km middle tunnel segment CP-2 in Southborough, Framingham, Wayland and Weston was 84% completed by a jv of Shea, Traylor Bros., and Healy. It was tunnelled in two directions using two TBMs from the 123.7 m-deep Shaft L. The 8.5 km west heading tunnel was completed in July, 1999 with 1,280 metres lined with concrete on 31st October, 2001. The 10.6 km east heading tunnel was bored under Dudley Pond in Wayland and past the interconnections at Shafts NE and NW in Weston continues eastward to the eastern tunnel segment. It was completed in May, 2000. The contractor has currently lined 7 km, 66% complete. The raise boring excavation of Shaft NE, 4 m in diameter x 131 m-deep, was completed on 19th November, 2001. It is the last shaft on the MWWST project. Work on the CP-2 segment is on schedule for completion in April, 2003. Contract value is $254.5 million. Visit www.traylor.com and www.sahealy.com The 1.4 km eastern tunnel segment CP-3A connects the CP-2 segment with Shaft 5A, at the east end of the system, where it will connect to the existing Boston city tunnel to the south and with the 96 m-deep Shaft W and storage tanks to the north. Excavation of the tunnel was completed at spring 2000 by the same jv as CP-2. Concrete lining ended in February, 2001. Since then, 670 metres of 3.05-3.7 m pipes to connect Shaft 5A to the city tunnel is in progress. This contract will be completed in July, 2002. Value is $56.9 million. Visit www.mwra.state.ma.us/water/html/metrow.htm for a full project overview. 03/02.



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United States, Illinois - us/14

Main Sewer

  Kenny/Kiewit/Shea sinking 9.1 m x 94 m-deep working shaft and 10.6 m x 97 m-deep gate shaft and will commence 10.4 km tunnel in April, 1999 using 8.32 m Robbins TBM upsized and modified from recently-completed Des Plaines project. 2.5 km x 4.57 m second tunnel will be started later. Completion November, 2002. All part of the ongoing TARP megaproject. March 1999.   10.5 km mainline drive north underway by Kenny/Kiewit/Shea using 8.7 m-diameter refurbished Robbins hardrock TBM. Second 5.7 m-diameter Robbins working on two 1.27 km spurs, and three Lovat TBMs will be employed later. Sept 1999.   8.7 m Robbins breaking records, having achieved a best month of 1.6 km and best day of 97 m. All rock is being sold from surface plant. Second Robbins underway and first of three Lovat TBMs will start in early-2000. November 1999.   Groundbreaking ceremony took place in Calumet City for the Little Calumet Leg, a 7.9 mile (12.7 km) tunnel, 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter, which is the last leg of the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) or Deep Tunnel involving more than 100 miles of tunnels. Tunnel construction is to end in March 2006. Construction of TARP began in 1976. The cost of the 93 miles (150 km) of tunnel completed so far has been about $2 billion. Two reservoirs to hold billions of gallons of storm water and raw sewage still need to be built. The entire project is expected to be operational in 2014. Visit www.mwrdgc.dst.il.us/plants/tarp.htm and www.epa.gov/25water/tarp 25/02. The Jay Dee/Affholder JV started tunnelling in mid-February on the final tunnel segment of the District's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) after months of preparatory work including the excavation of a 10.4 m-diameter 60 m-deep shaft to the tunnel level. This 12.7 km (7.9 mile) tunnel, known as the Little Calumet Leg, serves a 38.6 sq km (14.9 sq mile) area of southern Cook County preventing Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) from spilling into the Little Calumet River. The tunnel will be driven through limestone at a depth of approximately 46 to 91 m (150 to 300 feet) below ground through the use of a Robbins TBM. Electric motors on the TBM turn a 5,537 mm (18' 2") diameter cutting head that is steered and thrust forward by hydraulic cylinders to cut through the rock. The excavated rock is brought to the surface via conveyor belts. The $168.7 million contract was awarded in January 2002 and is scheduled for completion in March 2006. Upon completion of this segment, the TARP system will consist of a total of 176 km (109.4 miles) of tunnels. Visit www.mwrdgc.dst.il.us/default.html and www.robbinstbm.com 11/03.The Robbins Company reports record progress by Affholder on the 12.8 km-long Little Calumet leg of Chicago's 175 km-long TARP project. Their 5.56 m-diameter TBM is driving the CSO tunnel in two sections from a 60 m-deep central launch shaft through limestone with a compressive strength of 83-96 Mpa. The Robbins TBM Model 1410-251-2 has seven 450 hp (335.6 kW) motors driving the cutter head, which is fitted with 39 wedgelock 19 in (483 mm) cutters. Best advances: 45.75 m/8h shift; 116.7 m/day; and 474.7 m/week. Most rock excavated in 24 h is 2,836.55 cu m. Robbins supplied the TBM, back up, extensible main conveyor, vertical shaft conveyor, surface conveyor, and stacker. More from robyj@robbinstbm.com or visit www.robbinstbm.com 22/03.



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United States, California - us/13

San Ramon Sanitary Conveyance

5,000 ft tunnel through soft sedimentary rocks at Dougherty Valley to carry 1.5 m-diameter pipeline and twin 0.3 m-diameter bypass lines. Shaft at one end and portal at the other. Under design by URS Greiner Woodward Clyde for Central Costa Sanitary District, Martinez, CA. April 1999.



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United States, California - us/12

Riverside Bad Lands Water Supply

Shank/Balfour Beatty to commence 12.7 km tunnel in June, 1999 using own-design 4.85 m TBM. Alignment mainly below water table at average depth of 60 m in alluvium and fractured metamorphic rock. Two intermediate shafts required for ventilation and grout transport. Probehole drilling, grouting and dewatering expected to stem water inflow and improve ground conditions. Part of Inland Feeder project. Completion scheduled September, 2002. March 1999.  See Inland Feeder us/23 for further updates. Sept 1999.



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United States, California - us/11

San Bernardino TBM

Shank/Balfour Beatty driving 9,286 m-long Arrowhead East aqueduct as part of Inland Feeder project which will require a total of 29 km of tunnels. 5.38 m shielded TBM designed by contractor launched March, 1998 and is working in granite and gneiss erecting 1.2 m-deep rings of four precast segments. Average advance on single-shift working is 18 rings/day with 28 rings maximum. 2 km completed to date. Steel-encased 12 ft internal diameter concrete pipe will be installed later and backgrouted in place. March 1999.  See Inland Feeder us/23 for further updates. Sept 1999.



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Uruguay

Uruguay, Montevideo - uy/11

Metro

Proposal for $900 million metro system of four separate lines to be built over four years. Concession to build and operate sought from municipal administration by private sector consortium. Three of the proposed lines are mainly underground. August 1998.  Officials have travelled to Bilbao to visit the metro in the Basque city. The project includes three underground lines and a surface light rail line. US$60 million first stage includes construction of the Red Line from the harbour to Ejido, where it would connect with the Blue Line. The 15 km line would serve Parque Rodí³, Punta Carretas, and Pocitos. Second stage is extending the Red Line to Estadio Centenario and Hospital de Clí­nicas. Third stage is a further extension to Punta Rieles and the beginning of the Yellow Line from Tres Cruces to Hipí³lito Irigoyen. Then the line will run parallel to Avenida Italia. French company Bceom, RATP and Alstom have already been approached in the past. Total investment of US$900 million. 20/02.



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Venezuela

Venezuela, Aragua and Miranda States - ve/19

Railway

Venezuela's state railway autonomous institute IAFE and the Italian embassy signed in January a letter of intent for the construction of the 70 km-long La Encrucijada-Charallave railway section, the last link to connect Caracas with Puerto Cabello. The path is in phase of optimisation and for the moment 18 tunnels stretching for a total of approx. 25 km are planned. The letter of intent sets the basis for awarding the contract to a consortium of builders which is expected to be formed by Ghella, Astaldi and Impregilo, who are currently building the Puerto Cabello-La Encrucijada section. Click here. 08/08.



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Venezuela, Los Llanos Region - ve/18

Railway

Astaldi, in joint venture with Impregilo and Ghella, is to build two new railway lines in Venezuela valuing a total of USD2.2 billion. The two new lines are San Juan de los Morros-Dos Caminos-Calabozo-San Fernando de Apure (252 km) and Chaguaramas-Las Mercedes-Cabruta (201 km). The works are part of intergovernmental agreements between Italy and Venezuela. The joint venture, in which each member holds equal 33.33% stakes, will carry out the works for the two railway sections over the course of 76 months. Start-up is planned for the second quarter of 2006, immediately after the contracts are signed. The project, which is aimed at fostering the development of Venezuela's central and southern area, involves building 453 km of new railway lines, 15 km of which in tunnel and with 12 km of bridges and viaducts. The project also includes designing and installing superstructure, 13 railway stations, three logistic centres, and a maintenance workshop. In addition to the value of the works to build the lines, there will also be USD1 billion in options for designing, supplying and assembling railway systems (signals, control, telecommunications, electrification and rolling stock). Visit www.astaldi.com, www.impregilo.it, www.ghellagroup.com and www.infraestructura.gov.ve 16/06.The joint venture between Astaldi, Ghella and Impregilo has signed its two contracts worth a total of USD2.2 billion with Venezuela's autonomous state railways (IAFE). The signing of the contracts follows intergovernmental agreements reached in April between Italy and Venezuela. The contracts concern the construction of the new San Juan de los Morros-San Fernando de Apure (252 km) and Chaguaramas-Cabruta (201 km) railway lines. These 453 kilometres of new lines involve 15 km of tunnels and 12 km of bridges and viaducts. Visit www.astaldi.com, www.impregilo.it, www.ghellagroup.com and www.infraestructura.gov.ve 25/06.GEI, a consortium formed by Astaldi, Ghella and Impregilo will be responsible for the construction of the 251 km San Juan de los Morros-San Fernando de Apure rail line, whereof 41 km in the mountain and 210 km in plain. The line totals a cost of USD1.6 billion. The contract has been signed and the site is being prepared. It is a design/build contract. At this stage, the project is in the design phase so that many of the technical aspects will have to be defined in the future, once the project is finalised. From the operational point of view, the planning and organisation of the project is underway and soon the sites will be prepared and mobilised.This line has been divided in lots, the construction of which will be undertaken by the contractors who teamed to form the consortium GEI. According to the preliminary project, ten single bored tunnels will be constructed for a total of 16 km. The cross section is 90 sq m. There are no other underground structures (stations, shafts, etc.). Geology consists of metamorphic rock (micaschists).Ghella will build the 6.3 km San Juan tunnel (from chainage 2+300 to chainage 8+600), which is part of subsection D1-G which goes from chainage 0+000 to 11+611, to be also fully built by Ghella. The other tunnels on the line are part of the subsections awarded to Impregilo and Astaldi (see pdf here of how the tunnels are divided and pdf here of the division into lots). Visit www.ghellagroup.com, www.astaldi.com and www.impregilo.itThe planned tunnelling method is to use hydraulic breakers where possible (FIAT Kobelco excavators and Krupp and Indeco hammers) and drilling and blasting with Atlas Copco jumbo drill rigs, Cat and FIAT Kobelco loaders, and Astra trucks. There will be six working faces. Visit www.fiatkobelco.com, www.indeco-breakers.com, www.atlascopco.com, www.cat.com and www.astraspa.comFor support, Swellex bolts, three CIFA shotcrete pumps and three Scamac shotcrete pumps will be used. The shotcrete will be reinforced with Maccaferri fibres. Visit www.swellex.com, www.cifa.com, www.scamac.com and www.maccaferri.comFor mucking-out, 12 Cat 966 loaders, FIAT Kobelco loaders and 24 Astra trucks will be used in addition to Dieci telescopic elevators. Visit www.dieci.com 48/06.



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Venezuela, Caracas - ve/17

Metro Line 3

  Construction of the El Valle-La Rinconada section on Line 3 will commence first quarter of 2002. Four TBMs to be used, two of which coming from Line 4 once the twin tunnels between Capuchinos and Plaza Venezuela are completed. Visit www.metrodecaracas.com.ve 52/01. Odebrecht signed a contract to extend southwards Line 3 from El Valle to La Rinconada serving four stations in Los Jardines, Coche, Mercado and La Rinconada where the line will intersect with the Valles del Tuy railway. Completion scheduled for 2006. Visit www.metrodecaracas.com.ve and www.odebrecht.com.br 38/02.



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Venezuela, Los Teques - ve/16

Urban Railway

Seven tunnels totalling 2.5 km and three cut-and-cover stretches making 833 m required on a 9.5 km line between El Tambor and Las Adjuntas in Los Teques, capital of Miranda state, 30 km west of Caracas. BOT contract prepared by Parsons Brinckerhoff. Total investment around US$300 million. Four bids submitted: Spanish-Venezuelan JV Necso-Capev (US$184 million); Brazilian consortium Odebrecht-Vinccler (US$208 million); Impregilo with Astaldi (US$218 million); and Dragados-Dycvensa (US$320 million). Preliminary work expected to end in October. Contract to be signed within two weeks for work to commence in November, 2001. Time frame of 34 months. Visit www.pbworld.com 42/01.Brazilian-Venezuelan jv Oderbrecht-Vinccler chosen by Metro de Los Teques to build the line Los Teques-Las Adjuntas for US$208 million, financed by Corporacií³n Andina de Fomento (CAF). Visit www.caf.com 45/01.



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