Invitation to tender closing 11th February, 2000 for construction of Kirchenwald tunnel, lot 321, 300,000 cu m excavated volume. Contact Tiefbauamt Nidwalden, fax +41 917 439737. Sept 1999.   Joint venture of Murer/Zchokke/Locher/Gasser awarded 2.5 km x 80 sq m single tube from north portal using Atlas Copco 135H to drill 9 m-long umbrella holes in blocky blue limestone and fines to establish drive. Face split into five separate compartments to counter weak conditions. It is expected that the 400 m advance will take up to two years. Drive from south portal has been awarded for a start end-2000, but contract not yet signed. Visit www.murer.ch for details of earlier contracts. April 2000.Construction of 1.5 km-long Kirchenwald twin-tube tunnel underway in two lots: 150 m by Murer/Gasser/Prader/Riva/Zschokke/Locher using steel arches and rockbolts with shotcrete, contract value $20 million for completion 2003; and 1.4 km by Batigroup/Bilfinger & Berger/Frutiger/Garovi-Odermatt using drill/blast in sections ranging from 72 sq m to 116 sq m, contract value $70 million for completion 2007. Engineering consultants are Lombardi SA. Visit www.lombardi.ch October 2000.