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.