The consortium Spie Sud Est/Yvroud Europeenne des Fluides, Feyzin secured the EUR7.6 million contract for equipment maintenance in the Grand Lyon tunnels, the most important of which are Fourviere (1,850 m), Croix-Rousse (1,750 m), Brotteaux-Servient and Vivier-Merle (336 m). For more, contact Communaute Urbaine de Lyon, fax +33 478 957097, or visit http://marches.grandlyon.com. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=058386-2010. 11/10...

Gähler und Partner AG of Ennetbaden have secured the EUR2.28 million contract for PM designer for safety refurbishment in 1.14 km-long Mosi tunnel on A4, near Brunnen. Contact OFROU, Zofingen, tel +41 6274575-11, fax -90, e-mail beschaffung.zofingen@astra.admin.ch. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062920-2010. 11/10...

IG BP2, c/o Bänziger Partner AG of Zurich, secured the EUR2.63 million contract from BAMO for 5.7 km-long N3 Kerenzer tunnel. Contact OFROU, Winterthour, tel +41 522344-711, fax -790, e-mail winterthur@astra.admin.ch. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062921-2010. 11/10..

Construction contract for Kuechelberg tunnel awarded to PAC SpA consortium, value EUR34,695,272 excluding VAT. More from PAC in Capo di Ponte, tel +39 0364331037, fax +39 036442303, e-mail info@pacspa.it and client APB in Bozen, tel +39 04714125-14, fax –39, e-mail gare-11.5@provincia.bz.it Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=071475-2010. 11/10...

Rete Ferroviaria Italiana SpA is inviting companies to prequalify for civil engineering work on railway tunnels in Italy. Further information and documents from Iacomino Raffaele at Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato in Milan, tel +39 02637 148-19, fax –20, e-mail dns-qs@rfi.it to whom requests to participate should be sent. Visit

Pre-feasibility study being undertaken by ILF Consulting Engineers for construction of single track railway line along the Karakorum highway between the end of the existing railway network in the south at Havelian and the border between Pakistan and China near the famous Khunjrab Pass in the north.

Prequalification underway by MTR for tender reference no 703 for West Island Line SHW to SYP tunnels value EUR30 million with a view to selective invitations to tender being issued in 4Q/2008 for contract award in 3Q/2009. Expressions of interest to Malcolm O’Neill, tel 3921 3383, e-mail moneill@mtr.com.hk Visit www.mtr.com.hk/eng/tenders/new_projects.html 45/08.

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates sees need for installing stainless steel strapping and adding 900 ceiling anchors to secure the ceilings at either end of the Ted Williams tunnel. The recommendation came as part of a safety review ordered in the wake of a July 2006 fatal ceiling collapse, and is designed to act as a backup to bolts already in place. 18-19/08.

The to-do list on the USD14.8 billion Big Dig grew again on 14th April, as Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates recommended installing stainless steel strapping and about 900 support anchors in the Ted Williams tunnel. The engineering firm was hired to inspect flaws following the July 2006 fatal ceiling collapse. Visit www.wje.com

While the tunnel uses the same epoxy bolt system blamed for the fatal collapse, not all the bolts used can be inspected. In the first 75 metres at both ends of the tunnel, the ceiling panels sit flush with the tunnel roof, making it impossible to inspect the bolts. The anchors would add support to these two sections of the tunnel's ceiling that are impossible to inspect because they were designed without a crawl space. The new supports would fortify epoxy bolts, similar to the type blamed for the fatal ceiling collapse in the Interstate 90 connector tunnel that killed 38-year-old Milena Del Valle. Click here and here.

The options, the firm said, were to either remove the panels altogether, or retrofit the area with the steel strapping and additional bolts. The system devised by engineers would install 13 rows of strapping and about 900 new bolts. Precise cost estimates for either solution were not provided but it is likely to cost millions. If the ceiling is removed and inspected, it would probably cost more than adding the 900 support anchors.

Installing the additional supports, however, likely won't happen anytime soon. The panels at the tunnel's entrances use the epoxy system, have redundant support built in, they show no signs of slippage and therefore do not pose an immediate safety threat. The firm recommended the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) install the strapping and bolts in the next five years.

To make the repairs, the MTA may be able to use money generated from January's USD458 million settlement with the project's contractors, led by Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates also recommended retrofitting an additional 180 anchors in the 2,575 m Ted Williams tunnel that are bolted into unsettled or cracked concrete or where the concrete may be showing signs of leaking or slipping.

The firm also recommended adding a fire suppression system that would flush the 1,723 m Sumner and 1,545 m Callahan tunnels with water in the event of a fire. Among the other recommendations made was an upgrade to the ventilation system in these two tunnels - opened in the 1930s and 1960s - which is weaker than others and that any failure could compromise safety in the event of a fire. Visit www.bostonroads.com/crossings/ted-williams and www.masspike.com/bigdig/background/twt.html 18-19/08.