Oden Anläggningsentreprenad secured a SEK112.7 million contract to construct the 835 m Gårdberg tunnel on the Adalsbanan line. Visit www.oden.nu and www.banverket.se/adalsbanan 31/08...

The Ministry of development awarded FCC a EUR97 million contract for the construction of the southbound carriageway on the southern motorway A-4, section Venta de Cárdenas-Santa Elena. This 9 km section includes the 166 m La Cantera tunnel and the 1,823 m Despeñaperros tunnel, which is a three-lane tunnel. Click es/113 for more details. Visit www.fcc.es 31/08...

Acciona Infraestructuras concluded a EUR81.4 million deal with the Ministry of development to build the Valls-Montblanc bypass on the Tarragona-Montblanc motorway A-27. The 5.1 km section includes the Lilla tunnel, which consists of two bores of 1,565.50 m (left tube) and 1,567.41 m (right tube). Click es/89 for more details. Visit www.acciona-infraestructuras.es 31/08...

Ferrovial Agroman scooped a EUR82.1 million construction contract for the 8.6 km Rialiño-Padrón section on the Atlantic coast high speed line. This section includes the 1,460 m-long 85 sq m Bustelo tunnel. Visit www.ferrovial.es 31/08. ..

The Veneto regional assembly has approved a financing proposal presented by Grandi Lavori Fincosit, Adria Infrastrutture and Mantovani for the design, construction and operation under concession of the so-called Alpe Adria connection-Extension of highway A27. From the administrative point of view, the proposal has been sent to the regional council to be submitted to a commission of counsellors

The EUR845 million Liefkenshoek railway connection project involves the construction and maintenance of the civil infrastructure for a new 16.2 km freight-only railway, whereof 8 km in tunnel, linking the western docks and eastern docks of Antwerp. The project is a design, build, finance and maintain type agreement, with a maturity period of 41½ years

Solicitation for conceptual proposals, deadline 29th September, 2008 for improvements to the Downtown tunnel, the Midtown tunnel and the Martin Luther King (MLK) freeway extension between Norfolk and Portsmouth in the Hampton Roads area, as part of a plan to make an estimated USD1 billion.

Over the coming quarter, fire resistance systems will be installed in four new tunnels in France. The selected systems use Fire Barrier 135 refractory mortar, supplied by Innovative Fire Systems, which can be sprayed on concrete structures, cast into shafts or shaft covers, or installed as cable troughs. Fire Barrier 135 will be sprayed on top of a false wall in the drainage complex serving the east entrance of Maurice Lemaire tunnel. A 3 cm-thick layer of Fire Barrier 135 will be installed on top of 8 cm of sprayed concrete to ensure N3 fire resistance. Elsewhere, in the Lioran and Montjezieux tunnels, 75 mm-thick layers of Fire Barrier 135 will be installed to insulate the electrical chambers from the effects of fire and heat,. http://www.innovativefiresystems.com/eng/download.htm.

In Lioran tunnel, Innovative Fire Systems will install a temporary fire protection system inside the tunnel to run two real fire tests to satisfy French directives demanding that the extraction systems are tested before the opening. This will comprise refractory blanket to protect walls, roof and asphalt floor from the heat generated by old cars burning. 

By end-2007, more than 20 European tunnels will have been treated with Fire Barrier 135, making it the most widely installed system. For more information visit www.innovativefiresystems.com 38/07.