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.

The Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group (I&S) has received an order from grupa ZUE (Zakłady Usług Energetycznych i Komunikacyjnych) in Krakow, Poland to equip a tunnel for a high speed tramcar with a control system and safety equipment. The system will be used to control and monitor the safety systems.

The project is due for completion in September 2008. The order volume totals around EUR2.5 million .

New road transport systems in Krakow are being designed with future dynamic traffic trends very much in mind. Above all, the aim is to improve the efficiency of public transport. The main priority is to shorten journey times. One of the ways that ZUE is aiming to achieve this is by building a tunnel for high speed tramcar traffic in Krakow. The tunnel will link the southern and northern parts of the city.

Siemens' will install a SCADA control system for the tunnel, which is 1.5 km long. The system will be connected to the tunnel control centre and the safety systems, which will also be supplied by Siemens. The safety facilities include fire protection equipment, alarm systems and camera surveillance technology based on CCTV (closed circuit television), with over 60 surveillance cameras. The tunnel will have a communication system (voice messaging system) for emergencies and for service work, which will be available for use by all tunnel users in unforeseen situations. The telephones for service engineers are positioned at locations that are only accessible to authorized personnel. There will be a public messaging system with over 60 loudspeakers for passing on important travel information to tramcar users, but it will also transmit music and advertising. At a future date it is also intended to link the tunnel control system with Krakow’s main traffic management system.

The tram tunnel is the central part of two planned fast tram lines in Krakow, which will use some upgraded sections of the existing tram network and some new tracks. The tunnel section will include two underground stations (Central railway station and Technical University) and end with an interchange station in an open cutting. Most parts of the tunnel including the station under the railway station were already built in the 1980s.

The new project is the third such project in a row in Krakow in which Siemens is playing a part. The I&S division is already setting up a traffic management control centre and a traffic control system in a tunnel running beneath the city’s main railway station. Click pl/12 Visit www.industry.siemens.com/meta/en or www.siemens.com/traffic, www.zue.krakow.pl and www.arm.krakow.pl/inwestycje_wtoku_wiecej.php?id=31 39/07.