The construction contract for the EUR133 million Lai Chi Kok Transfer Scheme, advertised at tunnelbuilder.com earlier this year, has been awarded to Leighton Asia. The project includes two 4.9 m-diameter storm water drainage tunnels with total length of 3.7 km between West Kowloon reclamation and Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po districts, six intake shafts, a stilling basin, an outfall adit into Victoria Harbour, and 270 m of 3 m-diameter connection adits. Work starts immediately for completion in 2012. More from Quinnie Lee, tel +852 2823 1427, e-mail quinnie.lee@leightonasia.com 47/08..

Contract valued EUR414,000 awarded by Norwegian Railway Infrastructure Administration to Norconsult AS of Sandvika to provide technical and detailed plans of tunnels for the joint project E6 road and Dovrebanen, lot Minnesund-Kleverud, which includes one twin-tube 0.6 km-long road tunnel and 3.1 km of single railway tunnel over a 17 km-long alignment in Eidsvoll and Stange municipalities. ..

Contract for telecommunications installations for 6.5 km section of new double railway track in Baerum municipality for Lysaker-Sandvika, of which 5.5 km in tunnel, awarded by Jernbaneverket to T Connect AS of Manglerud, Oslo. http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=292852-2008 More from Olaf Bjerknes, tel +47 9943 4144, e-mail olbj@jbv.no 46/08. ..

Bemel Norge AS of Majorstuen, Oslo has been awarded the contract to supply ventilation fans to the 5.37 km-long Atlantic Ocean tunnel between Kristiansund and Bremnes on National Road 64 in the value EUR555,000...

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.

Prior information notice for construction works, value EUR24.86 million, for a undergroung cut-and-cover tunnel from Pabellon Moises Ruiz to Plaza de Barcelona, 1,1 km, with 0.8 m-thick base, 1.0 m-thick walls and 1.0 m-thick roof, on Carretera de Ronda, in Almeria. The works will include intermodal station.

The CityLink's Burnley tunnel in Melbourne, Australia reopened on 27th March, 2007 four days after a eight-vehicle pile-up, involving five light vehicles and three trucks, claimed three lives and closed down one of city's busiest thoroughfares. The sequence of almost simultaneous collisions was sparked by a semi-trailer that blew a tyre, broken down in the left hand lane of the tunnel, about 1.5 km from the southeast exit. Another vehicle collided with the rear of that vehicle and as a consequence there was then a series of other crashes, causing the pile-up that led to an inferno. A fireball erupted, forcing 400 people to flee the tunnel, many soot-covered and badly shaken, but most unharmed after leaving 200 cars stranded and causing traffic gridlock. The fire was so hot - estimated to be above 1,000°C - that one of the vehicles involved was melted beyond recognition. People in city buildings who saw smoke pour out of an exhaust stack in Swan Street stared in dread, contemplating how many people might be trapped in the tunnel.

Police are putting together a series of video images from the tunnel's security cameras to scientifically reconstruct the crash. The footage shows the vehicle broken down in the left hand lane and it then shows vehicles moving to avoid the truck concerned and it then shows a large impact and a large flash of flame. Police, the Victorian government and Transurban have launched investigations that should be coordinated in tandem with, or as part of, the Coroner's inquest.

Brisbane transport group Community Action for Sustainable Development said the tunnel crash highlights the risks associated with mixing cars and semi-trailers underground. "A tunnel environment for private vehicles and freight trucks is a very dangerous environment because once a crash occurs, it can cause chaos because the other vehicles inevitably get trapped behind it, no matter how good the evacuation system is," said a spokesman.

Despite the deaths, the incident showed the safety monitoring systems built into the tunnels and the CityLink crisis emergency plan work. The ventilation cleared the smoke and fumes, sprinklers extinguished the fire and the radio broadcast system worked, as did overhead signs instructing drivers to leave. Police and firefighters were on the scene instantly. Their protocols worked well. Such an accident was planned for in the tunnel design and is a reason speed is limited to 80 km/h. It is inevitable that such incidents will happen in Melbourne's major arterial link, which carries millions of trucks and cars each year.

The 3.4 km Burnley tunnel, which passes under the Yarra River to bypass the central business district, joins the West Gate freeway with the Monash freeway. Read E-News Weekly 8/2007.