Jacobs Engineering Group announced on 29th April that it received, in joint venture with its partner LiRo Engineers, a contract from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction Company to provide consultant construction management services for the East Side Access project in New York City. The value of the seven-year contract is estimated at USD75 million. The project involves boring nearly 11.2 km of railroad tunnels in Manhattan and Queens, laying 15,250 metres of track, building a new terminal under Grand Central Terminal, and building a new commuter station in the ..

Pöyry has been awarded an engineering services contract in the Gotthard base tunnel project by the Swiss Transtec Gotthard consortium. The assignment comprises support of the operational management, technical coordination and planning integration. The value of the contract is about EUR10 million...

AEPO secured a EUR2.3 million contract to design the 27 km Venta de Baños section on the Valladolid-Burgos-Venta de Baños-Palencia line. There are two tunnels, each 1.1 km in length. Visit www.aepo.es 20/08...

Elettrica System pocketed a EUR3 million contract to rehabilitate the lighting equipment in tunnels on highway A10 Genoa-Ventimiglia-French border: Madonna delle Grazie II (386 m), Vignetta (734 m), Cavetto I (241 m), Cavetto II (295 m), Varazze (374 m), Cantalupo (768 m), Piani di Celle (363 m), ..

Invitation for prequalification, deadline 6th June, 2008 for the main civil works of the 309 MW Upper Tamakoshi hydroelectric project (contract No. UTKHEP/03-2064/65) which consist of a 22.5 m-high and 60 m-long diversion dam; the Bhaise Khola intake structure including an approx. 60 m-long connecting shaft to the headrace tunnel;

Sociedad Concesionaria Autopista Los Libertadores S.A. was awarded the concession for the construction and operation of the 117 km Santiago-Colina-Los Andes highway under a public tender in 1997, for a term of 28 years. The operator is owned by OHL of Spain. OHL will invest USD101 million in expanding and improving the highway. The Chacabuco tunnel will be doubled and the upgrading of a 19.5 km

Invitation to prequalify, deadline unspecified, for construction of 750 mm-diameter gas pipelines. Contractors are required to have experience in tunnelling and microtunnelling. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=67831-2008, OJ S 49, or contact Snam Rete Gas, San Donato Milanese, fax +39 0252038570. Visit mevem@snamretegas.it 13/08.

In early 2006 Network Rail appointed Red-M for the initial design phase of in-tunnel solutions across the UK rail network. Railway tunnels vary in length, gradient, width and height, so the design of an in-tunnel wireless system that ensures full radio coverage is non-trivial. An in-tunnel system must provide the necessary signal strength whilst a train is inside a tunnel but also enable seamless and uninterrupted connectivity with the external railway communication system network when the train enters and exits the tunnel. Providing effective radio coverage within and throughout a tunnel poses a number of technical challenges that requires specialist skills and knowledge to solve.

Under the guidance of Red-M's radio design manager, Red-M based a team of experienced RF engineers and tunnel surveyors at Network Rail's offices in London. Red-M's team supported the survey and design process, ensuring that the strict specifications needed for the railway communication system and required by Network Rail within tunnels were met: namely, to operate safely and have reliable wireless communications. The solutions are designed utilising radio repeaters in order for the most cost-effective deployment to be implemented.

In the first phase of the project, Red-M has delivered 176 desktop tunnel designs: but as every tunnel is unique, Red-M then had to assess and evaluate the nature and scope of each. This resulted in Red-M carrying out site surveys on 165 of the tunnels and, after analysing the surveys, the company has now completed full, detailed designs for 115 of these tunnels across the UK.

Red-M's involvement with Network Rail was part of the national rollout by the UK's rail infrastructure operator of a new essential safety system, using a telecommunications network consisting of fixed (FTN) and wireless (GSM-R) technology.

Red-M is a wireless professional services company that provides consultancy, audit, design, implementation, systems integration and management services. Through its services, Red-M provides insight into the benefits and challenges of current and future wireless technologies and creates mission critical wireless networks that are delivered to requirements, right, first time. Visit www.red-m.com 45/07.