Prior information notice of start of award procedures on 27.05.2010 for general safety upgrade and restoration of six road tunnels to RABT 2006 standard, value EUR26.5 million, commencing winter 2010 with Herkulestrasse, value EUR7.54 million. For further information contact Stadt Koeln, tel +49 221221-23647, fax –28715, e-mail zentrales-vergabeamt@stadt-koeln.de. For details of all tunnels involved in this project visit tunnelbuilder archive de/106. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062973-2010. 10/10...

Vicenzetto Srl of Villa Estense have secured the EUR587,987 contract for test drilling and boring work in Brenner Base tunnel. Contact Johann Hager at BBT SE in Innsbruck, tel +43 5124030, fax +43 5124030-110, e-mail ava@bbt-se.com. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062301-2010 and www.vicenzetto.it. ..

The CPV consortium, formed by CSC SA (Lugano) and Pizzarotti SA (Bellinzona), signed the EUR43 million contract for the construction of Lot 854 at Vezia, the main lot of Ceneri Base Tunnel, including the south portal, 200 m of cut-and-cover tunnel, as well as drilling, blasting and lining both tunnels along a length of 300 m. Works at Vezia will continue until 2016. Commercial operation of the Ceneri Base Tunnel with scheduled train services is planned to start at the end of 2019. Of the total of 40.19 km of the Ceneri Base Tunnel, at the end of February 2010, 7,673 m, or 19.1%, had been ..

Imtech Austria Anlagentechnik GmbH of Linz have secured the contract for supply, installation and commissioning of ventilation equipment for the tunnel section of the Harter Plateau tramway line. For more, contact Ing. Harald Grogger at Managementservice Linz GmbH in Linz, tel +43 7323400-7982, fax -157982, e-mail h.grogger @ linzag.at. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=059736-2010. 10/10...

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.

“Longterm, American business is a very good place to be, but sometimes the machine gets gummed up, and people get afraid. Fear is contagious: it takes five minutes to become fearful, and a lot longer to regain confidence. One lesson to be learned is that leverage is a lot of fun on the way up, but we need to err on the safe side next time around.” Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Omaha, 09.03.2009.

Work has started on the 1.75 km-long Figueres tunnel on the 7.48 km-long Borrassa-Figueres section of the Madrid-Barcelona-French Border high-speed railway line.

The 87.1 km-long section from Ourense to Santiago de Compostela on the Madrid-Galicia electrified high-speed line is European standard, double track. It passes through difficult topography and geology, requiring the construction of 30 tunnels with a total length of 28.5 km, of which about 4 km are cut/cover. Currently work is underway on 82 km of the alignment and excavation of the 17 tunnels shown below is completed.

Herrenknecht is providing three EPBs for the Mexico City Eastern Wastewater Tunnel, which will have a total length of 60 km at depths of up to 200 m. The first EPB, an 8.7 m-diameter machine, has just been accepted by contractor ICA at the Schwanau plant where it was built. Read the full press release. For more information contact Achim Kuehn, tel +49 7824 302-540, pr@herrenknecht.com. 08/09.

Autostrade per l’Italia Spa has announced the awards of contracts to upgrade installations in 50 tunnels on the A1 and A7 motorways out of Milano. 09/09.

The Capital City District, currently under planning for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the UAE, will house 350,000 people and provide 150,000 jobs. An integrated, high capacity transit system is envisaged to serve the local population and to link the district to the surrounding region.

The proposed replacement of the Alaskan Way viaduct in downtown Seattle with a 3.2 km-long bored double-deck road tunnel is symptomatic of the current trend in North America to take potential problems underground. The reality is that tunnels are more environmentally friendly and less visible than viaducts, and that their construction is less intrusive, making them more likely to be approved and built. If Seattle has its way, tunnel construction will begin in 2011 funded by a fuel tax and federal grants. The project qualifies for TARP 2 funding, so will probably be fast tracked for an earlier start. More at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/.

BASF Construction Chemicals has set up a dedicated production plant for main bearing sealing greases for the current generation of large, fast TBMs.

The Robbins main beam TBM employed at Akkoy II hydro project in northeast Turkey will bore a 6.7 km-long headrace at 4.8 m-diameter before downsizing to 4.0 m-diameter for another two tunnels totalling 8.8 km.

The “Guidelines for Good Occupational Health and Safety Practice in Tunnel Construction” are not intended to replace existing national regulations or guidance but to provide guidance on basic good practice where none exists. As such they should be incorporated into contract documents where appropriate.

The Moles Award 2009 has gone to Dr Martin Herrenknecht for his extraordinary service to the heavy construction industry, and in particular for his efforts in the development and innovation of mechanized tunnelling technology, and for the establishment and development of a world-renowned mechanical engineering enterprise, see www.herrenknecht.com. Dr Herrenknecht is the first European resident to receive this award.

Our Professional Tunnellers Diary, accessed through www.tunnelbuilder.com on the front page button, is continuously updated. Right now you will find contact details for 28 important shows. We know that show dates and details sometimes change, so, if you feel that your show is not correctly presented, please contact sam@tunnelbuilder.com

Italian contractor SELI has been active in Turkey and Greece, with TBMs in the ground in both countries. In December 2008, SELI commissioned to ILCI the new 4.88 m-diameter double shield TBM with backup system for excavation of the 17 km-long MAVI hydro tunnel, the second longest in Turkey after Urfa, and part of a huge hydroelectric system in Konya province, Central Anatolia. Click tr/28. Visit www.ilci.com.tr and www.selitunnel.com.

“After 21 years of experience in the design, production and commissioning of high-tech equipment, the expertise and know-how of our teams is recognized both on the national and international stage. We are well placed today with the capacity to penetrate the high potential markets within our business sector and to become involved in the substantial projects which result from this.” Luc Devaux, CEO, NFM Technologies, 27.01.2009.

The tender for fire protection at Bjorvika road tunnel in Oslo,(see tunnelbuilder archive no/56), has been awarded to I.F.S., the official European Thermal Ceramics distributor. Thermal Ceramics is a division of Morgan Crucible that produces the unique Firemaster FireBarrier 135 Fire Protection lining System .