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.

More than ten major tunnelling projects in Norway are benefiting from the use of Barchip structural synthetic fibre to reinforce their shotcrete linings. Barchip, a product of the Elasto Plastic Concrete group, is designed to replace steel mesh and steel fibres in reinforced shotcrete, which may be subject to corrosion in harsh environments, particularly in subsea drives such as the recently opened Atlantic tunnel. Read the company's press release, and follow the links from the tunnelbuilder report.06/10.

The 29th Bauma takes place in three months time at Neue Muenchen Messe, from 19-25 April. The exhibition is sold out, with around 3,000 firms showing their goods. Some exciting new developments are taking place with respect to the mining and tunnelling sections. Read all about it! 05/10.

On 26.01.2010 excavation of the 4,068 m-long, 85 sq m twin-track Burata tunnel was completed. Burata is on the 6.4 km Ourense to Amoeiro section of the high-speed line from Ourense to Santiago, Spain. The parallel 4,048 m safety and rescue tunnel, with 15 interconnecting passages every 250 m, has a 13.9 sq m section. NATM techniques were used. For more on this project visit tunnelbuilder archive es/45 and www.adif.es. 05/10.

The new Director, Tunnelling and Special Projects at Normet International is Odd-Bjorn Kleven, who will work out of the company's offices in Baar, Switzerland and Norway. Read the full press release. 06/10.

On 19.12.2009, the 5.37 km-long Atlantic Ocean tunnel between Kristiansund and Bremnes on National Road 64 was opened. For construction history visit tunnelbuilder archive no/76. For details of the construction work and opening visit www.mesta.no and www.vegvesen.no/Vegprosjekter/atlanterhavstunnelen/Nyhetsarkiv/113784.cms 06/10.

The fifth symposium on tunnels entitled Security for tunnels in the 21st century will be held in Bilbao, Spain later this month from 24.02.2010 to 26.02.2010 at the Palacio del congresos. More from www.congresosatcpiarc.es. 06/10.

Spanish IT firm Telvent will install a tunnel management system on the El Morro Alto tunnels in Brazil to enhance safety and reduce accidents. Under the EUR14.5m deal with Brazilian Transportation and Infrastructures Authority (DNIT), the company will provide its Telvent SmartMobility tunnel solution. This is based on Telvent's Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition technology, which allows tunnel infrastructure and management to be centrally controlled, including emergency signalling system, CCTV surveillance, emergency intercom, variable message systems, lighting, ventilation, and communications network. This helps DNIT operators’ awareness of real-time situations inside the tunnel for quick and efficient response to emergencies. For more visit www.telvent.com. 05/10.

When TBMs of sizes greater than 9 m-diameter complete more than a kilometre in a month, the talk turns to records. NFM Technologies already held the Spanish record of 1,012 m with a ten year-old machine, La Adelantada, at Madrid Metro in 2006. Last year, at Sotiello tunnel, part of the Pajares complex in northern Spain, 1,140 m was achieved by another of their TBMs in one month, rewriting the record books. A veteran machine that had already completed more than 10 km of tunnel broke the record, and went on to complete 5.9 km at Sotiello in less than eight months. These are magnificent performances over long periods, and emphasise the quality of design and manufacture achieved by NFM Technologies' engineers. The company has published its January 2010 Newsletter at http://www.nfm-technologies.com/newsletter/english/newsletter4-eng.pdf. 04/10

On 28.01.2010, Anas approved the executive design and the start of work on the third mega lot, third part of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway A3 in Cosenza province. The section, from km173.900 to km185.000, includes five bored tunnels and one cut & cover tunnel. Investment is more than EUR226 million. The design contract was awarded in November, 2008 to JV Uniter Consorzio Stabile Arl and Cometal SpA. Click it/46. 05/10.

The new SELI branch office at 28 Canton Road, Unit 408A - Lippo Sun Building, Kowloon, HKSAR will serve as an immediate reference contact for all the company’s projects in the Far East and Oceania. It will also enable sharpest market penetration and immediate assistance for all customers’ needs. SELI first exported its technology to China in 1989 when it supplied a double shield TBM for Yindaruqin hydraulic project. In the intermediate years, the company has engaged in several significant projects, both in China and in other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Philippines and India. Visit www.selitunnel.com. 05/10.

Construction of the twin-tube 5,655 m-long Marao motorway tunnel on the new Amarante-Vila Real highway in Portugal has been suspended following allegations by a local water company that excavation work will pollute the groundwater. Concessionaire Auto-Estrada do Marao and Infratunel, the construction consortium of Somague and MSF, are appealing the court decision. Visit tunnelbuilder archive pt/30 for project history since 2002. 04/10.

Caldecott tunnel is on Route 24 between Oakland and Orinda in California, US. It handles 160,000 vehicles/day through its three tubes, and is overloaded. Work is starting this month on the initial contracts of the four-year, USD420 million, 1,078 m-long fourth tube project to alleviate congestion. Some USD197.5 million of the cost is being provided the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, making Caldecott its biggest single investment to date. For more visit www.caldecott-tunnel.org. 04/10

Mexico City officials have celebrated the erection of the country’s largest ever TBM with a cutterhead turning ceremony. Next week, the 10.2 m-diameter Robbins EPB will begin driving a 7.7 km-long tunnel for metro line 12, the city’s first new route in ten years.

Owned and operated by Caltrans, the Devil's Slide project is located on State Route 1 in San Mateo County between the City of Pacifica and the town of Montara, California. This project will bypass approximately 2 km of unstable geology using twin tunnels. The existing State Route 1 is subject to lengthy closures, high maintenance costs, and risk of permanent failure. Transdyn is providing a tunnel control system, environmental monitoring, telephone, CCTV, radio rebroadcast, intrusion detection, and ventilation control systems. Transdyn is furnishing hardware, configuration, and testing to provide Caltrans with a complete monitoring and control system for the tunnels. For more on the project click us/93, here and visit www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/dslide and www.transdyn.com. 03/10.

ANAS has published updated guidelines for safety in Italian road tunnels design, with more information about Italian Risk Analysis Method and guidelines about new and existing tunnels. For the Italian text, click here. Visit www.lestradedellinformazione.it. 03/10.