The consortium Spie Sud Est/Yvroud Europeenne des Fluides, Feyzin secured the EUR7.6 million contract for equipment maintenance in the Grand Lyon tunnels, the most important of which are Fourviere (1,850 m), Croix-Rousse (1,750 m), Brotteaux-Servient and Vivier-Merle (336 m). For more, contact Communaute Urbaine de Lyon, fax +33 478 957097, or visit http://marches.grandlyon.com. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=058386-2010. 11/10...

Gähler und Partner AG of Ennetbaden have secured the EUR2.28 million contract for PM designer for safety refurbishment in 1.14 km-long Mosi tunnel on A4, near Brunnen. Contact OFROU, Zofingen, tel +41 6274575-11, fax -90, e-mail beschaffung.zofingen@astra.admin.ch. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062920-2010. 11/10...

IG BP2, c/o Bänziger Partner AG of Zurich, secured the EUR2.63 million contract from BAMO for 5.7 km-long N3 Kerenzer tunnel. Contact OFROU, Winterthour, tel +41 522344-711, fax -790, e-mail winterthur@astra.admin.ch. Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=062921-2010. 11/10..

Construction contract for Kuechelberg tunnel awarded to PAC SpA consortium, value EUR34,695,272 excluding VAT. More from PAC in Capo di Ponte, tel +39 0364331037, fax +39 036442303, e-mail info@pacspa.it and client APB in Bozen, tel +39 04714125-14, fax –39, e-mail gare-11.5@provincia.bz.it Visit http://ted.europa.eu/udl?request=Seek-Deliver&language=en&docid=071475-2010. 11/10...

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.

The family of a woman killed when the ceiling of a Big Dig tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts collapsed on her car in July 2006 has agreed to a USD6 million settlement with the company that supplied the epoxy glue blamed for the accident. 04/08.

Tunnel fires can be among the most difficult incidents for fire fighters to tackle. Detection can make the difference between a manageable fire and one that gets out of control. The tunnel environment is a very harsh environment. The early and better control of a fire means squads are likely to fight a smaller fire. 04/08.

Since 1st January, 2008, the ownership of the national roads and motorways has been transferred from the cantons to the Swiss federal roads office (OFROU), under the federal department of the environment, transport, energy and communications (DETEC), who is now responsible for approximately 1,850 kilometres of motorways, 3,430 bridges, 220 tunnels and a large number of galleries and protective structures. One of the tunnels transferred from cantonal to federal level is the recently opened Raimeux tunnel in the canton of Bern. 04/08.

The Holland tunnel, which connects the island of Manhattan to Hoboken in New Jersey while going under the Hudson River, got a lighting upgrade on the night of 11th December. Crews replaced fluorescent lights with light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

A landslide occurred at around 8:40 a.m. on 20th November, 2007 near the entrance to a railway tunnel and a tributary of the Three Gorges Dam reservoir, in central China's Hubei province. Nearly 4,000 cubic metres of rock plunged onto a highway in Badong county, killing a construction worker busy on the tunnel above the landslide and burying two of his co-workers.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) will pay a fine after eight of its maintenance workers were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in a subway tunnel last year in an incident the transit agency says has prompted a safety overhaul. The TTC failed to ensure that proper safety procedures and devices were in place. 52/07-01/08.

The 6.95 km Xuefeng Mountain tunnel shortens the journey from Changsha to Huaihua from eight to four hours. It is part of the Shaoyang-Huaihua highway in central China's Hunan province that was opened on 8th November, 2007 after four years of construction. The Xuefeng Mountain tunnel opens up the largest barrier between Shaoyang and Huaihua, and it is the third longest highway tunnel in China.

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California, better known as Cal-OSHA, watches out for workers' safety during non-stop construction of the Devil’s Slide tunnel. Lit by floodlights and surrounded by darkness, workers will be exposed to the risk of disorientation as they won't be able to tell the difference between night and day. Also, diesel fumes from their machines will follow them. The most important thing in operating a safe tunnel project is a good ventilation system. There is limited air flow in a tunnel, and often crews are operating big diesel equipment. Risk of explosions and long-term lung damage due to exposure to microscopic rock dust are other dangers. 52/07-01/08.

The Piedicastello tunnel forms part of the redevelopment of Piedicastello district in Trento and removes the traffic from the ring road section that crosses the area. In the 1970s, Piedicastello was divided by the ring road which physically separated the borough from the city, limiting the optimisation of the Adige river. The tunnel goes from the junction north of Doss Trento to the former river bed of the Adige, in the south. 50-51/07.

Two workers died in an accident on 23rd November when the Strazevica tunnel collapsed in the Belgrade suburb of Resnik. The tunnel in the southern Rakovica neighbourhood is part of a new ring road that has been in the works for some 10 years and aims to ease huge traffic jams in the Serbian capital. The accident was caused by damp soil falling. The project was being carried out by Energoprojekt with state funding. An investigation is under way. Visit www.energoprojekt.co.yu Many vehicles, ambulances, firefighters, and police rushed to the scene. An entire squad of gendarmerie officers with shovels entered the tunnel to help with the evacuation of workers. Inside it was very dark and dusty and difficult to breathe.

The Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad closed its Coos Bay rail line earlier this fall after a July report pointed out the poor condition and dangerousness of three tunnels. A new report has validated these findings.

In two weeks time, a fire resistance system has been installed over a frost-free drainage complex in the entrance of Maurice lemaire tunnel. Fire barrier 135 refractory mortar, supplied by Innovative Fire Systems, has been again selected as the product which can be sprayed on sprayed concrete and gives a perfect finish over a rough and irregular surface. Fire barrier 135 has been sprayed on top of a false wall serving as drainage complex in the east entrance of tunnel Maurice Lemaire. A three centimetre of FIRE BARRIER 1353 has been installed on top of a 8 cm sprayed concrete to ensure a N3 fire resistance.

The Heartland Corridor is a project to increase intermodal freight capacity by raising vertical clearances in 28 tunnels on a Norfolk Southern rail line between the port of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and Chicago. The first phase of the tunnel work began in October. 49/07.

A powerful earthquake hit mineral-rich northern Chile on 14th November, killing at least two people, injuring more than 100 and halting output at some of the world's largest copper mines. Repair work was also suspended in a road tunnel. 49/07.

The international tunnel safety conference organized by the International Water Mist Association (IWMA) with ITA’s Committee on Operational Safety of Underground Facilities (COSUF) takes place at TUV SUD, Munich, Germany on 2nd and 3rd April, 2008. Many experts in the field have agreed to add value to this conference through their contributions. List of distinguished speakers includes Ragnar Wighus of SINTEF, Alfred Haack of STUVA, Didier Lacroix of CETU and Felix Amberg of Amberg Engineering. The conference focuses on fixed fire suppression systems for tunnel applications and includes related topics such as detection, reliability and cost. Experts from government, research bodies and the fire protection industry will present the latest findings. Time will be available for networking and further discussion between the presentations. Register online at www.iwma.net where there is a substantial discount for payment before 20th December, 2007. Details from ecke@iwma.net, tel. +49 3929269025, fax +49 3929269026 or download pdf of programme here. Supported by www.tunnelintelligence.com as media partner. To advertise contact sam@tunnelbuilder.com 49/07.