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 southbound truck lanes and tunnel on the Golden State Freeway I-5 in the Newhall Pass in California reopened a month after a fiery 30-truck pile-up killed three people and forced the closure of the roadway. Repairs were completed over two weeks earlier than anticipated. 48/07.

When Union Railways, a subsidiary of London and Continental Railways (LCR), needed some experienced engineers on site to report on progress and advise on problems involved in building part of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) - also known as High Speed 1 - it turned to Firstco, the technical consultancy, project management and systems integration specialists. 47/07.

The "jet flame" produced when a pressurised hydrogen gas tank ruptures could seriously damage tunnel ceiling structures, say researchers. Road tunnels may have to be redesigned if the hydrogen economy takes off. 47/07.

Stopping a fire before it has a chance to grow was the intention when automatic on-board fire suppression systems were installed on fleet of freight shuttles, passenger trainsets, cruise ships and buildings. The system is designed to limit the rise of temperature and inhibit the fire spread using water mist technology. Pure water is reduced to droplets and delivered by high pressure nozzles. These tiny droplets absorb heat, vapourize and expand thus cooling the fire and supplanting the oxygen immediately adjacent to it. The technology has also started to conquer the tunnelling industry. 46/07.

Red-M is helping to provide secure train driver to signaller communications with contiguous radio coverage on UK railways.

Promat have acquired fellow fire protection specialists Cafco International for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will widen Promat’s product range and its geographical reach. Promat and Cafco are both leaders in the market and will together offer an unbeatable line-up of high performance products and technical expertise. 45/07.

Six years have passed since the disastrous fire in the Gotthard road tunnel, caused by the collision of two trucks, killed eleven people. Since then, drastic safety measures aiming at improving the quality of the tunnel infrastructure and the traffic management have been taken. The new firefighting services at the north and south entrances, that will be operational as from 1st January 2008 will be operated by the federal department for defence, protection of the population and sports (DDPS). 44/07.

Around the world, trains and underground stations have been high-risk targets for terrorist attacks. This was clear after subways and trains in Tokyo, Madrid and London suffered gas or bomb attacks during the last several years. To better respond to such threats, a railroad testing and training facility will be built in Colorado.43/07.

The Oued Ouchaiah twin bored tunnel is notoriously very dangerous. The tunnels do not comply with international prevention and safety regulations and should be urgently improved. 42/07.

Tunnel planners, governments, owners, users and residents living in the vicinity of tunnels become more and more aware of the negative environmental impact caused by the gas emissions and particles generated by traffic through tunnels. These environmental aspects of tunnels are becoming more and more a crucial issue in the tunnel design process. A good example of this public awareness is the first tunnel programmed on the west ring road in Linz, Austria. 42/07.

A direct consequence of higher standards of living in developed countries, particularly in Spain, is the sharp increase in mobility, which results in overcrowded roads and transport systems. For more than a decade now, Spain has been massively developing underground infrastructure for the transport of people, goods and utilities. An international tunnelling congress and technical exhibition, organised by the Spanish tunnelling association, the first in many years will spotlight the Spanish tunnelling marketplace and its players, who have been gaining a strong experience that converted them in world-renowned specialists. 41/07.

is being constructed. As the storm flood barrier will be part of the ring road around the city, a tunnel has been designed to pass under the main channel. An essential part of this structure is 40 m-wide, 7 m-high seals from Trelleborg. 41/07.

In light of growing volumes of traffic, increasing attention is being paid to road traffic safety in both the public and private sectors. For decades Siemens has been an innovation leader in this important field, developing road safety technology for numerous applications. 41/07.

The Wheeling tunnel in West Virginia is the direct route on I-70 from Pennsylvania to Ohio, but a renovation project has slowed traffic for months. The state has been working on the eastbound lane but construction and weather problems have caused delays. Now an opening date has been set and officials are gearing up to begin work on the westbound lane. 40/07.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners approved plans to retrofit conventional fluorescent bulbs on the George Washington bridge and in the Holland tunnel to energy-saving LED (light emitting diode) illumination. 39/07