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.

Krakow, the third largest city in Poland, is constructing a 10.8 km fast tramline between Krakow’s central railway station and the city’s southern residential area. The investment will comprise of new track and the upgrading of existing tracks. A tunnel section will be equipped with modern safety systems. 39/07

The Umberto I tunnel in Rome, better known as Tritone tunnel, reopened after refurbishment works that lasted for a month. The tunnel has been painted with Cimax Ecosystem Paint, a white cementitious paint produced by CIM and based on TX Active®, an active photocalytic process patented by Italcementi. 38/07.

Splashes of yellow and orange paint will line a wall of the 3.5 km Burnley tunnel as part of a AUD12.5 million makeover. The full colour facelift has been planned for two years and is designed to enhance safety. The Domain tunnel wall will be painted blue to help drivers differentiate between the two tunnels. The work will also include new lighting and bigger signs at exits. 38/07.

Site work commenced in October for the installation of crucial ventilation equipment in the Holmesdale tunnels on the M25 in the UK. The equipment will be supplied by ventilation engineers Senior Hargreaves.

Over the coming quarter, fire resistance systems will be installed in four new tunnels in France. The selected systems use Fire Barrier 135 refractory mortar, supplied by Innovative Fire Systems, which can be sprayed on concrete structures, cast into shafts or shaft covers, or installed as cable troughs. Fire Barrier 135 will be sprayed on top of a false wall in the drainage complex serving the east entrance of Maurice Lemaire tunnel. A 3 cm-thick layer of Fire Barrier 135 will be installed on top of 8 cm of sprayed concrete to ensure N3 fire resistance. Elsewhere, in the Lioran and Montjezieux tunnels, 75 mm-thick layers of Fire Barrier 135 will be installed to insulate the electrical chambers from the effects of fire and heat,. http://www.innovativefiresystems.com/eng/download.htm.

Work is being carried out by Costain on behalf of the Highways Agency to refurbish the Holmesdale tunnel in the UK. When complete, the number of lanes on the eastbound carriageway (clockwise) will be increased from two to three and the mechanical and electrical equipment will be upgraded. The tunnel is also being fire-proofed. Something like 120,000 vehicles a day use the tunnel, making it the busiest on the trans-European road network. Work is progressing well and is about four weeks ahead at the moment. 42/06.

Efficient safety in tunnels can be achieved only by looking at the problem as a whole. Each safety component (ventilation, fire detection, fire extinguishing, etc.) affects each other and safety can only be efficient if all the systems are interacting. SafeTUNNEL is a concept promoted by Orbipark of Slovenia to act at all levels to ensure the highest safety. 37/07.

Drivers on the M25 in the UK are set to benefit from shorter journey times and improved safety as Transport Minister Tom Harris opened a GBP75 million project to refurbish and add extra lanes through the Holmesdale tunnel and junction 25. 38/07.

As part of a KIRAS project, a consortium managed by construction engineers of the Vienna University of technology examines the concrete damage and the flattening behaviour in case of a tunnel fire. An innovative simulation tool helps evaluate the stability of a damaged tunnel. Three construction projects in Vienna are tested using this newly developed evaluation process. 37/07.

A compressed air foam system, abbreviated CAFS, is a system used in firefighting to deliver fire retardant foam for the purpose of extinguishing fire or protecting unburned areas from becoming involved in flame. It can be used in tunnels.36/07.

Today sees the official launch of tunnelintelligence.com as the leading resource for health and safety matters in the tunnelling industry. In an era when the cost of accidents far outweighs the cost of preventive measures, company managers have a duty of care to ensure they are continuously up to date on current and planned legislation on health and safety issues.

The Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway's 9 km-long tunnel in Singapore is the longest road tunnel in Southeast Asia. The tunnel box varies from 35.4 m to 43.9 m wide and 8.63 to 9.33 m high. Tunnels of this length also present unique challenges for electrical and mechanical (E&M) equipment installations. 35/07.

Autostrade per l’Italia is committed to increasing the level of safety in the tunnels that it operates to comply with the requirements imposed by the legislation of the industry. Refurbishment works must be performed to change the lighting, ventilation, special and safety outfit. As far as lighting is concerned, 378 tunnels will be improved. 34/07

In 2000, the Swiss federal railways commenced the first phase of an ambitious maintenance programme for tunnels, which cost CHF320 million. This involved the waterproofing and maintenance of 59 tunnels. The commencement of the second phase has just been announced. 34/07

Federal regulators are calling for mandatory tunnel inspection programmes similar to those required for bridges. It comes amid the National Transportation Safety Board's final report issued in July on last year's deadly Big Dig tunnel accident in Boston. 34/07.