Preliminary design of the world’s longest sunken tube tunnel is to begin following a recent contract award covering the roughly 30-km Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao fixed highway sea link, China. At 5.6-km, the tunnel will be some 2-km longer than the current record holder, on the Denmark-Sweden Øresund crossing, according to the Scandinavian tunnel’s designer, Copenhagen-based Cowi A.S. Cowi is also in the design consortium just hired by the Chinese government, which includes the Hong Kong office of Arup Group, Chinese Highway Plan and Design Institute Ltd. and Shanghai Tunnel and Design Institute. The link will be elevated for 22.8-km and include
With no prospect of quick action on a multi-year Federal Aviation Administration bill, the House has approved another in a series of extensions for FAA programs, including the agency's Airport Improvement Program construction grants. The measure, which extends funding authority and aviation user fees through Sept. 30, was approved on March 18 by voice vote. The next step is action by the Senate. Enactment of the extension is needed by March 31, when the current FAA extension lapses.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has formally committed $900 million to help construct the first phase of the Silver Line, a 23-mile extension of Washington, D.C.’s Metrorail system to Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The funding, which has been closely scrutinized due to concerns about the $5.2-billion project’s schedule and cost, allows the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to move ahead with the initial $3.1-billion, 11.6-mile above-ground segment from the existing East Falls Church Station to Wiehle Road in Reston, Va. Dulles Transit Partners, the design-build consortium owned by Bechtel Infrastructure Inc. and Washington Group International, expects that phase to
The $527-million new South Ferry subway station at Manhattan’s southern tip opened on March 16, with platforms now long enough to accommodate 10-car trains rather than five. The 4.5-year-long project included a $261-million design-build contract, held by a joint venture of Schiavone Construction Co., Secaucus, N.J., and Granite Halmar Construction Co. Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y., for the reinforced-concrete structural box, which accommodates a 1,200-ft-long approach tunnel and the 500-ft-long new station. Photo: MTA/Patrivck Cashin
A U.S.-led joint venture that includes AECOM Technology Corp., Los Angeles, and CH2M Hill Cos., Denver, won an estimated $140-million program management contract for London’s vast new Crossrail project. The JV beat two other short-listed teams headed by Bechtel Ltd. and Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd. The project cost has been estimated at $22 billion. The winning team, called Transcend, will “work alongside [us] as part of an integrated client team to manage the overall program,” says Steve Rowsell, head of procurement for project owner Cross London Rail Links Ltd. The Transcend team also includes U.K.-based Nichols Group Ltd. Primary project construction
Amtrak soon will be receiving the first portion of $1.3 billion for capital improvements from the economic-stimulus package. Vice-President Joe Biden, a long-time Amtrak rider and supporter, told a March 13 press conference at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station, that the $1.3 billion "will nearly double Amtrak's investment program over the next two years." Photo: NCI, Leo King Drawbridge in Connecticut would be replaced. Amtrak President Joseph Boardman says the railroad expects to reach a final grant agreement with the Federal Railroad Administration on the stimulus funds with during the week of March 16. "Once we've got that, we're ready to
Federal agencies are moving out more federal stimulus aid. The Federal Aviation Administration said March 12 that it had released the first two allocations of its $1.1 billion in airport aid under the stimulus. Those allotments, totaling $12 million, will go to two Pittsburgh-area airports. In addition, the Dept. of Energy said it plans to release to state and local agencies an initial installment of about $780 million of the $8 billion the stimulus provided to DOE for home weatherization assistance and aid to states' energy offices. DOE says that the initial allocations include $471.8 million for the weatherization program
A House committee has cleared a four-year aviation reauthorization bill that would provide a boost for airport construction grants and a hike in passenger facility charges, as an airport group says capital needs continue to climb. But with a temporary Federal Aviation Administration authorization set to lapse March 31, another extension is likely. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 5 approved a bill that would authorize $70 billion for FAA over the 2009-2012 period. It includes $16.2 billion for FAA's Airport Improvement Program, which provides grants to fund runways, taxiways and other infrastructure. Under the bill, AIP would
A banking consortium agreed to provide financing for a nearly $1.8-billion toll lane project in Florida. The Florida Dept. of Transportation signed off on an agreement for I 595 Express, LLC to finance, build and operate the $1.796-billion Interstate 595 Corridor Improvement Project, after concessionaire ACS Infrastructure Development of Spain secured financing from an international banking consortium. Image Photo: RS&J Three express toll lanes will be added to I-595. “For a major infrastructure project to get its financing together in the current climate is a big deal,” says Gerry O’Reilly, director of transportation development for FDOT district 4. Late last
Three international consortiums submitted bids on Tuesday to design and build the new sets of locks for the ongoing $5.2-billion expansion of the Panama Canal. Photo: C.J. Schexnayder/ENR A cargo ship enters the Gatun Locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. Photo: Panama Canal Authority A computer illustration of the proposed locks for the Panama Canal third lane expansion project. Officials with the Panama Canal Authority – the quasi-governmental organization that oversees the waterway’s administration often known by its Spanish-language acronym, ACP – accepted bids in a ceremony in Panama. The canal authority has previously projected the lock
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