Related Links: Home Crises Drive More Spanish Contractors Abroad Australia Boosts Infrastructure As Mining Sector Loses Steam A highway project in one of Australia's fastest-growing regions has broken tunneling speed records, excavating up to 163 ft in a day. The $1.33-billion Legacy Way project (formerly known as Northern Link) in Brisbane is currently running six months ahead of its scheduled mid-2015 completion, say officials.To build the 2.9-mile-long parallel tunnels between Brisbane's Toowong and Kelvin Grove, the two 41-ft-diameter, 361-ft-long Herrenknecht double-shield pair of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) excavated more than 35.3 million cu ft of spoil, consisting predominantly of Neranleigh
Photo Courtesy of Acciona Two of four tunnel boring machines arrived in Brazil in November. Photo Courtesy of Acciona 210-ft-long earth pressure balance TBMs will dig new subway route. Related Links: Two Years To World Cup Kickoff For Brazilian Stadiums Architects, Commerce Dept. Embark On Trade Mission To Brazil As demonstrated by this summer's fare-increase riots—which caused an estimated 1 million protesters in São Paolo and other Brazilian cities to take to the streets—public transportation is a crucial issue for the burgeoning country. Next year's World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games will add tremendous strain on the country's infrastructure.
Photo Courtesy of CMRL TBMs may or may not be culprits in building damage. Photo Courtesy of CMRL Related Links: Fatal Pier Collapse Mars India Metro India Chips Away At Massive Urbanization Ills An investigation is pending into cracks detected in more than 200 buildings in Chennai, India. While they are attributed to the construction of the first phase of the 90-kilometer-long, $3-billion Chennai Metro project, it is not clear whether the tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are the direct cause.Administered by Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL), a joint venture between the Indian government and the southern state of Tamil Nadu,
The construction of the first phase of a major metro project in Chennai, India, may be causing cracks in more than 200 buildings in the city, and the buildings’ owners are calling for a formal investigation. Federal Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath recently stated that as part of precautionary measures, strengthening and even temporary evacuation was being conducted for structurally weak buildings to ensure safety. “In the event of significant impact on any building, the repair works are undertaken based on the recommendations given by the experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai,” Nath said.Some residents have
Related Links: Infrastructure Investors Are Willing To Pound the Pavement LBJ Work Progress To Excavation Phase The population of the Lone Star State passed the 26-million mark this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The 3.6% year-over-year growth rate shows no sign of slowing. While new arrivals are welcomed, the problem, as Texas officials wryly note, is that they "don't bring new roads with them."(click here for slide show)The Texas A&M Texas Transportation Institute estimates the state faces a $4-billion funding gap to meet the transportation needs of the growing populace. To make ends meet, the Texas Dept. of
Photo and Map Courtesy of NCDOT Crews delivered repair components to bridge site in late November. The lawsuit aims to protect an adjoining wildlife refuge. The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge on North Carolina's Outer Banks has reopened after the discovery of excess scour around underwater pilings forced a two-week closure. The closure isolated more than 4,000 full-time residents on Hatteras Island and added fuel to the long-simmering debate over replacing the half-century-old, 2.5-mile structure spanning Oregon Inlet.Because of the highly volatile and dynamic nature of the inlet's currents between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, the North Carolina Dept. of
Photo Courtesy of DDOT Crews installed rail bed for the new streetcar system amid traffic, building construction and scores of underground utilities along H Street, which is undergoing a resurgence. Photo Courtesy of DDOT Washington, D.C.'s first streetcar in 50 years made its public debut this month, after crews installed track and catenary wires. Related Links: Long-Awaited Anacostia River Project Ramps Up Remodeling DC Streetcar Construction of a 2.4-mile starter line for Washington, D.C.'s first streetcar in 50 years symbolizes both the city's efforts to revitalize its Anacostia waterfront areas and a growing national transportation trend.Officials with the District Dept.
Photo Courtesy C.A. Rasmussen Inc. Repair crews blast fire-damaged concrete from tunnel sections, which are treated with shotcrete and epoxy. They skip the adjacent section to facilitate curing, then return to repeat the process. Related Links: Tanker Fire Closures on SR-2 and I-5 Tanker Fire Damaged Tunnel Tested Working on a tight, two-month time schedule, contractor C.A. Rasmussen, Valencia, Calif., is completing work on a major Interstate 5 connector tunnel near Los Angeles that was severely damaged last July 13, when a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of fuel overturned and burst into flames."We're working double shifts night and day,
Related Links: Chicago DOT Replaces Wells Street Bridge Section in Tight Time Frame Chicago's Red Line Is Getting a $1B, Three-Year Makeover The city of Chicago is launching a $492-million, four-year program to overhaul a mass-transit line that extends between downtown and O'Hare International Airport.Beginning in 2014, the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) Blue Line will undergo extensive track improvements, in addition to signal, power and station-house upgrades. Rather than complete track replacement, plans call for renovations along the 12.5-mile line, which includes subway tunnels, elevated structures and ground-level track.Though schedules aren't final, CTA expects to begin with track work, followed
Related Links: New York Commuter Derailment Highlights Lack of Positive Train Control Investment L.A. Commuter Rail Line to Roll Out First Positive Train Control System in U.S. A fatal New York train derailment on Dec. 1 on a Metro-North Railroad commuter train, which appears to be the result of a lapse in the solo engineer's consciousness, has politicians demanding comprehensive, industry-wide implementation of positive train controls (PTC)—a step advocated by the National Transportation Safety Board for decades and one the rail industry already has been struggling to achieve.In a Dec. 4 statement, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) President Michael Melaniphy
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