A joint venture of two Spanish contractors, Obrascon Huarte Lain S.A. (OHL) and Dimetronic S.A., emerged May 17 as the low bidder for the Marmaray suburban rail upgrade project in Istanbul with a $1.5-billion bid. Related Links: Byzantine Port, Botched Buildings Put A Brake On Bosporus Link Japanese Team Goes Deep To Link Istanbul's Two Parts The project to upgrade the city’s 140-year-old suburban train lines will create an uninterrupted high-capacity commuter rail system of 76.3 kilometers between the suburbs of Gebze on the Asian side and Halkalı on the European side. It will include a line running through an
Through three wars, plans for an underground metro in Iraq’s capital city languished in a “pending” file. Now Baghdad municipally has signed a contract with a French firm and is dusting off decades-old designs for a 40-kilometer system. Map by Walter Konefal Planned Baghdad Metro The government also aspires to develop a separate plan for a 25-km elevated transit project as well.French design firm Systra S.A., Paris, now is mobilizing for 18 months’ work to develop the two-line metro project sufficiently for the city to solicit an engineer-procure-and-construct contract. Under Systra’s agreement, signed May 27, Systra also will advise on
The Panama Canal Authority awarded the contract to design a bridge on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal near the Gatun Locks to a Chinese-U.S. joint venture. The China Communications Construction Co. and the Louis Berger Group offered a $4.66-million proposal, the lowest bid offered. The structure will be 75 meters above sea level and 5 km long, including the approaches. The other firms proffering bids included TYPSA Principia, URS Holdings, Puente de Colón JV, ARUP and T.Y. Lin International.The bridge is required to maintain a road passage across the isthmus with the construction of the new larger locks
A controversial new cable show is thrusting America’s crumbling infrastructure into the spotlight. The debate stems not from the show’s content but from the engineering qualifications of its host, who criticizes others’ engineering and maintenance decisions in the name of public advocacy. Photo: By Tudor Van Hampton For ENR The history Channel’s “Inspector America” cites the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis as one example of the country’s infrastructure crisis. Some say the show and its host are sensationalizing the truth. “Inspector America” debuted on Sunday, April 17 on the History Channel. The cable program examines roadways, dams, tunnels, levees, bridges
Officials with the Florida Dept. of Transportation and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority on May 25 announced an agreement to move forward with construction of the Wekiva Parkway, a 27-mile-long toll road estimated to cost $1.8 billion. The parkway would provide the last component of a beltway around the Orlando metro. The long-planned project has languished due to a lack of available funds. OOCEA and Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, a division of FDOT, are still determining their respective commitments to the project but announced September 2011 as a goal for starting design work. Construction could start by late 2012 and is
Leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee—two Democrats and two Republicans—have taken the first major action this year toward passing a long-delayed multiyear surface transportation bill. Industry officials welcomed the May 25 announcement that the four lawmakers had agreed on a framework for a $339.2-billion highway-transit measure that could stretch to as long as six years. But the plan is a long way from getting enacted. The senators haven’t lined up firm sources for all the funding, and a not-yet-introduced House version may well come in far south of $339 billion. Construction officials praised the milestone proposal, announced
Brazil plans to open two megaports in the State of Rio de Janeiro in 2012, as EBX Group, owned by Brazilian mining billionaire Eike Batista, makes rapid progress on the Deepwater Sudeste and Acu Superports. The projects are an effort to speed trade in natural resources and new investment by other nations, particularly China, say published reports. LLX Logistica SA Inland from the port, a 90-sq-km industrial complex is under development. The new ports are designed to accommodate the new Chinamax line of vessels, which are 380 meters long. Claimed to be the largest investment in port infrastructure in the
Construction is racing into the homestretch 35 kilometers outside of Delhi in preparation for India’s first Formula One grand prix, on Oct. 30. India’s first Formula One race track, known as the Buddh International Circuit, is expected to be homologated by August. JPSI German architect and racetrack designer Hermann Tilke designed the $400-million Buddh International Circuit. JPSI The course track features long, fast straightaways, complex slower sections with open, flowing corners and unusual gradients. Homologation is the approval process a race track must go through to be part of a league or series. The regulations and rules that must be
For the second year in a row, Florida legislators have raided the state's transportation trust fund in order to help close a multibillion-dollar budget gap, and again the state's governor is apparently considering vetoing the measure. This year's session, which finished work on May 6, included a “sweep” of $150 million from the trust fund's cash reserves into the general budget. That was nearly identical to the $160 million that state politicians raided from the road fund last year, only to have former Gov. Charlie Crist (R) veto the action after considerable lobbying from the transportation construction industry.Robert G. Burleson,
Transportation and other markets in the emirate countries of the Middle East continue to offer lucrative opportunities for U.S. engineering firms. Qatar leaders on April 6 signed contracts with these firms worth billions of dollars during a Manhattan conference that drew top government and business officials. Parsons Transportation Group will provide design work for two new highways that together are projected to cost more than $1 billion, and is teamed with AECOM on construction management for a $3.5-billion, 30-km light rail network. Jeffrey Squires, Parsons executive vice president, says Qatar's 2022 hosting of the FIFA World Cup is spurring infrastructure
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