Japan and China have cornered the market in major cable-supported bridges in recent years. But now another East Asian rival is on the rise. South of the Russian port city of Vladivostok, the world’s longest cable-stayed span—at 1,104 meters—is due to start erection next April. Spanning the “eastern Bosphorus” waterway from the southern tip of the Nazimov Peninsula, the Russky Bridge is a key element in the work to prepare Russky Island to host the 2012 Asia-Pacific Summit, which will include U.S. and Canada government heads. To feed traffic to the new crossing, work has advanced further on a second
Planners of the $6.6-billion Femern Belt road and rail link between Denmark and Germany have rejected a bridge option in favor of a 18-kilometer-long sunken-tube tunnel. Government confirmation of the choice is expected next month. The process of prequalifying contractors is scheduled to start later in 2011. Running between Puttgarden, on Germany’s Fehmarn Island, and R�dby, on Lolland Island, Denmark, the project will provide a new route from Scandinavia to Central Europe. LUNDHUS Following extensive studies by two international design teams, officials at the project developer, Denmark’s Femern A/S, Copenhagen, say a tunnel poses fewer construction and operational risks than
After years of discussion, Israel’s Transportation Ministry finally is proceeding with plans to build an estimated $700-million high-speed railway to the southern port of Eilat, the country’s largest resort and a major port for shipments to and from the Far East. The ministry now seeks expressions of contractor interest in the project. Israel already has invested several billion dollars in recent years in national rail projects as part of a government effort to upgrade the country’s infrastructure. In November, the ministry announced a multibillion-dollar plan for additional upgrades as well as new rail lines and roads. The ministry plans a
A $410-million Lima Metro Line 1 is on pace for completion in June 2011, Peruvian officials say. The 18-month project involves the construction of 11.7 kilometers of new train line and nine stations as well as the complete refurbishment of 9.8 km of existing line and seven stations. Approximately 85% of the civil works for the 22-km-long route are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The Consorcio Tren Eléctrico, in public-private partnership with the Peruvian government, is the general contractor. Consortium members include the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht and the Peruvian company Gra�a y Montero, with
An international consortium has won the $1.45-billion contract to construct the first metro train line for Panama City, Panama. The Consorio L�nea Uno consists of Spain’s Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), Brazil’s Odebrecht and France’s Alstom , which will supply the trains for the project. Work is scheduled to start in January. When completed in 2013, the Metro Line 1 will cover a 14-kilometer north-south route across the Panamanian capital, with a 7-km underground stretch. The trains will be powered by a third-rail source using direct current at 750 volts. According to the Panama City Metro Secretariat, the finished
Turkish State Railways’ (Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryollari, or TCDD) plans to build a 6,000-kilometers network of high-speed track have received a major boost from China. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed an agreement in early October in Ankara to loan approximately $28 billion for construction of a 2,000-km high-speed Silk Road Railway. The route will connect Edirne, which is on Turkey’s western border with Bulgaria, and Kars, which is in the northeast near the closed border of Armenia. The Kars–Tbilisi–Baku conventional railway—which links Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan—has been under construction since 2007 and is scheduled for completion by 2012. + Image
Eiffage, France’s third-largest contractor, is building a $315-million toll road in Dakar. Eiffage will have a 30-year concession to build, finance, operate and maintain the 25-kilometer-long road. At present, more than 100,000 vehicles use a double-lane road to enter and exit Dakar on a daily basis, causing severe traffic congestion. The Dakar-Diamniadio toll road is expected to cut the average commute to less than 30 minutes from two hours. Work already has begun on the easternmost segment in the suburb of Diamniadio. But land purchases are still under way in the urban district of Pikine in Dakar. Several thousand families
The California High-Speed Rail Authority approved the first phase of the $43-billion, 800-mile statewide system, giving the go-ahead to a stretch between the small towns of Madera and Corcoran in the Central Valley. The 65-mile-long project will include two stations in downtown Fresno and one at a site east of Hanford, along with a maintenance center located between Merced and Bakersfield. This initial segment will use about $4 billion of the available $4.3 billion to also acquire rights of way, construct viaducts, prepare the site, restore vegetation, build rail bridges, realign roadways and relocate existing railways and utilities. The authority’s
As the Federal Railroad Administration pursues regulations regarding inspection of concrete railroad ties, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority last month launched a $91-million project to replace 147,000 concrete ties that began failing in just 10 years. Photo: Courtesy VHB Thousands of precast concrete ties began to fail in just 10 years. In 1997, the MBTA chose concrete over timber ties because Rocla Concrete Tie Inc., a Denver-based precast-concrete manufacturer, claimed they had a 50-year life span compared to 30 years for timber ties. But in 2007, several thousand ties began cracking and crumbling, disrupting train service on the 61-mile Old
Call it recycling on a whole new level at San Francisco International Airport: The $380-million Terminal 2 project features 99% recycling of construction materials. Airport tenants also need to meet a 10% waste recycling minimum. Rental-car drivers will get discounts for using hybrids. Even the landscaping is an exercise in sustainable approaches to harboring protected species. “We use goats,” says Sam Mehta, environmental services manager for SFO. “It is 100% sustainable. The grass is eaten and fertilized. For them, it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, and they don’t harm the California red lake frog and San Francisco garter snake. The cut grass
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