The Washington State Dept. of Transportation has qualified four design-build teams that will vie for a $1-billion contract to construct a deep-bore tunnel replacing the seismically unsound Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle. The winner will begin work on the four-lane, 2-mile-long double-decker tunnel on state Route 99 after the award in late 2010. + Image A new tunnel (inset) will replace waterfront viaduct. WSDOT on Dec. 18 announced the qualified joint-venture teams: Seattle Tunnel Partners, which includes Dragados USA Inc., Coral Gables, Fla., and HNTB Corp., Kansas City, Mo.; Seattle Tunneling Group, which includes S.A. Healy Co., Lombard, Ill., FCC
Three of four contractor teams prequalified to bid the second major leg of an $8.7-billion transit tunnel under the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan submitted bids that were opened by the owner, New Jersey Transit, on Dec. 15. The project, to dig 5,200-ft-long twin bored tunnels through New Jersey's Palisades rock formation to a river access point in Hoboken, N.J., had been estimated to cost $250 million. A Secaucus, N.J., joint venture of Schiavone Construction Co., Skanska Civil and J.F. Shea was the low bidder at $258.8 million; a joint venture of OHL USA Inc., Davie, Fla., and
Thanks in part to design-build and a lane rental arrangement, a bridge over Interstate 75 near Detroit reopened to traffic on Dec. 11, less than five months after collapsing in flames. Photo: Bergmann Associates Michigan transportation officials and their contractor team credit a lane rental agreement process and design-build for speeding the rebuilding of an Interstate overpass, competed in under five months. The steel beams of the two-span Nine Mile Bridge in Hazel Park, Mich., melted on July 15 after a car hit a tanker truck on six-lane I-75, causing 14,000 gallons of fuel to erupt in flames. “The northbound
The Missouri Dept. of Transportation is building its second “diverging diamond” interchange design that requires motorists at an interchange to temporarily drive on the left side of the road. It was devised by an engineer in graduate school who wasn’t aware the concept already existed in Europe. The Federal Highway Administration has tested and presented the design, and a dozen states are considering using it Photo: MODOT Springfield, Mo., diverging diamond design moves left-turning traffic more easily. The design calls for the approach road on either side of the interchange to curve to the left, so the driver can easily
Congress has approved the latest in a series of extensions to allow Federal Aviation Administration programs, including its Airport Improvement Program (AIP) construction grants, to continue operating. The new stopgap runs through March 31. Final congressional action came on Dec. 10, with passage by the Senate. The House had approved the measure two days earlier. The bill next goes to the White House, for President Obama's expected signature. The measure would succeed the current stopgap, which expires Dec. 31. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) notes that the extension includes $2 billion in contract authority for AIP,
A joint venture of Barnard Construction Co. Inc., Bozeman, Mont., and Judlau Contracting Inc., College Point, N.Y., edged out two other prequalified teams to win a $583-million contract to bore a pair of 16,500-ft-long, 27-ft-dia., tunnels averaging 120-ft deep for the Manhattan portion of an $8.7-billion second mass-transit tunnel linking New York's Pennsylvania Station to New Jersey. Directors of project owner, New Jersey Transit, unanimously approved the contract on Dec. 9. Proposals for a related tunnel contract under New Jersey's Palisades rock formation, estimated at $250 million, will be due Dec. 15, says a New Jersey Transit spokesman They are
A joint venture of Barnard Construction Co. Inc., Bozeman, Mont., and Judlau Contracting Inc., College Point, N.Y., edged out two other prequalified teams in winning a $583-million contract to bore a pair of 16,500-ft-long, 27-ft-dia. tunnels averaging 120-ft deep for the Manhattan portion of a second mass-transit tunnel linking New York’s Pennsylvania Station to New Jersey. It is the first of three major tunneling contracts for the $8.7-billion Mass Transit Tunnel project, overseen by New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. New Jersey Transit’s directors approved the contract on Dec. 9. Construction will begin
The government of Brazil has announced it is seeking bid proposals for a 317-mile high-speed rail line linking São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The project would be the first of its kind in South America, which currently has no high-speed rail lines. The project currently has an estimated budget of $19.44 billion and would serve a corridor that is home to 40 million people—20% of Brazil’s population. Under the current plan, 60% of the cost would be funded by Brazil’s development bank, and the remaining 40% would be provided by the winning bidder, which also would receive a concession
According to Caltrans spokesman Bart Ney, work on the eyebar will not require a full bridge closure; instead, crews will work overnight, which will require three lanes to close on the upper deck and one lane on the lower deck. The repair and related lane closures will last approximately three weeks, with an additional five weeks possibly needed at a later date. Photo: Caltrans “We would like to thank motorists in advance for their patience during the upcoming lane closures,” says Caltrans Director Randell Iwasaki. “This is the right fix and a long-term one that should keep the 73-year old
A funding delay, a cableway collapse and a death: Construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass is a challenge-filled saga that rivals the building of the historic dam itself. But the light at the end of the canyon is beckoning. North America’s longest single-arch concrete crossing, at 1,960 ft, now soars 88 ft over the Colorado River and is scheduled to open to traffic in November 2010. It will carry vehicles 1,500 ft downstream from Hoover Dam, spanning the Black Canyon at the borders of Nevada and Arizona and answering a need that dates back to the 1960s. Slide Show Photo:
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