| NEWS


TBMs start on Sydney Metro West AUSTRALIA – TBMs and roadheaders have started excavating on the Central section of Sydney’s 24km-long Metro West Line. Hard rock double-shields ‘Daphne’ and


‘Beatrice’ are driving 11km-long parallel tunnels from The Bays to Sydney Olympic Park. The machines include refurbished cutterheads, front shields and gripper shields from the TBMs used on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project. The twin-tube metro tunnels are part


of the Central Tunnelling Package awarded to the Acciona Ferrovial JV in July 2021. The contract includes excavation and civil works for five new stations: The Bays; Five Dock; Burwood North; North Strathfield; and, Sydney Olympic Park. The excavations also include access shafts at The Bays and Burwood North – and also a crossover cavern at the latter location. The package also includes construction of one of the two precast concrete factories at Eastern Creek. On the Western Tunnelling package,


the Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke Consortium will use of autonomous TBMs in Australia for the first time. The two Herrenknecht machines are to build 9km- long twin tunnels between Sydney Olympic Park and Westmead. Three roadheaders are also working on


the project, excavating tunnels to connect the new metro line with a new stabling and maintenance facility at Clyde. John Holland, CPB Contractors and


Ghella joint venture (JCG JV) has the Eastern Tunnelling contract to deliver 3.5km of tunnels between The Bays and Hunter Street in Sydney central business. District (CBD).


More Procurement steps for Hudson Tunnel Project US – The Gateway Development Commission (GDC) issued Requests for Qualifications for two major packages of New York-New Jersey’s Hudson Tunnel Project – the EA1 contract, for the Hudson River Ground Stabilisation (HRGS) project; and, the 1A contract, for the Palisades Tunnel project. The US$16bn project involves building the


new 3.9km two-tube Gateway Tunnel under the Hudson River, between Newark, New Jersey, and New York City’s Penn Station, and refurbishing Amtrak’s existing North River rail tunnel, For the HRGS project, the RFQ invited


interested submissions on the design-build contract by mid-July.


HRGS will fortify and stabilise the


riverbed on the New York side of the Hudson River over a 366m section leading to the Manhattan Bulkhead. The work will improve conditions in which to bore the new tunnel through the eastern portion of the Hudson River section of the project. The work will also comply with environmental regulations and be conducted in specified time periods to protect the river, fish and wildlife. The project is expected to commence


in early 2024, ahead of the full tunnel construction. For the Palisades Tunnel project, the RFQ


invited Statements of Qualifications for the design-bid-build procurement method by the middle of next month (13 September). Palisades Tunnel is the first project in the full construction of the new Hudson Tunnel, is to use TBMs, and is anticipated to begin in the second half of 2024. After evaluating the Statements of


Qualifications, GDC plans to choose a shortlist and issue Requests for Proposals. In recent months the GDC has made


progress on other elements of the Hudson Tunnel Project. Early work is expected to begin later this year on both the Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation project in New Jersey and the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing – Section 3 in New York. In May the GDC shortlisted three potential


project delivery partners: Bechtel-HNTB JV; Hudson Delivery Partnership (Atkins North America, Inc, Arup US Inc, and the McKissack Group); and MPA Delivery Partners (Parsons Transportation Group of New York Inc, Arcadis of New York Inc, and Mace North America Ltd).


Stanley Park water tunnel timeline reset CANADA – Construction of Vancouver’s Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel has been delayed to a late 2024 expected start. Completion date has been pushed back


to the end of 2029, around a year later than originally planned. The project owner, Metro Vancouver, said


replacing the 1930s water main with the new supply tunnel remains a priority but it is still finalising approvals due to project complexity. The existing main is near the end of its service life. The project involves construction of three


shafts in Stanley Park, the tunnel with a new water main, and valve chambers. Metro Vancouver told T&T the shaft locations, along with the tunnel alignment and construction process, were selected


based on geotechnical, environmental, archaeological, technological, and traffic studies. The project is being designed to current seismic standards.


ITA Tunnelling Awards approaches INDIA – Nominations have closed for this year’s ITA Tunnelling Awards, which will be held in Mumbai on 24 November, immediately following the Tunnelling Asia Conference organised by the Tunnelling Association of India (TAI). Held since 2015, the international


competition rewards remarkable achievements in tunnelling and the underground industry. This year’s awards feature eight


categories: Projects in three size categories – over €500m, €50m-500m, and up to €50m; Technical Innovation; Beyond Engineering; Product/Equipment Innovation; Innovative Underground Space Use; and, Young Tunneller.


Scotland tips for landslide flow shelter over tunnel UK – The Scottish Government has picked a debris flow shelter rather than an underground tunnel as the preferred option to protect the A83 road from landslides. The road in Glen Croe, in Argyll and


Bute, is often closed by landslides and five options were considered, including a 1.2km-long tunnel with a 52m-long viaduct. Last year, the government said it had consulted the Norwegian Government on its experience.


Work starts on HK rail line CHINA – Main construction works have started on Hong Kong’s 2.5km-long Tung Chung Line extension that includes a 1.3km- long tunnel. The new rail line being constructed by


MTR Corporation has two new stations – Tung Chung East and Tung Chung West. Tung Chung East station and associated


enabling works for track diversions will be carried out by Paul Y-CRCC JV. Bouygues-Dragages JV has the major


civil works contract for Tung Chung West Station and the tunnel connecting the station to Tung Chung Station. MTR’s other planned projects are Tuen


Mun South Extension, Kwu Tung Station on the East Rail Line, and Oyster Bay Station. Statutory processes or advance works are underway for the Northern Link Main Line, Hung Shui Kiu Station and Airport Railway Extended Overrun Tunnel.


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