NEWS |


Contract award for Milan


metro extension ITALY - Contract award to extend Milan metro’s M1 line by 3.3km has been made to Eteria Consortium, Ghella and CMB. The Eteria Consortium comprises Vianini


Lavori SpA, Itinera SpA, and I.CO.P SpA Società Benefit. Construction of the metro extension


tunnels is to be performed by TBM excavation. The extension will take the line from the


current Bisceglie station to Valsesia, Olmi, and Baggio, where new stations will be built. The contract is valued at approximately


€360 million (£312 million). Work is expected to start late 2025 and is anticipated to take around six years.


TBM finish on SK cable tunnel SOUTH KOREA - A slurry TBM jointly developed by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Ltd (CRCHI) and Hoban has completed excavation of the Seosan cable tunnel project. The 2.044km-long tunnel has a


continuous uphill gradient through complex geological formations, including hard rock and weathered rock. The compressive strength was up to 71MPa and the alignment has a minimum horizontal curve radius of 120m. CRCHI developed a shield with


double-articulated steering and a high- capacity slurry circulation system. The 3.26m-diameter TBM was also equipped with an ultra-low clearance segment hoist, and a side-mounted coiled pipe extension system.


DC Water completes aging sewer tunnel repair US - DC Water has completed repairs on a 2.75m-diameter, 140-year-old sewer tunnel in Washington, D.C. Construction on the sewer tunnel on


22nd Street Northwest took nearly a year and was carried out in two phases. The second phase was completed one month ahead of schedule and under budget. The tunnel section is part of the


Northwest Boundary Trunk Sewer, built in the late 1800s. Last year, an inspection revealed a 4m-long by 0.3m-wide void in the soil above the tunnel, which was in danger of collapse. Significant structural issues were also


identified, as well as issues upstream and downstream from the emergency repair. These included longitudinal cracks,


8 | October 2025


missing cobblestones and bricks, and root penetration. Construction, sometimes 24 hours a day,


seven days a week, posed challenges for crews working two storeys below ground in difficult conditions. The work involved reinforcing the sewer tunnel and stabilising the soil around the initial void. Throughout the repair works the sewer pipe remained active.


NZ shortlists three for Northland Expressway NEW ZEALAND - Three consortia have been shortlisted for the Warkworth to Te Hana section of the Northland Expressway project in New Zealand, which involves a stretch in tunnel. The indicative design for the new


26km road north of Auckland includes an 850m-long twin-tube tunnel in the Dome Valley. The three shortlisted consortia are:


● Northway – Acciona Concesiones SL, abrdn Global Sustainable Infrastructure GP IV Ltd, and Acciona Construction New Zealand Ltd;


● Go>North – Vinci Highways SAS, John Laing Ltd, Vinci Construction Grands Projets SAS, Vinci Construction GeoInfrastructure SAS, and HEB Construction Ltd; and,


● Together North –Plenary Origination Pty Ltd, Webuild SpA, WBCA Pty Ltd, Gamuda Engineering Pty Ltd, and Service Stream Holdings Pty Ltd.


The three groups are to prepare proposals for the financing, design, construction, management and maintenance of the project under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) concession method of procurement. A preferred bidder is expected to be


announced early 2026 and contract award is anticipated a few months later.


Elephant & Castle station box completed, set for tunnels UK - Property developers Get Living, Delancey and Multiplex recently completed the underground structure of the new tube station entrance and ticket hall at Elephant & Castle to replace the existing entrance to the Northern Line and accommodate a future Bakerloo Line extension. The station box will be handed over to


Transport for London (TfL) to commence the tunnelling works to connect into the Northern Line platforms. The new entrance will provide step-free access and increase capacity by over 30%.


TFL appointed Dragados UK, in late


2024, to design and build approximately 135m of passenger tunnels. Dragados UK has selected Aecom to lead the design and construction.


Fangxi water tunnel finish by TBM CHINA - The Fangxi Reservoir Water Diversion Tunnel in Linhai City, Zhejiang Province, has been completed. The 10.78km-long tunnel was completed


in 21 months and included a 240m-long drill-and-blast section but was mainly excavated by TBM. The tunnel reaches a maximum depth of nearly 800m although cover in some parts is less than 30m. For the TBM bored section a


4.03m-diameter shield was used, equipped with 18” single disc cutters and 17” centre disc cutters, all supplied and maintained by Litian Heavy Industry. The TBM achieved a record monthly


advance of 719.21m and a maximum daily advance of 41.82m.


O&M tender out for Copenhagen metro lines DENMARK - The procurement process was launched recently to find a new operator for the operation and maintenance of Copenhagen’s metro lines (M1-M4). Metroselskabet, which is owned by the


state, the City of Copenhagen, and the Municipality of Frederiksberg, has overall responsibility for the operation of the Metro but is required by law to tender the operation to a private operator. The city’s metro is operated by a private


operator. In 2024, the Metro set a passenger record with 126 million passengers.


Barhale to build shaft tank for Severn Trent Water UK - Severn Trent Water has awarded Barhale a £16.35 million contract to deliver a major project, including a deep shaft tank, at Etruria Vale in Stoke-on-Trent. The centrepiece of the scheme is a


20m-diameter, 24m-deep shaft tank that is to provide extra overflow storage capacity. The shaft tank is a key element of the wider, multi-site Etruria Vale project being developed by the utility. Barhale is to construct the shaft using


secant piling to create a circular retaining wall before main excavation commences. Two connecting pipes – a 7.2m-long, 1200mm inlet and a 12m-long, 1050mm overflow – will link the structure to adjacent manholes.


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