| NEWS
ITA Tunnelling Awards SERBIA - Projects and people from 11 countries were recognised in this year’s ITA Tunnelling Awards, as follows: Young Tunnellers of the Year
● Gold – Aida Santos Santamaria, Spain ● Gold – Andrea Marchioni, Italy ● Bronze – Helena Castellvi Linde, Spain ● Highly Commended – Fang Lin, China; Patricia Lamas, Spain; and, Akx Malik, India
Major Projects of the Year (> €500m)
● Gold – Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link Immersed Tunnel, China
● Silver – Shanghai Suburban Railway Airport Link Line, China
● Bronze – Shanghai Urban Core Area Ultra-Long and Mega Northern Cross Passage Project, China
Project of the Year (€100m-500m)
● Gold –Yang Zong Tunnel – Kunming (Fude Overpass) to Yiliang Expressway, China
● Silver – Washington Metro Yellow Line Rehabilitation Project, USA
● Bronze - High Speed Two – Long Itchington Wood Twin-Bored Tunnels, UK
Project of the Year (< €100m)
● Gold – Hongyancun Station – Chongqing Rail Transit Line 9, China
● Silver – Shield Tunnel – Macau Light Rail Extension, China
● Bronze – Subsea Utility Tunnel, Singapore Technical Innovation of the Year
● Gold – Cutting CO2 emissions on Toulouse Metro extension
● Silver – Geothermal retrofitting in Italian road tunnels
● Bronze – Real-time deformation monitoring
Product/Equipment Innovation of the Year
● Gold – Trackless transport system for large and super-long TBM tunnels, China
● Silver – High-pressure abrasive waterjet- assisted TBM, China
● Bronze – 2-boom automated shotcrete machine, Japan
● Highly Commended – Polymer Innovation for Water Recycling, UK
The next Awards will be hosted in Lisbon at the Portuguese Tunnelling and Underground Space Commission’s conference, in November 2026. Nominations open in Spring.
Swiss contract win SWITZERLAND - The AWA consortium, in which Afry holds a one-third share, has won a contract from the Federal Roads Office for the design and construction supervision contract on the Twann Tunnel, near Lake Bienne. The Twann Tunnel project will extend
the Ligerz Tunnel at its eastern exit has a total length of 1.92km, including a two-way, two-track monotube about 1.8km-long, a technical duct under the road. The contract award includes material
management services, including analysis, treatment design, and geotechnical services.
Dubai award for Parsons UAE - Parsons has won a project management contract on Dubai Metro Blue Line. The Blue Line is to extend 30km – with
15.5km underground – and include 14 stations, five of which will be underground. The contract award from the Roads and
Transport Authority (RTA) requires services to include design review, procurement support, construction supervision, testing and commissioning oversight, and handover management. The Dubai Metro Blue Line, expected to commence operations in 2029.
Frankfurt tunnel award GERMANY - A contract for Phase 1 construction of the Riederwald Tunnel, in Frankfurt, has been awarded by Autobahn GmbH des Bundes to a consortium of Wayss & Freytag, Bickhardt Bau and Implenia Engineering. The project is they key part closing the
gap between the A66 and the Frankfurt A 661 eastern bypass. It is 2.2km with an approximately 1.1km tunnel under the Riederwald district. The Phase 1 contract (VE 4.1.1) includes
the first trough and tunnel sections east of the Erlenbruch motorway junction. The tunnel is being built using the cut-and- cover method. Construction is planned to take about
three years.
Ellicott water shaft progress US - Kiewit-Traylor Bros JV has completed more than half of the shaft excavation on the Ellicott City North Tunnel Project in Maryland. The 49m-deep shafts will provide the
TBM launch and retrieval sites for the water diversion project.
A 91.5m-long Robbins main beam TBM,
‘Rocky’, has been undergoing a full overhaul and is scheduled to arrive shortly to bore a 1.778km-long, 5.5m-diameter tunnel through granite for the diversion tunnel. The North Tunnel is design to divert
water to the Patapsco River, helping protect Ellicott City’s Main Street from flooding by channelling water underground. The Extended North Tunnel Project is
the single largest public works project in Howard County’s history and is the focal point of the Safe and Sound plan. The County broke ground on the project in June 2024 and completion is expected in Q3-2027.
Helsinki road upgrade closure FINLAND - Renovation of Helsinki’s Vuosaari road tunnel is due to start in January 2026, closing the route to traffic for around 12 months. The refurbishment work on the 1.5km-
long Vuosaari road twin tunnel is about is to involve updating the technology and structures. The tunnel runs from the Ring Road III interchange on Itäväylä to Vuosaari harbour on the Baltic Sea, and was opened in 2008. More than half of its use is for port traffic. Fintraffic is responsible for the Vuosaari
road tunnel’s renovation project and for commissioning improvement work on the alternative route. Fintraffic said the technology had come to the end of its life.
Gas bore finish at Ulverston UK - United Living Infrastructure Services (ULIS) has completed a short bore for a gas pipeline under Ulverston Canal, in Cumbria. The project was undertaken for gas
distribution network, Cadent, and ULIS performed the works in collaboration with Joseph Gallagher Ltd. A Herrenknecht AVN900 slurry TBM was
used to complete boring of the 900mm ID micro tunnel beneath the canal in under three days. There were challenging ground conditions and minimal clearance to the canal bed, said ULIS. The project, which commenced in March 2025, involves installing 850m of 305mm-diameter heavy-wall steel pipeline, primarily in fields adjacent to the canal. The new pipeline project is to replace the existing Ulverston to Barrow pipe, which passes under the canal footpath and is showing signs of deterioration. Once the new pipeline is operational, the existing one will be decommissioned.
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