Crossrail running tunnels award

UK statutory firm Crossrail is today (10 December) announcing contracts worth around GBP 1.25bn (USD 1.98bn) for the twin-bore running tunnels of the cross London rail project.

The winning bids are:

For contract C330 - Western running tunnels between Royal Oak and Farringdon) – joint venture of BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) and Kier Construction;

Contract C305 - Eastern running tunnels in stretches between Limmo Peninsula and Farringdon, Limmo Peninsula to Victoria Dock, and Stepney Green to Pudding Mill Lane – JV of Dragados and John Sisk & Son (Holdings);

C410 - Early access shafts and sprayed concrete lining works for Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road station tunnels – JV of BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) and Kier Construction;

C510 – Early access shafts and sprayed concrete lining works for Whitechapel and Liverpool Street station tunnels - JV of Alpine BeMo Tunnelling, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, Morgan Sindall (Infrastructure) and Vinci Construction Grands Projets.

Crossrail intends to merge contracts C300 and C410 as a combined award to achieve cost efficiencies within the new delivery programme. The contracts will actually be awarded after 10-day standstill period under European procurement requirements.

These contracts cover the construction of 18km of twin-bore tunnels underneath central London with TBMs for primary excavation, leaving around another 3km. Tunnelling will start in late 2011 with the first TBM due for launch in Spring 2012.

More tunnelling contracts are due to be awarded in 2011 including the Thames Tunnel between Plumstead and Woolwich, plus others for portals and station platform tunnels.