Bids opened for Thimble Shoal tunnel project

3 May 2016


USA - The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel district (CBBT) received its Final Technical Proposals and Price Proposals for the Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project on April 29.

All three teams bid a bored tunnel:

Archer Western-Vinci Construction USD 1,071,683,000;
Bouygues/Traylor/Manson USD 1,016,046,800; and
Dragados/Schiavone USD 1,092,000,000

The Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project will add an additional an approximately one mile-long (1.6km), two-lane tunnel under the Thimble Shoal Channel. The project is being delivered through a design-build contract. CBBT said previously it expected to award the project in May with design beginning thereafter.

Local media reported all three bids are higher than expected, and that the CBBT anticipates scaling down or reducing the project to control cost.