Tendersinfo keep you informed about the latest events in the national and international Procurement Industry. Procurement News provides in-depth coverage of the procurement industry, including contract awards, contract additions, new contract wins, mergers and acquisitions. Tendersinfo through its tender news section provides an update on all domestic and global tendering opportunities, invitation to bid & trade leads.
UNITED STATES : VIRGINIA awards $2.1 billion Midtown Tunnel contract
Publish Date : 08-Dec-2011
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been awarded $2.1 billion contract for the construction of a new tunnel linking Norfolk and Portsmouth to Elizabeth River Crossings, which is estimated to commence in 2012.
Under the project, the new Midtown Tunnel will be of two lanes and situated near the existing tunnel, doubling the traffic choke point\'s capacity. It also include rehabilitation of the existing tunnel and the downtown tunnels, and the expansion of the Martin Luther King Freeway .
Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton said, “The Midtown Tunnel project has been at the top of the region’s priorities for many years.”
Tamara Rollison with VDOT stated that the second Midtown Tunnel will be built in such a way as to not preclude it, as far as light rail is concerned.
But Portsmouth Mayor Kenneth Wright said, “We are going to lose property that is on our tax rolls now to be able to construct this extension and will never be able to tax for it, as long as it\'s a VDOT project. I\'m very concerned with how the state is covering up for the private partnership.”
It is informed that the project will be funded through tolls, starting from $1.59 to $1.84 per car for the tunnels and the Martin Luther King Freeway extension will cost 50 cents for tunnel users and $1 for non-tunnel users. The tolls will be collected electronically by using E-ZPass.
