Skip to main content

Kapsch wins $9m Virginia tunnel deal

Tolled parallel tunnel is part of Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel complex
By David Arminas December 27, 2023 Read time: 1 min
Scada - supervisory control and data acquisition - system will ensure safety in tunnel (image: Kapsch TrafficCom)

Kapsch TrafficCom has won a $9 million tunnel management contract for the tolled Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel now under construction in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia.

The parallel tunnel is part of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a 28.3km-long (17.6-mile) bridge and tunnel complex that runs across the lower Chesapeake Bay that was opened in 1964 to connect Virginia state’s Eastern Shore.

When complete, the new $755 million parallel tunnel will carry two lanes of traffic southbound and the existing tunnel will carry two lanes northbound.

The technology provided by Kapsch TrafficCom will ensure continued safety in the existing tunnel as well as the new tunnel, with a Scada - supervisory control and data acquisition - system, an electrical power control system and safety features such as fire alarms, generators, CCTV, deluge and fire pumps and other critical hardware and software.

The design-build project is being done by the Chesapeake Tunnel Joint Venture that includes Dragados US, Schiavone Construction as lead contractor and Hatch Mott MacDonald as lead designer. Construction manager is HNTB.

The client is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District - what is called a “political subdivision” of the Commonwealth (state) of Virginia. 

Related Content

  • Highway 99 revisited
    May 2, 2024
    The effects of Covid are still being felt. David Arminas considers how the pandemic has affected toll revenue on Seattle’s newish SR99 tunnel – and looks at the traffic management and emergency plans in place for drivers
  • Tunnel network to relieve Istanbul's traffic congestion
    August 14, 2012
    A series of road tunnels is taking shape to help relieve Istanbul from crippling road congestion, with an extensive array of safety and management systems operating from a single ITS platform. Nino Sehagic reports. Traffic in Istanbul has historically been described simply as jammed. Severe congestion and chaotic use of available road space are characteristics of a city of more than one and a half million cars. Istanbul’s existing road network could not cope and was in urgent need of expansion, leading the
  • Fifty-year, $230m toll deal for Kapsch on Louisiana bridge
    August 20, 2024
    Firm will also act as systems integrator for I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge project in US state
  • International bridge opens new toll lanes, upgrades system
    August 11, 2015
    The Sault Ste Marie International Bridge, which connects Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, is opening new toll lanes and upgrading its system with new software and new frequent user discounts. The International Bridge Authority (IBA) began opening the new lanes this week as part of a US$7 million project undertaken in coordination with the Mackinac Bridge Authority and the Michigan portion of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. The toll software upgrades, which are necessary be