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. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Do satellites provide a heavenly view of tolling’s future?
    December 16, 2014
    Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I
  • World Bank funds Yemen highway project
    June 6, 2014
    The World Bank has announced a US$133.54 million grant to support the Government of Yemen’s ambitious plan to connect the northern and southern parts of the country with a 710 kilometre highway. The largest ever infrastructure project in Yemen’s history will play a vital role in the country’s transition by targeting the root causes of instability, such as lack of access to economic opportunities and poor national integration, and rebuilding the country’s social and economic base. “This is more than just
  • IRD wins $13.8m NY data deal
    July 26, 2022
    Traffic data collection is key to New York State DoT understanding transport needs
  • Open Roads collaborates with Virginia DOT on the 495 Express Lanes project
    December 11, 2012
    Opened on 17 November, the fourteen-mile corridor of new high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in Northern Virginia from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway provides drivers with a faster, more predictable trip on the Capital Beltway. The 495 Express Lanes project supported more than 16,000 jobs and generated nearly US$3.5 billion of economic impact state-wide. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) provider Open Roads Consulting (Open R