VOF Grontmij - De Weger, a building consortium consisting of two leading Dutch engineering companies, has been nominated for a 2005 BE Award for its Betuweroute rail track in Holland. The BE Awards of Excellence, which will be presented at the upcoming BE Conference (www.be.org), honor the extraordinary work of Bentley users improving the world's infrastructure. These projects set benchmarks for their industries, and showcase the imagination and technical mastery of the organizations that created them. The Dutch government decided to build the 160-kilometer Betuweroute rail track to decrease traffic on the motorways and triple yearly revenues of goods traffic by train from the Netherlands to other European countries. The Betuweroute, which is the first track line in the Netherlands dedicated to the transport of goods, will be ready in 2007 and cost 4.8 billion euros. The project required the designers to overcome challenges with the alignment, including the connecting arcs with existing track, as well as adaptations to motorways that crossed the new railtrack. The required earthworks were modeled as well. From the start, the Betuweroute has been designed in 3D using Bentley MX. This provided important insight into spatial occupation, as well as accurate calculations of ground quantities. "With the use of MX input files in this rail design project," explains Cees Veerhoek, project manager for VOF Grontmij - De Weger, "our designers were able to change the complicated long section of a complete roadway junction, including the generation of all the necessary work drawings, in a few hours, instead of days." The MX models have been used throughout the project to generate output data and quality control. Their use made it possible for ten design engineers to work simultaneously on a single project, a capability essential to getting this enormous design project ready in time. About the VOF Grontmij - De Weger Building Consortium Grontmij NV, established in 1915, specializes in consultancy, design, engineering, management, and the turnkey delivery of projects for building, infrastructure, and the environment. It is most active in the Netherlands, followed by Belgium and Germany. The company currently has about 4,000 employees. For more information, visit www.grontmij.nl/english/index.asp De Weger is part of Royal Haskoning, an independent, worldwide consultancy firm. Royal Haskoning was founded in 1881 in the Netherlands and currently has a staff of 2,700. Rooted in a technical background, its consultancy services focus on the interaction between people and their environment in the fields of spatial development, infrastructure and transport, architecture and building, mechanical and electrical services, environment, water, coastal and rivers, and maritime. For more information, visit www.royalhaskoning.com. About the BE Conference The BE Conference (www.be.org) is an annual gathering of Bentley users and their managers who want to sharpen their skills and expand their knowledge at over 300 training, best practice, new technology, and keynote sessions. BE Conference 2005 is being held May 8-12 in Baltimore, Md. For more information on BE Conference 2005, go to www.be.org. About Bentley Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle of the world's infrastructure. The company's comprehensive portfolio for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial vertical markets spans architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With 2004 revenues exceeding $300 million, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software to the Engineering News-Record Design 500 and major owner-operators. To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit www.bentley.com. Bentley, the "B" logo, BE, and MX are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.