Features

Automated road repairs, using 3D printing, could save money and vastly reduce disruption, and researchers are already showing it’s possible - Kristina Smith reports It’s the middle of the night, and in the street below a team is busy carrying out repairs to the road surface. But there isn’t a human in sight. A road repair drone has landed at the site of a crack and a 3D asphalt printer is now busy filling in that crack. A group of traffic cone drones have positioned themselves around the repair location

Construction materials group Boral and truck manufacturer Iveco have launched an aggregate surfacing truck in Australia. The Boral FMAS - Forward Moving Aggregate Spreader – will make the method of spray seal road construction in Australia much easier, according to the two companies. Until now, the process involved road crews working with reversing trucks that applied the aggregate through an elevated tipper body, increasing the safety risks to workers. To improve safety and maximise visibility, th

LeeBoy is seeing strong sales for its road machines at the moment, particularly in the US. And the firm’s early investment in fitting Tier 4 Final compliant engines has played a significant role Christopher Barnard is CEO of LeeBoy and commented, “The US has been strong. Demand is there and the infrastructure spending is there. It’s a good market. In our segment for commercial paving we’re doing very well.” The paver range is selling well and the firm’s 8520 model is a particularly strong seller. Barnard

A Chinese contractor has opted to use RAP in delivering quality roadways at lower cost. The firm utilised an ABA UniBatch asphalt plant from Ammann to achieve this. The Chinese authorities are at present keen to increase the use of RAP in road building, in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects. However for this to be carried out, the high RAP-content mix must meet high quality standards. Shandong Binzhou Road Construction Corp (SBRCC) has carried out a number of high-profil

The A7 is being widened between Hamburg and Bordesholm from four lanes to six - in some places to eight - to ensure the motorway remains an efficient traffic artery. The aim is to create a pavement with a high degree of driving comfort but which withstands the loads of heavy-goods traffic. For widening the 60km stretch in the Schleswig-Holstein region, consortium Via Solutions Nord and joint venture ARGE A7 Hamburg-Bordesholm opted for steel reinforced concrete paving with an exposed aggregate concrete s

A new suspension bridge in Kenya’s key port city, Mombasa, will help unlock potential – Shem Oirere reports Plans for the construction of a US$200 million suspension bridge in Kenya heva moved a notch higher. The country's urban roads agency recently announced the shortlisting of three bidders for the design, finance, construct, operate, maintain and transfer public private partnership (PPP) contract model. Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) is a state agency that manages, develops, rehabilitates and mai

IRF has announced the winners of the 2018 IRF Global Road Achievement Awards, a global competition to recognise outstanding achievement by road professionals. Instituted in 2000, the Awards have distinguished 150 programs, projects and products from around the world. This year, the IRF is honouring 11 projects from around the world, each leading the way in innovation across major road and highway disciplines. The selection was made by an international panel of senior road development specialists. "As an in

An analysis of road network data from IRF World Road Statistics (WRS) reveals the low percentage of road networks in low income countries and underdeveloped regions of the world. These results link poor quality roads and lack of road infrastructure to constrained economic development and growth The IRF World Road Statistics (WRS) includes up-to-date data on the road and transport sector for over 200 countries and covers nine important road topics, one of which is road networks. An analysis of the road

Russia has approved a new state programme for the development of its high-speed road network – Eugene Gerden reports The Russian government has officially approved a new state programme, which is aimed at developing the federal high-speed road network in the country. This programme will run until 2030, according to recent statements by the official state press-service. According to some leading Russian experts in the roadbuilding sector, the need to implement these plans is acute. At present the tota