Features

Canada’s vast tar sands operation is providing a major financial boost to the country and this industry has relied heavily on Fort McMurray airport. Situated in Alberta, Fort McMurray is a remote town that has seen a huge expansion following the upturn in activity in the tar sands operations nearby. Although the massive resource has been worked for decades, only in the last 15 years or so have new extraction methods made the operation truly economic. Since 2010 Fort McMurray’s population has increas

A three-year modernisation programme at Bamako-Sénou international airport will improve the facility and allow larger aircraft and greater passenger numbers. The Malian Government has been undertaking a vast extension of the airport with the aim of being able to accommodate over a million passengers/year and all sizes of passenger aircraft. The project is being handled by MCA-Mali, a consortium led by RAZEL-BEC and also including the Vinci Group, which is active in Mali. Guillaume Derousseau, constructio

Hamburg’s Finkenwerder airport is now benefiting from a new runway surface following work carried out by contractor KEMNA BAU. The company recently used machines from Dynapac to resurface 36,000m2 of the runway track in Hamburg-Finkenwerder, a facility used by Airbus. The airport handles around 10-15 take-offs and landings/day when aircraft are either undergoing flight testing or being delivered to customers, as well as for deliveries of components by transport aircraft. The project was tricky as the

A new airport has been constructed in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea that will help with communications and logistics for the development of a natural gas project in the area. Built at Komo, the airport is sufficiently large to be able to handle the massive Russian Antonov AH-124-100 transport aircraft. Construction of the airport however proved challenging as the climate in this mountainous area is known for its changeable weather and heavy seasonal rainfall. However the airport was need

With an increasing number of aircraft using Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia, the authorities realised there was a need to upgrade the facilities. King Abdulaziz International Airport opened in 1982 and serves over 15 million passengers/year, with a high percentage travelling on the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, some 80km away. The city has the largest port on the Red Sea and is named after Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud, the former king and founding father of Saudi Arabia, and is one of the kin

A new survey carried out in the UK reveals that male drivers are more likely to risk lives by overtaking blind and speeding on rural roads. As a result male drivers are being urged to be more careful. The survey was carried out jointly by safety body Brake and insurance firm Direct Line. The data reveals that 24% of drivers risk catastrophic head-on crashes by overtaking blind, while 44% admit speeding at over the national speed limit of 96km/h (60mph) on rural roads. Men are much more likely to take these

The recent Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) Infrastructure Research Meeting 2013 in Brussels (FIRM 2013) attracted a large number of attendees, from Europe as well as further overseas. The event included a number of presentations on key road infrastructure topics, with major input also from other associations such as the European Asphalt Paving Association (EAPA). The plenary session drew high-level speakers from a number of National Road Administrations and European institut

As of 1 January 2014, the European Union's (EU's) next Multi-Annual Financial Framework for the period 2014–2020 will come into effect. One of the key components of this European strategy aimed at boosting competitiveness and increasing Europe’s innovation potential is the EU’s Strategic Framework for Research and Development called ‘Horizon 2020’. Recognising that without research and development, Europe cannot maintain the industrial leadership it currently holds in many areas, European leaders look set t

Guy Woodford looks at vital bridge construction, repair and inspection projects in China, Europe, North America and Australia The Heron Road Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada is a vital link within the City’s transport network, as it crosses the Rideau River, which divides the east and west parts of the City. Constructed in 1966-1967, the Heron Road Bridge is approximately 275m long and includes six lanes.

Upgrades to a slipform concrete paver built in 1999 allow it to use current technology. US firm Streb Construction has taken a novel approach to its paving fleet by upgrading a CMI paver built in 1999 to use modern machine control technology. The company bought the CMI SF3302 machine new and this piece of equipment had logged a high number of hours since its purchase. However the company realised that this proven piece of equipment could be made to operate more efficiently and productively, as well as more

Machine control technologies were pioneered in the concrete paving sector with systems having been used for over 10 years. Leica Geosystems was the first of the machine control technology suppliers to offer these systems on concrete slipforming machines and has developed a strong position in this segment. However the company met resistance from some quarters in the construction market and specialist Karl Soar said that some contractors were very reluctant to give up using conventional stringlines. He said,