Features

New regulations and technology are driving change in the soil compaction sector - Mike Woof reports. The impact of the Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB emissions regulations has been hard on some machine sectors in particular. Sloping engine covers have been introduced in several equipment categories as a way of improving visibility for operators, including soil compaction machines. At the same time, new machine guidance technologies have been developed and introduced to the soil compaction market, boosting produc

Highway construction work is transforming Algeria, providing the country with a new network of highway quality road connections. Several sections of the new trans-Algerian highway are already complete and carrying traffic, such as the stretch near the town of Setif. When complete the highway will run 1,200km across the north of the country from the border with Morocco in the west to the Tunisian border, passing through 24 provinces. This makes it the biggest highway project ever undertaken in Africa, as wel

High performance backhoe loaders from Hidromek can compete with leading brands on performance - Mike Woof reports Turkish manufacturer Hidromek is looking to take a larger slice of the international market with its newly upgraded backhoe loader models. The firm currently sells machines in 50 countries worldwide and intends to boost its market profile. Marketing manager Levent Karaa aç said, "We will be a global brand." This family owned firm has come a long way since it was founded in 1978, manufacturing a

Japanese consultants are planning to realign a Kenyan bypass, as Shem Oirere reports. Japanese consultants are resolving an engineering quagmire involving a 17.5km bypass in Kenya's Coast region. The new design realigning the bypass is underway by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) consultants. The road is an alternative link from the hinterland to the south coast and to the proposed Dongo Kundu Port. The 23m-wide bypass would also serve to reduce traffic congestion across the Likoni Channel.

A Colombian contractor tackles specifications for asphalt road work with Astec equipment. Award-winning Colombian contractor MHC has upgraded its Astec Portable Double Barrel plant to handle highway and other projects. The plant, installed in Bucaramanga, equipped with two RAP [recycled asphalt pavement] bins, a Double Barrel Green System, and one New Generation silo was bought by MHC in 2009. It has now received a second silo and a truck scale extension.

Infrastructure construction in China is booming as never before, but sealing the world’s longest immersed tunnel is a technically complex engineering project. The impressive Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau fixed link project in China includes an immersed tunnel with a record-breaking length of almost 7km. In 2009 construction began on a project to link the island of Hong Kong with Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai. The link will be one of the region’s most technically complex engineering projects ever.

Mega project of “extreme beauty” receives top award from the IRF, writes Patrick Smith The Sheikh Zayed Bridge, which was constructed for the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, has won the Global Road Achievement Award in the design category from the International Road Federation (IRF). The 2011 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) programme is a worldwide contest held to identify and honour excellence, innovation and exceptional achievements in 12 key categories in the transport and infrastructure industry.

Greater precision is helping blur the boundaries between GIS technology and design software While GIS map based technology has extended its range across an ever more universal spectrum of uses in the highways sector, it is increasingly showing weaknesses for engineering purposes. It is very often not accurate enough. This has not mattered previously because the GIS tool has been seen essentially as an automated version of paper based systems from the design department's point of view. Where engineers

Slipform paver manufacturers are currently seeing strong business gains, Mike Woof reports The concrete slipforming sector is seeing strong business gains at present, with high demand for machines right around the globe. In Europe and the US, barrier machines are in particular demand, while in Russia airport paving is top of the agenda. All over the world, airports have to be rebuilt to cope with new large aircraft, and machines are busy operating in Asia, Europe and both North and South America on this

Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk's vice-president for the Infrastructure Solutions division spoke to World Highways. The launch of the fourth version of its Civil 3D design software early this year will see software maker Autodesk getting serious about its road and general civil engineering package. Bigger projects can be handled in the 2008 version, and a range of new functionality is being added. "Though not everything we would like yet," said Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk's vicepresident for the Infrastructure S

The integration of software tools, users and data was an important factor in a major highway project The giant High Five interchange in Texas, USA, emerged as a key winner in Bentley Systems' software awards this year. It won both the Innovation in Road and Bridge category and, significantly, Connecting Project Teams. The awards, a feature of the annual exhibition/conference organised by the software house, attract increasing interest from industry, and competition has become widespread, not least bec

A new highway is proving an economic lifeline for the tiny country of Kosovo – Mike Woof reports. Road projects in Europe rarely meet such widespread public approval and support as the new Route 7 highway being built in the new Balkan state of Kosovo. The first sections of the new road opened to traffic in November 2011, with locals turning out in large numbers to celebrate the event. The official opening was carried out by the country’s prime minister Hashim Thaçi, president Atifete Jahjaga, and members of

Investment in infrastructure is a key priority for the US. With a three-part growth strategy, business improving worldwide and improvements in order books, the Terex Group is looking to increase net sales to US$8 billion by 2013. Ron DeFeo, Terex’s chief operating officer, said the company has been seeing increased order and quotation activity across nearly all of its product categories.