Features

Road fatality rates are rising in East Africa, despite attempts to stem the tide – Shem Oirere writes When a passenger bus in Kenya killed 42 people on August 29th 2013, it coincided with the release of a World Health Organisation (WHO) report that painted a grim picture of the status of road safety in East Africa. The accident at Ntulele shopping centre along the Nairobi-Narok highway, 90km from capital Nairobi, occurred when the bus heading to western Kenya lost control and crashed. The driver is said to

Temporary transition solutions for roadworks areas improve safety for personnel and drivers. A new temporary transition barrier system has been put to use successfully on the M1 motorway in the UK. Initial trials on the M1 have highlighted the potential cost savings and improved safety for road construction personnel and drivers on the approach to highway maintenance works. A spokesperson for BAM, Nuttall Morgan Sindall Joint Venture on the M1, junctions 39 to 42, said that the use of Asset Safe Taper syst

Chinese firms are growing their expertise in terms of products and international sales – Mike Woof reports China’s major off-highway construction equipment manufacturers have grown in a relatively short period and now number amongst the largest players in the sector. Some of the key firms are looking to boost exports and are providing tough competition, particularly in the emergent markets. Best known for its wheeled loaders, LiuGong has been developing its excavator range, with production of the E

The 8th APEC Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo on 4-6 Septembersaw high-level discussions on how to enhance connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region through high-quality transport. As a guest, the International Transport Forum (ITF) was also heavily involved in the event, as Guy Woodford reports A transport Connectivity Map visualising Asia-Pacific’s ideal transport network in 2020, and a Quality Transport vision for the region encompassing convenience, safety, security, and sustainability, will b

Bobcat is offering improved working precision for grading operations with its compact loaders and grader attachments. The new grading equipment is designed for use by asphalt and concrete contractors for excavating and grading work for new roads. Loader-mounted Bobcat grader attachments can now be combined not only with a new sonic tracer kit. This is the first sonic tracer system aimed at use with compact loaders, providing automatic grade control in applications where lasers may not be suitable.

Advanced machine control technologies are speeding site layout and construction operations Canadian house building firm Mattamy Homes has brought in a contractor that has used sophisticated equipment to build the roads around its new development in Oakville, Ontario. The site is just 30 minutes drive from Toronto. Phase 1-A of the project is under construction and nearly every one of the 550 homes that will be built there has been sold already. Additional phases will bring the total number of homes to 1,800