Features

New technologies and new partnerships will heighten the rivalry in the compaction sector, Mike Woof reports The competitive compaction equipment market is providing customers with a broad and growing array of innovative technologies and solutions. At the same time, many firms are looking to increase market share through reorganisation of their operations and developing new international partnerships. This sector of the equipment market is certainly now more competitive, with major brands like Bomag, Caterpi

Special applications require stringent quality control and with compaction machines a key part of the paving process, their contribution can be vital. A high quality finish has helped athletes breaking sporting records on the track at the Shanghai Stadium in China during this year's 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Built in 1997 the stadium has been the venue for numerous major sporting events prior to the Olympics, however its track was showing signs of wear and the local authorities decided that a full refurbis

At Steinexpo 2008, Kleemann exhibited its MC 120 Z jaw crusher from the new generation of MOBICAT jaw crushers, as well as the mobile MOBISCREEN MS 16 D screening plant. The MC 120 Z, a classical quarrying machine, is also well suited for concrete recycling, says the German company, a member of the Wirtgen Group. With its 1,200mm wide and 800mm deep crusher inlet, it is designed for a feed capacity of up to 400tonnes/hr, and has a number of features that are said to contribute to its highly efficient operat

A Dynapac PL350T cold planer helped carry out critical demarcation work on the roads used for the famous Isle of Man's TT motorcycle races. It was used to remove the road markings on the isle in the Irish Sea in readiness for the races. The Dynapac machine is equipped with a special micro milling drum which contains 117 bits, compared to the standard 38, spaced at intervals of 3mm as opposed to the conventional 12mm. In addition, to avoid a sharp edge at the sides of the demarcation area, the drum is slight

Neckarauer overpass, a railroad bridge adjacent to the plant of German paving equipment manufacturer Vögele, is one of Mannheim's main traffic arteries. Built in 1936, the overpass represents an important link into the city for commuters coming from the south of the Rhine-Neckar region being used by some 60,000 vehicles/day, together with several tram lines running every five minutes. Corrosion has caused heavy damage to the steel girder bridge, and recently a 30km/hour speed limit has been in place along w

More than 3,000 vehicles a day pass over the US-95 Bridge over Lake Creek near the Coeur D'Alene Tribal Casino in Worley, Idaho, USA. The original deck, built in 2007, was poured concrete with a micro-silica layer added for protection. A QTT weather station with FreezeFree anti-icing technology is mounted in the bridge rail. With big variances in temperature and a lot of wind in this region, the original deck material became thick causing a near 80m length of micro-silica to over-harden. Idaho DOT engineers

Aquajet's new Ecosilence Power Pack has been tested to its limits on the tunnel/bridge renovation work in the city's historic Old Town and has exceeded all expectations, according to E-Schakt's project supervisor, Andreas Nordstrom. Equipment from the Swedish company, including Ecosilence making its debut, is being used in the tunnel and on the 1.2km Central Bridge (or 'Three Bridges'), which was built in the 1950s and which links the northern district of Norrmalm and the southern district of Södermalm. It

The AEM says that its inaugural trade show in the Russian capital "exceeded expectations." Patrick Smith reports The first CONEXPO Russia, held in the capital Moscow, attracted some 6,000 attendees, according to the organisers. The Association of Equipment Manufactures (AEM) said after the inaugural event in September that more than 50% of the 2008 exhibition space had already been sold for the 2009 exposition. "Leading construction equipment companies from around the world that supported the first ever CON

Several important Bulgarian road projects are expected to gain momentum over the coming weeks, a welcome boost for a sector that has been beset by delays in the past. In mid-September, the National Road Infrastructure Agency (NRIA) announced that it would soon be declaring new tenders for the construction of two key road projects worth a total of US$94 million (approximately €68.8 million). One section will link the south-eastern city of Kardzhali to Podkova, near the Greek border: the second will connect t

It has taken a long time to complete, but a vital motorway link is open to traffic as Heikki Harri reports After almost 50 years of construction, the M1 motorway linking Helsinki, the Finnish capital city and Turku, the country's old capital in the southwest, is finally completed. It did not take all 50 years of construction but the first section from Helsinki towards the west was constructed in the mid -1960s. Then there was a pause until mid-1990s when the works resumed section by section. The final sect