Features

Organisers of the International Show of Public Works, Construction and Mining Machinery have made every effort to assist the sector on the road to recovery Organisers are sure that the upturn in business seen in some sectors will make SMOPYC 2011 an "outstanding event." The 15th event, being held at Zaragoza Trade Fair Centre, Spain, from 5-9 April, will boast nine halls (100,000m2 of covered space) and 200,000m2 of outdoor space to display heavy machinery, along with demonstrations and sponsored areas.

An innovative solution was put forward to support slip roads on a Dutch motorway. Patrick Smith reports The 2010 opening of the A7 motorway extension on the southern ring road of the city of Sneek, The Netherlands, brings an end to local traffic misery. By using innovative Tensar Geocell Foundation Mattress technology over weak estuarine clay, MNO-Vervat Noord, the main contractor, constructed a key junction and its slip roads in weeks instead of months, with considerable cost savings. The conversion

With the asphalt paving segment split broadly into two methods, American or European,. it is no surprise that manufacturers. from these countries have dominated the market for some years. An interesting development in recent times has been seen with various European firms developing asphalt pavers to suit North American needs, including BOMAG, Dynapac and Vögele. Caterpillar and Volvo by comparison both offer both European and US-style pavers, with separate model ranges that have been developed over many ye

Variable Message Sign systems are helping ease traffic congestion and keeping drivers better informed on key highways across Europe and the rest of the world. Guy Woodford looks at some of their recent applications By coupling its Intelligent Travel Time System (ITTS) with Bluetooth technology, Alcatel-Lucent is measuring traffic flow in real time and conveying it seamlessly to local authorities in the French city of Vélizy-Villacoublay. The city, a major business enterprise hub 14km south-west of central

The bi-annual CECE Congress was held in Spain when participants looked forward in a bid to see what will happen in the next ten years Growth markets such as China, India and Brazil offer big opportunities to European construction equipment manufacturers. As companies, particularly those from China, start to expand outside their own countries the competition for business will increase, and it has been claimed that there is no such thing as 'the global market', rather it is the sum of hundreds, if not thousa

High road toll increases bring threat of new regulation in US - *Bob Poole reports. Large toll rate increases have been implemented recently by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, justified in part to help pay for its World Trade Center project. In response, a bill was introduced in Congress that would allow the Secretary of Transportation to regulate tolls on every bridge on the country's Interstates and other federally aided highways.

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.

A variety of new technology for temporary speed zones during major highway projects across the globe is about to hit the market, while other proven systems remain in demand. Guy Woodford reports. The D-Cam P is one of four new mobile speed reading products for temporary speed zones being launched this month by Truvelo. Deployable solely as a speed camera or at a red light intersection to monitor red light offences, the D-Cam P can also act as a speed camera on the green and amber light phases. The machine d

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. I

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.