Features

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

Wirtgen brothers Jürgen and Stefan discussed growth opportunities. Jürgen Wirtgen and Stefan Wirtgen are joint presidents of the Wirtgen Group and see business levels continuing to improve. Stefan said, “Generally speaking we are surprised with the growth levels, especially in the BRIC countries. It is giving us quite a big boost and is allowing us to grow. We are more than happy with 2011 so far as the order books are full and we didn’t expect this.”

Sandvik’s Thomas Schulz talks to Claire Symes about market recovery in construction. In the three years since the last CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition, the construction industry has been through a tremendous change triggered by the global economic downturn. “At the time of the last exhibition in 2008, it was already clear that there was a levelling out occurring in the market,” said Sandvik president of construction Thomas Schulz. “But it was in October that year that the economy went into freefall after the col

Faster and safer utilities works are the benefit of innovative data sharing moves – Mike Woof writes. Utilities works in urban areas can cause major problems with regard to traffic congestion, as well as posing key safety issues for road users and site workers. Better planning of utilities operations can help tackle congestion and prevent jams, while also ensuring that on-site personnel have a safer working environment. To ensure that site workers know the exact location of buried utilities, comprehensive m

Recent months have seen many major and vital road marking projects and products completed and tested in different parts of the world. Guy Woodford looks at some of them in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa. The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea now has one of the most dramatic streetscape designs in Europe. Exhibition Road’s striking chequered granite design, featuring a single surface running from South Kensington Station to Hyde Park and the full width of the road from building to b

Box International studies have proven that relatively more accidents and fatalities happen during night-time driving compared to day-time driving. At the end of 2008, Danish company DELTA launched its latest model, the LTL-XL, a fourth generation portable retrometer for measuring night and day-time visibility of all types of road markings. "Measures are traceable to PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt), Germany and NIST (National Institute of Standards), USA. LTL-XL measures according to the internat

Road markings, along with laying and testing equipment, are all essential to make sure drivers get clear instructions. Patrick Smith reports Road markings are as important as signs, with longitudinal markings informing and warning road users of approaching situations that will require them to take some form of action.