News

A major tunnel project in Australia is facing a serious delay due to slow progress between the construction firms and construction unions. The US$4.73 billion (A$6.7 billion) project for the West Gate Tunnel will provide an imporoved link between the West Gate Freeway and the CityLink, reducing congestion and cutting journey times for drivers.

Mexico’s Puebla State is to benefit from strong spending on road development work during 2019. Two major road projects will be carried out at a combined cost of US$159.4 million. One of the projects is for the development of the Izucar de Matamoros-Acatlan de Osorio road.

A major programme of road repairs has been set in Honduras. The new road infrastructure plan is for the 2018-2022 period and aims to improve and upgrade 96% of the country’s existing network. At present a mere 4% of the country’s 16,412km road network is considered satisfactory.

A new report has highlighted the risk of crashes involving ATVs being operated off-road by young drivers. According to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the US, ATV injuries led to over 2 million visits to hospital emergency departments in the period between 2000 and 2015. In 2015 alone, there were 108,000 visits to emergency rooms in the US, as a result of ATV crashes.

A recent study by Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology concludes that pavement and road snowmelt systems reduce the risk of slipping in winter conditions. The study compared statistics from 20 of the country's largest cities, according to a report in the newspaper Göteborgs Posten. It found that the difference in accidents between heated ground and unheated ground was so large that four of five slipping accidents could be avoided through snowmelt systems.

The UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers has urged the Scottish government to make long-term funding for roads a higher priority. The ICE’s call comes after publishing its report State of the Nation Scotland 2018: infrastructure investment. In it, the ICE says that the newly formed Scottish Infrastructure Commission must be independent, transparent and be evidence-led in its recommendations to the Scottish government.

Funding has been sourced in the shape of a loan for a key highway project in Uganda. The project is for the upgrading of the 95m route between Kampala and Jinja and a loan of US$229.5 million is being provided. The loan is being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB). In all however the project is expected to cost $1.5 billion. The expressway is an important route for Uganda and will for part of the route connecting the country with Kenya, running through its capital Nairobi to its port of Mombasa.

New construction technology is helping speed construction for a new road connection in Singapore. The road will connect the Tampines Expressway (TPE) and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) with Punggol Central in Singapore. Virtual modelling has been used by the project team to design the new link and provide visualisations, as well as to tackle common issues such as clash detection, which can make major savings by eliminating the need for reworking. In addition, using precast concrete sections has hel

Work to improve a major highway connection in Paraguay has been delayed, but will be completed shortly. A consortium, Rutas del Este, is carrying out the work to improve the stretch of Ruta 2 from San Lorenzo to Ypacaraí. The consortium is headed by contractor Sacyr and has been carrying out the work for the PPP deal to upgrade the Ruta 2 and Ruta 7 highways between Ypacarai and Pastoreo.

The Malaysian Government is pushing ahead with five key infrastructure projects in Sarawak state during 2019. These will be worth over US$115 million. A new access road will be built to Kuching Airport, while Kota Samarahan's route 8101 will be upgraded.

A new expressway project is underway in India’s Uttar Pradesh State. The 293km Bundelkhand Expressway project is worth in the region of US$1.135 billion. Land acquisition for the project has proven an issue with the Uttar Pradesh State Government now taking steps to speed up this process. Bidding for the project is opening shortly. The aim of the project is to help develop the economy of the Bundelkhand Region of Uttar Pradesh State.