News

The tender process is underway in Malaysia for the construction of a stretch of elevated highway in capital Kuala Lumpur. The raised section will run from the interesction with the Sprint Highway and Maarof Road to the intersection with Sprint Highway with Semantan Road. The cost of the project has not so far been revealed.

China’s Guizhou Province is setting out a massive budget for road expansion to boost access to rural areas. This will see the construction of some 50,000km of roads in 2018. In all US$3.15 billion is being spent on road development. So far 35,000km of road projects are underway in Guizhou Province with nearly 9,400km of road jobs already having been completed. By the end of the second quarter of 2018, all of the planned projects within this programme of works will be underway or complete.

Roadside crews in California are up in arms over cleaning up an increasing amount of garbage – much of it unhealthy, some of it potentially lethal. US media are reporting that the International Union of Operating Engineers, which represents California state's maintenance workers, filed a grievance accusing the state of subjecting its members to hazardous conditions without proper training or equipment.

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) is calling for papers for its sign and markings session at a major conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia in October. Contributions are invited for the Traffic Signs and Pavement Markings session, which is co-sponsored by the US-based Transportation Research Board, at the European Road Conference from 22-24 October, 2018.

Construction work is continuing on Colombia’s Toyo Tunnel project. This is in spite of the controversy regarding one of the firms involved, which has been drawn into the corruption scandal surrounding the Brazilian contractor Odebrecht. The tunnel project is being carried out by a consortium, Consorcio Antioqua al Mar. However the other members of the consortium are in a position to carry on with the project and have all the necessary approvals needed, as well as the necessary equipment. The project is cost

The Spanish government has calculated the cost of rescuing Spain's nine bankrupt motorways at €1.8 billion. This is about 10% less than previously estimated, according to a report in the Spanish financial newspaper Expansión. The government has been trying for the past three years to facilitate a deal with banks to get the motorways out of debt and so to not add to the state’s own debt. Many of the nine projects were built prior to the financial crisis and traffic volumes were optimistically high.

Canadian construction company Aecon has withdrawn from a private group competing to construct and operate the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Canada and the US. Aecon’s departure comes only weeks before the Canadian government plans to announce the winning group. Construction of the bridge - costing more than US$3.7 billion and between Windsor in Canada’s Ontario province and Detroit in the US state of Michigan - is scheduled to start in the autumn 2018. Aecon’s chief executive reportedly denied

A series of highway upgrades are being planned for the Bay Area in northern California, with the necessary state financing now being secured. Interstate 101 is to benefit from the construction of additional tolled lanes in a project costing US$233 million, which is expected to help cut congestion along one of the busiest sections of the route through the Bay Area. A project costing $85 million will also be carried out in I-101 close to Novato. Meanwhile road works costing $730 million will be carried out

The Czech capital Prague will replace the deteriorating 90-year-old Liben Bridge at a cost of more than €20 million. The 370m-long bridge over the River Vlatava connects the city quarters of Holešovice and Libeň. It was closed to traffic for several weeks earlier this year for emergency but temporary repairs, according to Prague media. Replacement will include a similarly long bridge plus 400m of roads on either bank of the river but be built on the existing bridge piers. Like the old bridge , it will

A budget of US$1.2 billion will help pay for road development in Paraguay’s Chaco Region. Two of the most important road projects for the Chaco Region are the Transchaco road and the bi-oceanic highway. These projects will cost $560 million and $640 million respectively.

Melbourne’s growing congestion problem could be reduced significantly if a number of major road projects are initiated. A budget of US$1.67 billion (A$2.2 billion) will be needed for the upgrade works to 13 of the city’s most important road sections. These roads are located in the south-east of the city as well as in the north.