News

A new stretch of highway is now opening to traffic in India. The 80km stretch of highway runs between Kundli and through Manesar to Palwal. Called the KMP Expressway, the route has had something of a checkered history and has been completed somewhat later than originally intended. The concession was originally awarded in 2006 and the road should have been completed in 2009, according to the planned timeline.

Construction work on Chile’s Chacao Bridge project is now underway. The 2.75km suspension bridge will connect the Chilean mainland with Chiloe Island. The bridge structure has been designed to flex so that It can cope with severe earthquakes, which present a risk in the area. The project is costing US$700 million to carry out with South Korean company Hyundai heading the construction. Building the link should take around five years with its completion set for 2023, although the work could be finished earlie

Almost €790 million will be allocated from the Cohesion Fund for three road projects which improve the country's communication with Germany and other Western and Eastern European countries. Around €270 million will be for the Garwolin-to-Kurow S17 dual carriageway, another €125 million to build a stretch of the S6 dual carriageway between Goleniow and Kielp and €390 million for the S2 on the outskirts of Warsaw.

Major road improvement work is now being scheduled in Texas, for key sections of State Highway 67 and Interstate 35E. A budget of US$666 million has been set for the work. The work will form part of the new Southern Gateway project, due for completion towards the end of 2021.

Michigan Senate in the US is increasing its 2018 road upgrade budget by US$175 million. This comes in addition to the $600 million already budgeted for road upgrade works. Michigan has already set a road improvement budget for the 2019 fiscal year of $750 million. In addition the state has budgeted for a further $1.2 billion/year for roads in the future. This will be made available in 2021.

South African city Johannesburg has a desperate need for road repairs and upgrades. Around US$1.1 billion of road repairs such as pothole filling or resurfacing work is required to bring the network back up to scratch.

Michael Baker International has established a partnership with the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) to rebuilt a 13km stretch of US Route 49 in the Jackson area. The firm won the US$19.3 million Construction Engineering and Inspection (CE&I) contract in late 2017. Under the terms of the deal, the firm will prioritise safety, communication and efficiency to complete the project.

Germany’s motorway authority has unveiled plans for an 802m cable stayed replacement bridge taking the A40 over the Rhine River near Duisburg. The state owned authority Deges - Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau - will oversee the project that includes an eight-lane expansion of the A40, all in the industrial Rhur region.

The first tender for construction of the Nis-Pristina motorway could be called by the end of his year, according to Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbia’s minister of construction. Value of the first phase of the project is estimated at €240 million. Around 20% of the amount will be financed from aid, while the remainder will be secured by the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and the EIB (European Investment Bank).

The organisers of the bauma CTT RUSSIA 2018 report strong interest in demand for show space from exhibitors. This reflects a resurgence in the Russian construction market, with president Vladimir Putin having recently commented on the country’s planned programme for more road construction and upgrade projects over the next six years. The budget for road and highway upgrades is expected to double to US$195.3 billion for the coming six year period. According to Russia’s Federal Road Agency (Rosavtodor), some

Work is starting shortly on the construction of a new highway in India’s Rajasthan State. The highway project will be carried out by the contractor GHV (India) and the package of works was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The work involves building a stretch of the NH-925A route that runs from Gagaria to Baori Kalan and on to Serwa-Bakhasar. This 197km section of NH-925A will form part of the highway from Sata to Gandhav, with the work costing close to US$175 million.