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The UK output of construction equipment and parts has continued on an encouraging upward trend in February. This is according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, with the information being released by the Construction Equipment Association (CEA). Output in February was 1.2% higher than January, and 9.7% up on February 2016 levels, which was the weakest month last year. Output levels in February were the highest for nearly two years (since April 2015), and the 6 month moving average has

The 2017 TISPOL International Road Safety Conference will be taking place on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th October at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Manchester Airport in the UK. The event will offer attendees the chance to hear some of the latest thinking in the field of casualty reduction, deterrent, post-collision response, enforcement and protection of vulnerable roadusers. Attendees will be able to network with police officers, policymakers, practitioners and equipment manufacturers from around the world. The

Tearing down the old steel truss cantilever Champlain Bridge in Montreal could cost around US$300 million, according to preliminary estimates by a federal government agency. Also, until the nearby new Champlain Bridge is finished, it will cost US$93 million annually to maintain the old one, according to Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), the federal Canadian agency that oversees several major road infrastructure assets in the city. Dismantling will start in 2019 at the earliest and

Three contracts in Angola are now commencing, which will improve road and bridge links in the country. The three projects will be carried out by two Portuguese contractors, which agreed the deals with the Angolan Government. Conduril will build a bridge in a deal worth US$110 million in the northern Zaire Province. Meanwhile Talhabel has a contract worth $28.73 million to upgrade the road 230 in the stretch between Muriege and Chiluage, which is close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

South Korea’s road safety is improving steadily. In 2016 the country’s road death rate was 7.1% lower at 4.292 than for the previous year. Tougher enforcement is being used to reduce the road death toll further. New infrastructure is also being introduced to help protect vulnerable road users. For 2017 the country hopes to bring the road death toll below 4,000 for the first time in many years.

The new bridge that will connect Myanmar with Thailand is expected to open to traffic in 2019. The link will be called the second Friendship Bridge and will provide a connection from Mae Sot district in Thailand’s Tak province with the town of Myawaddy in Myanmar. The new bridge will form part of the Mae-Sot Bypass Road. The link will run from Highway No 12, cross the Moei/Thaungyin River at Ban Wang Takien in Mae-Sot district to link with Myawaddy. The bridge is intended to help boost, trade and tourism be

A new tunnel in the Moroccan city of Casablanca is being built in a bid to reduce congestion. The project will cost around US$81.65 million and includes building a 1.9km tunnel stretch as well as 2.3km of access roads. Preparation work commenced at the start of 2017, with tunnelling due to start shortly. The new Les Almohades tunnel will help cut Casablanca’s chronic congestion, a key issue during peak travel periods.

Road projects in Brazil could see extended deadlines. This move follows on from the impeachment of the former president. Several roads were privatised under the previous administration, with widening and general upgrade works having been required as integral components of the concession packages. The agreements settled with the former administration called for the road widening and improvement works to be carried out in a five year period. But these five year deadlines may be amended once comprehensive revi

Global Trafic Technologies (GTT) has been contracted by the US city of West Bend in Wisconsin state to upgrade its traffic pre-emption solution to Opticom. Optimcom works alongside intersection controllers to help emergency vehicles navigate intersections rapidly but safely. When an emergency vehicle needs to navigate an intersection, the Opticom Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption system on board the emergency vehicle sends a request to the intersection’s controller ahead of its arrival. The request tur

A new four lane road and tunnel connection is to be built in the Sri Lankan city of Kandy. The tunnel section will measure a total of 4.4km while the project also includes 1.2km of connecting roads. The project is costing over US$252 million to construct of which just over $199 million will be supplied by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) from South Korea.

Work on two major highway projects are now commencing in Kenya. One project will improve the road connection between Kenya’s capital Nairobi, with its premier port of Mombasa. The other project will see the upgrade of the road link joining Kenya with neighbouring Uganda. Work on the Mombasa to Nairobi highway is starting on a 42km stretch between Mombasa and Marikani. This work is costing some US$213.4 million and the improved route will feature two lanes in either direction when the work is complete. Meanw

In an opinion piece published by the IRF, Matthew Jordan-Tank, head of infrastructure policy and IPPF, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has explained that extending the functional life of road assets can be achieved using performance-based contracts. In most developing and merging market economies, roads require rehabilitation, or even reconstruction, many years prior to the expected date. Simply put: usable life is not equal to design life, and it is not uncommon to find that a ro

Work on a major Autobahn widening project is set to commence in Germany shortly. The projects calls for the widening of the A6 Autobahn. The project is worth some €1.3 billion. Widening work is already being carried out on A6 between Wiesloch and Weinsberg. The upgrade work involves widening the Autobahn to six lanes and is due for completion in the second quarter of 2019.