News

A series of road development projects will now move ahead in India’s Karnataka State. Some US$536.51 million is being budgeted by the Union Surface Transport Ministry. This includes funding for road projects in the twin cities of Dharwad and Hubballi. The funds will be used to surface six main roads in Dharwad, 13 main roads in Hubballi and nine roads in Dharwad and Hubballi.

The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) has granted a lifetime achievement award to Dr Ing Martin Herrenknecht. The award was presented at the recent ITA event in Singapore and reflects his experience in delivering a series of ambitious tunnelling projects. In the past 20 years Herrenknecht has met major challenges in tunnel engineering and delivered effective solutions for projects. Key successes include the twin drive, 57km-long Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland that open

Evonik Industries recently hosted an award ceremony at the Residence of the German Ambassador in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. Evonik used the event to present the “Evonik Road Safety Award” to the Department of Rural Roads, Thailand (DRR). This is in recognition for the DRR’s contributions to road safety in Thailand, especially in rural areas.

Construction work is proceeding on track for the Paniga Tunnel project in Italy, with the primary drilling and blasting phase now having been completed. Located in Morbegno in northern Lombardy, the tunnel forms part of a bypass stretch for state road 38. Work on the project started in 2015 and is being carried out by Cossi Costruzioni, a subsidiary of Italian civil engineering company Societa Italiana per Condotte d'Acqua (Condotte). The client for the project is ANAS, the Italian state-controlled road com

Hill & Smith Holdings reports a healthy performance for the period 1 July 2016 to 31 October 2016. The firm’s board says that trading has continued to be encouraging and that it expects Group trading performance for the current financial year to be at the top end of market expectations. The group’s results will also benefit from the positive translational impact on its overseas earnings from the recent weakness in Sterling.

Advanced research could provide warnings as to damage to infrastructure. The research project has been carried out jointly by the National Physical Laboratory and University of Strathclyde. This uses mathematical techniques to provide early warning signals of structural damage in civil megastructures. The technique uses tipping point analysis to review data from structural health sensors on civil constructions, identifying early warning signs of upcoming damage. According to the research partners, this is f

Strong demand for compact machines is being seen. Data from Veronafiere’s SaMoTer Outlook in collaboration with Prometeia and with the information input of equipment manufacturing association Unacea has shown the growth in the market for small machines. Mini excavators and small wheeled loaders weighing up to 6tonnes have seen a particular growth in sales. These two types of machines accounted for 15% of global sales for Italian manufacturers in 2010, but accounted for 24% in 2015. Sales of mini excavato

Research reveals that demand for asphalt has slipped in the UK. This comes after good sales of asphalt in the UK during 2015 and on the back of two years of market growth. The latest figures suggest that the asphalt market could fall by 3% in 2016, after recovering by nearly 20% in the previous two years. These are some of the conclusions of BDS Marketing’s annual report on the sector that has just been published, called ‘Estimated outputs of asphalt plants in Great Britain’. Commenting on the report,

A study carried out in France reveals that bad driving runs in the family. The research was carried out by IPSOS for the French road management group, Vinci. According to the study, parents have a greater influence on the driving behaviour of their offspring than driving instructors. The research was carried out with drivers aged 18-25, with 65% saying that the way their parents drive provides a strong influence on their own driving habits. This extends to speeding, drink driving and road rage incidents. It

Contractors OHL and Astaldi has won a major portion of a large highway project in California. The work is for the upgrade to I-405 in Los Angeles and is valued at US$ 1.2 billion. The two firms will work in a joint venture on the project. OHL has a 60% stake in the project while Astaldi holds the remaining 40% share. The deal represents a positive move for Astaldi, which is keen to develop its presence in the western US. The six year contract requires the design and construction of the improvement works