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After several years of declining numbers of road crashes and improving safety statistics, the Netherlands is seeing an increase in road fatalities. Research by Dutch insurance umbrella body Verbond van Verzekeraars reveals that the number of crashes in the country is now increasing once more. During 2015 there were 502,000 personal claims following road crashes in the country, coampred with 462,000 in the previous year. Meanwhile the road fatality rate increased from 570 in 2014 to 621 in 2015. Similarly, t

Indonesia is setting a massive infrastructure budget in place. Some US$29.52 billion will be invested in infrastructure under the 2017 budget. The country is planning to construct around 550km of new bridges and 9,400km of new roads.

Malaysia’s road safety record is worsening with an increase in road fatalities in 2015. There were 6,706 road deaths in Malaysia during 2015, compared with 6,674 in 2014. The country has been taking some measures to reduce the casualty toll but has not managed to halt the increase in road deaths/year. In 2015 the number of road crashes reached 489,606, growing by 2.8% compared with 2014. Of the road deaths in 2015, 62% (3,816) were of powered two wheeler riders (387 deaths were of pillion riders). The in

Germany has made a U-turn on its controversial proposals to allow private investment into the administration of the Autobahn network. The proposals had attracted a great deal of political criticism and had become the subject of some debate. Proposals may yet allow private investors to take stakes in motorway construction projects. The country has a substantial backlog of road projects. The suggestion to allow private investment into Autobahn projects has come following discussions between the Federal Govern

Angola’s high rate of road crashes is costing lives. Official data reveals that 2,189 people were killed in road crashes over the first nine months of 2016. Meanwhile 8,518 were injured in 8,452 road crashes in this period. However there is some overall improvement in road safety in Angola as the fatality rate for this time period is 827 lower than first nine months of 2015. In addition, the number of crashes dropped by 3,453 while the number of injuries fell by 3,443, showing that the country’s road safety

Plans are being drawn up in Malaysia for a major bridge project, which will boost transport links and economic development for the region. The project looks likely to be run under the public-private partnership model. The bridge will link Sabah and Labuan and will be at least 10km long. A Chinese firm has reportedly shown an interest in carrying out the project and is evaluating possible financing options. The bridge will form part of the Pan-Borneo highway project when it is complete, an important road lin

It was reportedly a logistical challenge to collect a massive front shovel excavator from the open pit coal mine Calenturitas de Prodeco in north-eastern Colombia. The twin engines of the 290-tonne O&K RH 120-E mining excavator had given up the ghost and could not be repaired on site, leaving the monster stranded atop a high mound of earth. So the mining company contracted heavy haulage specialist Boom Logistics to collect the excavator and transport it to the repair shop 22km away. http://www.goldho

Construction software solutions provider Bentley Systems announced that its OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition will be available from December. OpenRoads CONNECT Edition is the successor to Bentley’s civil engineering brands InRoads, GEOPAK, MX, and PowerCivil. OpenRoads Designer is a multi-discipline 3D modeling application for roadway projects from conceptual design through construction stages. Bentley Systems said that it “blends traditional engineering workflows for plan, profile and cross-section

The contract for a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) has been awarded in the US state of Virginia. The project will cost close to US$100 million and will be built in Stafford County. The contract will be handled by Shirley Contracting Company, of Lorton. The new DDI facility will replace the existing Interstate 95/Route 630 (Courthouse Road) interchange. The aim of the project is to increase traffic capacity as growing vehicle use is expected at this location in the Fredericksburg District. The work will

German transport infrastructure financing company VIFG, which is 100% owned by the German federal government, is to take over the planning and construction of motorways. According to the official website of the VIFG, planning and construction is done mostly be state governments. The VIFG has promised more transparency of road contracts.

The Czech government has set the 2017 budget for the Transport Infrastructure Fund at €3.03 billion. The budget includes European Union subsidies of just over €1.1 billion and a state budget contribution of €1.9 billion. The largest share of the funds will go towards construction and repair of roads, with nearly €1.7 billion allocated to the state road and motorway management company RSD. Around €111 million from the 2016 budget will be transferred to the 2017 budget for repairs of class II and III

Turkey will open tenders this month for a bridge at the southwestern end of the Sea of Marmara and around 200km south of Istanbul. The Canakkale 1915 Bridge will span the Dardanelles Strait close to the city of Canakkale and where ferries cross the stretch of water. The suspension bridge will be further north, between the towns of Gelibolu in East Thrace on the European side of the Dardanelles and Lapseki in Troas on the Asian side. The bridge will be part of the Kınalı-Tekirdağ-Çanakkale-Balıkesir mo

The UK government must understand that pulling out of the European Union will have consequences for the manufacturing sector and should be ready to help. “A lot of EU regulation has been tough but at least we know what is,” said Rob Oliver, chief executive of the UK’s Construction Equipment Association. Oliver, speaking at last week’s one-day conference in London, warned the government against introducing tougher regulations than the EU has done.