News

A €1.6 billion project is in hand in Germany to widen the A7 Autobahn between Bordesholm and Hamburg's tunnel Elbtunnel. Funding for the project is being provided jointly by the German Government, the city of Hamburg, the province of Schleswig-Holstein and the German engineering firm Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau (DEGES). The work should be complete by 2018. The project involves increasing the number of traffic lanes in the Schleswig-Holstein section from four to six and in Hamburg from six

Austrian contractor STRABAG is heading the consortium carrying out a highway project in Romania. The project is to build the country’s A3 highway connecting Ungheni and Ogra. Work on this 10km section of highway will take 12 months to complete. STRABAG holds the majority stake in consortium handling the €70 million contract.

Vietnam’s new Ha Long-Van Don highway will cut travel times between Hanoi and the economic zone in Van Don and Ha Long city. The new 60km highway will also cut traffic on National Road 18 and the project is costing some US$650.4 million. The construction work will require 29 months to complete and the project is being handled under the build-operate-transfer model. The Phuong Thanh and Cong Thanh transport construction investment firms will carry out the work.

Four new motorways are to be built in Morocco following approval being given passed by the country’s government. The projects will cost a total of US$3.22 billion in all. The new routes include a motorway between Safi, Marrakesh and Béni-Mellal over a distance of 356-422km and costing from $1.35-1.56 billion. MAD 13bn and MAD 15bn. The other major connection is a motorway between Agadir and Guelmin, set to cost anywhere from $727 million- $1.77 billion, depending on the route and technical constraints, with

The British Police Federation calling for the blood alcohol limit to be lowered. This call has also been backed by the campaigning road safety charity, Brake as well as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA). Evidence from Scotland where the drink driving limit was lowered during 2014 has shown a reduction in drink driving offences. This move would bring the UK into line with other European countries with regard to alcohol limits by reducing the level from the current 80mg/100ml of blood

A major new bridge project is planned for Myanmar.The US$168 million bridge will span the Yangon River connecting the town of Dala with the city of Yangon. Work on the Yangon-Dala Overbridge looks set to commence in 2015 and should take five years to complete.

A major highway project could boost connectivity in Australia. The country’s South Road upgrade would cost close to US$5.43 billion (A$7 billion) over the next 10 years. The proposal is to turn the South Road in Adelaide into a non-stop north-south corridor. To complete the work, another 34km of road needs to be developed. The strategy shows 10 different road projects need to be finished at a total $5.38 billion in today's money, and does not include two projects that have already received financing, namely

Rocky road warning signs by the roadside warn drivers of bumpy stretches ahead, but themselves post a possible hazard

A tough and durable new camera system is now available from AXIS. The firm’s P3905-RE is an addition to the range and like others in the AXIS P39-R Network Camera Series, is designed for onboard video surveillance in or on buses and other rugged environment vehicles. The P3905-RE Network Camera is designed to be mounted on the exterior of a vehicle, increasing safety onboard and to simplify incident investigations. For example, the camera can be used for rearview surveillance alongside the vehicle outer

Terex Trucks is appointing Rumaillah Motors WLL as its new dealer for Qatar. This pivotal move is intended to boost dealer support for the haulers from Terex Trucks, which are built in Motherwell, Scotland. The Terex hauler brand has been well known in the Middle East for the last two decades and the move appointing Rumaillah Motors WLL as the dealer for Qatar strengthens support for this range. The partnership with Rumaillah Motors follows Terex Truck’s recent acquisition by Volvo Construction Equipment.

Italian bitumen plant manufacturer MASSENZA has developed its EASY 3500 SK unit as an entry model for emulsion manufacturing businesses that are on tight budgets and require small production batches of 1-3tonnes/hour. The firm has also sold one of these, its 400th emulsion plant, into the French overseas department of Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean.

An optimistic tone in South Korea is seeing the construction of an expressway connecting Seoul and Munsan. The project is being carried out in a bid to boost trade with North Korea. This is in spite of the current uncertain political situation in North Korea. The expressway will connect South Korean capital Seoul to Munsan, which lies to the south of the Demilitarised Zone bordering North Korea. More private investment can be roped in via the plan to build the expressway. An environmental impact assessment

The Brazilian Government is considering increasing the number of projects being privatised in a bid to boost investment in the country. Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has suggested increasing the number of federal roads included in the privatisation programme from four to 11. The economic team has presented 20 new road stretches to be considered for inclusion in the programme. These routes will be studied in order to determine which will generate the most interest from the private sector, with six or se