News

Data from the organisers of the Hillhead quarry show in the UK reveal a 10% jump in visitor attendance. In all a total of more than 17,000 visitors attended Hillhead 2012 compared with 15,500 in 2010. One major exhibitor said that its records show that close to 3,000 people visited its booth alone. Throughout the three days of the show attendees were able to view more live demonstrations and new plant and equipment than ever before, presented by a record 459 exhibitors. Dates for Hillhead 2014 will be annou

A webinar being run by the IRF will help industry professionals achieve proper crash cushion selection based on site-specific seeds and conditions. The webinar is being held on June 27th from 2:00-3:00 pm US-EDT as part of the IRF’s Safer Roads by Design series and is being hosted by industry expert and IRF safety advisor Mike Dreznes. The aim of the webinar is to deliver proper classification of crash cushions, a task critical to ensure the appropriate placement of crash cushions, also known as impact atte

A new report released by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) shows transportation improvement programmes are struggling in over half the US states. ARTBA’s analysis of state highway and bridge contract awards value was compiled by McGraw-Hill Analytics. This report finds that even when adjusted for inflation, the value of highway and bridge work let in 28 states and the District of Columbia over the past 12 months is less than they awarded in pre-recession 2008. “That’s a major

Hargreaves has made history by becoming the first mining project in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to invest in a total solution from the newly extended Caterpillar mining range. The seven year US$94.02million (£60mn) deal with Finning Equipment Solutions includes four new Cat 6030 hydraulic excavators and 19 777 Off Highway trucks, delivered earlier this year to the new Hargreaves’ Surface Mining Division for use at the Tower Colliery open cast mine site in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taff, South Wales.

The authorities in China have revealed that construction of the Fuzhou section of the new Beijing–Taipei highway will commence by late May 2012. The two-way four-lane expressway will have a design speed of 100km/h. The 53km Fuzhou section is expected to cost some US$1.04 billion to construct. This section of highway will take four years to complete.

Road tolls in Bosnia are to rise by over 100%. Director of the Bosnian motorways company Autoceste FBiH, Ensad Karic, said the federal government Federal Bosnia and Herzegovina had approved the increase, effective from 13 June, 2013. Prices for personal vehicles will increase from BAM 2 to BAM 4.20 (US$2.68) on the Sarajevo-Zenica 37km motorway.

Messe München International is further expanding its international network of events to include a new trade show in India for the environmental technology sector. The first IFAT INDIA will take place from October 24 to 26, 2013 at the BCEC in Mumbai). Messe München and its subsidiary MMI India are expecting the event to attract around 100 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors, and to take up 6,000 square meters of exhibition space.

The road bypass of the Czech city of Kolin is expected to open by the end of 2012. Builders have recently stabilised subgrade in Staralka. The 8km road is worth about US$97.4million (CZK 2bn). The project was delayed by a slow progress in buying land which took four years. The city has been waiting for the bypass for more than 40 years.

More than 80km of roadways are to be renovated in the Buryat Republic, Siberia, in 2012 as a part of the regional targeted programme. The renovation works include 60.3km of regional roads and 20km of local significance roads. At the beginning of 2012 highway mileage in the republic amounted to approximately 8,300km.

A total of US$1.89billion (CNY 11.97bn) has been allocated to build 51.47km of highways across the city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province, China. The feasibility report for the plan was recently approved by provincial authorities.

Auction firm Ritchie Bros is handling two equipment sales simultaneously in St Aubin sur Gaillon and Avignon in France on June 26th. The sale includes selection of Wirtgen milling machines, excavators, dump trucks, asphalt pavers and rollers, as well as an array of other items. More than 1,100 heavy equipment items (and trucks) will go under the auctioneer’s hammer. The Avignon auction (currently featuring 270+ items) will be broadcasted live at the auction in St Aubin Sur Gaillon (currently featuring 850+

Construction work is proceeding on track with the erection of a new bridge over the Ohio River in the US. Building work on this US$81 million project began in March 2012 and is expected to be completed by 2015. Brayman Construction Corporation is building the new Ironton-Russell Bridge, which will replace an existing structure spanning the Ohio River. Finley Engineering Group is providing bridge construction engineering services to Brayman Construction Corporation for the project, which will provide a link

Electric car sales in many countries remain sluggish. In the US, Chevrolet’s Volt model sold 7.671 in 2011 while sales of Nissan’s Leaf model reached 9.674. Meanwhile sales of electric cars in the UK for example have topped around 2,100 units since 2006. Major barriers to public acceptance of pure electric cars remain the high prices, due in part to the costs of the batteries. Costing up to US$15,000, a lithium ion battery pack for a car is not a cheap option.

A road safety success is the benefit of strategic action in Hungary by the authorities. Official data shows that Hungary has reduced its number of road deaths by 49% since 2001. This has been achieved through tougher enforcement and a crackdown on speeding through the use of speed cameras. With road 64 deaths/million inhabitants, Hungary has made major achievements in tackling road safety, and further gains are expected.