News

The tender process for upgrade works on the D1 highway in the Czech Republic is attracting international bidding. The five sections of highway are worth €173.2 million in all, with investments of €59 million planned for 2012. Companies entering bids so far include Metrostav, Skanska, Strabag, Eurovia CS, Swietelsky Stavebni, OHL ZS, Dalnicni Stavby Praha. Bidders also include several consortia including one comprising M-Silnice, Bogl a Krysl and Berger Bohemia and one made up of Hochtief CZ and Silnice Casl

The members of this family found out the hard way that when transporting a paint canister, it is best to keep it in the boot as in the event of even a small impact...

Fugro has secured a three-year contract with Luton Borough Council in southern England to provide a range of highway and footway investigations, including the Council’s annual SCANNER surveys using Fugro’s ARAN (Automatic Road Analyser) survey system. The survey package also includes SCRIM (surface friction) testing of Luton’s A, B and C roads, and CVI (coarse visual inspection) of unclassified roads. Cambridge-based Fugro transport specialists will process the survey data to generate NI (national indicator

The German government is reported to be willing to take over truck toll operator Toll Collect – ending years of dispute over billions of euros in penalty payments and damage claims. A takeover agreement is still said to be possible before the end of 2012, according to a report in a German national media publication. The contract with Toll Collect expires in 2015. The Toll Collect consortium consists of Germany-based Daimler and Deutsche Telekom as well as France-based Cofiroute.

The Chhattisgarh government in India will receive a US$300 million loan from the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) for upgrading more than 900km of roads by 2017. The project will include works like building new sections, expanding roads to accommodate a two-lane system as well as the construction and strengthening of culverts and bridges. The state will also contribute over $128 million for a total project investment cost of $428.10 million.

In India work is commencing on a new highway project that will boost transportation in the country. The US$135 million project is for a 193km highway linking Malavalli and Pavagada. The World Bank has provided some of the funding through the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP). The work will be carried out by the Sadbhav-GKC consortium and will take some 30 months. The deal is being offered as a 10 year concession package, under the design, build finance, operate, maintain and transfer (DBF

Work is moving ahead on the plans for a new tunnel link in Hong Kong, with the detailed design work now underway. The Central Kowloon Route (CKR) is now at the detailed design stage and Hong Kong’s Highways Department has launched the three-month phase two public engagement exercise, to collect public views on the design and construction plans. The route will be 4.7km long featuring three lanes in either direction and a 3.9km long tunnel section. Construction work is set to start in 2015 and will be comple

The Colombian government and private investors is to invest US$6.66 billion (COP 12tn) in infrastructure projects like motorways, ports and El Dorado airport in the next two years. Around $2 billion (COP 3.6tn) will be spent on motorways, and a further $666 million (COP 1.2tn) on other road works. More than 8,000kms of new motorways will be built in the next six years.

Polish regional government of the Podlaskie Voivodeship has granted a permit for the construction of a ringroad in Augustow. Weather permitting, the US$207.52 million (PLN 659mn) project in the north-east Poland town may commence before the end of 2012 and is to be completed by September 2014. The new road will be 36.3km long and avoid the Nature 2000 protected area.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has won a contract from the Chicago Department of Transportation (DOT) in the US to provide final and preliminary design services for the rehabilitation of Chicago’s Webster Street Bridge. The firm will also be in charge of coordination and community outreach with adjacent property owners, and coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the US Coast Guard. Parsons will offer engineeri

The US is seeing improvements in road safety overall, with a drop in road crash statistics for 2011. The data for 2011 is encouraging and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new analysis indicating that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011. This marked the lowest level of road related fatalities since 1949, 1.9% decrease from the previous year. Furthermore, this updated 2011 data show the historic downward trend in recent years continu

Italy’s Rome-based anti-mafia police are now investigating road and highway construction work carried out in a number of regions in the country. There is concern that sub-standard materials or construction methods may have been used and that this may cause safety threats. A number of property seizures have already been carried out along with several arrests. In recent years there have been collapses of structures in Italy that have later proven to be built using sub-standard methods and materials. Investiga