News

The IRF is currently working on a series of programmes intended to help boost road safety and reduce the casualty rate on the world’s road network. On November 1st-2nd the IRF is organising a conference in India focussing on road safety in urban and rural roads. This follows immediately after the IRF’s road safety group of experts meeting on October 31st in Delhi. Starting from the 2nd December, the IRF is also planning a Safer Roads by Design event in Miami in the US. This last, the Road Safety Across Six

In the US State of Virginia plans are now moving forward for construction of the US$460 tolled highway. This 88km route will connect Petersburg and Suffolk and will cost $1.4 billion to construct. A consortium headed by Spanish firm Ferrovial Agroman has qualified to handle the design, build, finance deal for the project. The package of works also includes building junctions for the highway to connect with seven existing roads. The financing of the project has still to be completed but this stage is expect

A series of major road projects will help improve Moscow’s connectivity. Russian contractor Mostotrest is to rebuild a series of road connections in Moscow, following the agreement of a deal with the Moscow Construction Department. The road building work will be on the southern section of the North-West Chord, a junction with the Skolkovo Highways and the Moscow Ring Road. Mostotrest will also construct new infrastructure and the whole package of works is worth some US$1.13 billion. The work will be carried

The authorities in Peru are planning a series of key infrastructure projects that will boost connectivity and communications in the country. Contracts are being prepared for tender with the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) setting a budget of some US$15.55 billion in all. The work will be carried out over several years and includes the construction of 600 new bridges. The MTC has said it also wants to increase the percentage of asphalt surfaced roads in the country’s network from the 52% recorded in a 2011 survey to some 85%.

In Indonesia the Ministry of Public Works has applied for loans worth US$122 million in its budget in 2013. This will be used to finance the development of three national toll road developments. The three toll road projects are the Tanjung Priok access toll road; the Cileunyi Sumedang Dawuan project; and the Medan-Kualanamu project. The loan for the Tanjung Priok project is from Japan International Cooperation Agency while the loans for the other two projects are from China.

The US $ 637.36 million (£ 395mn) Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR), a scheme that will see the construction of a trunk road around the outskirts of the northern Scottish city, has been given the go ahead by the Supreme Court. The scheme was green lighted after the Supreme Court dismissed objections filed by William Walton, the chair of the Road Sense campaign group. Walton claimed the government failed to comply with correct procedures when devising the route, which also includes a link between the

Powes Parkop, the Governor of National Capital District (NDC) Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG), says US $ 305.13 million (PGK 629mn) is being sought by the provincial government for road improvements. Of the targeted total, PGK 600mn is earmarked for the 2013 upgrade of several major routes including the Kookabara Street-Sir John Guise Drive flyover, the Erima roundabout, and the Paga Hill ring road. Some of the sum will also be allocated to build a four-lane road to link Bautama with Gerehu in preparati

The authorities in Nigeria’s commercial centre Lagos aim to improve the city’s horrendous road accident record by targeting defective vehicles. A new system of inspections by the authorities will monitor vehicle condition and ban those that do not meet standards from use. The main target of the scheme will be passenger carrying buses, which have a terrible safety record. However the authorities will also crack down on defective motorcycles and require drivers to be able to show valid insurance documents.

A new road and bridge deal for Gabon will now be handled by Chinese contractor China Road & Bridge Corporation. The US$106 million deal includes construction of the new Booué Bridge as well as the Port Gentil-Omboue Road. Improving infrastructure has been identified as crucial for Gabon’s economy and the new road will be 93km long.

A new standard being agreed for electrical vehicle recharging will represent a major step forward for this market. A new technical standard has now been approved by SAE International, which will lead to major reductions in charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles

Disagreement has been voiced in the Dominican Republic over a key highway contract intended to boost connectivity within the country.