News

Network road pricing is inevitable to manage increasing congestion on city motorways and to facilitate more efficient transport networks, says Transurban chief executive Scott Charlton. In a speech to the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia’s annual conference in Melbourne, Charlton urged governments to use every lever possible from user charges to diverse funding sources to innovative solutions such as tolled express lanes.

More citizens in Gothenburg, Sweden are opposed rather than for the congestion charge set to be introduced in the city in 2013. According to the most recent survey, 55% of people are against the congestion charge and 35% are for it. The remaining 10%, of the 501 survey participants said they were still to make up their mind on the issue.

Both in Thailand and Morocco the authorities are looking separately at ways in which road safety can be improved. The two countries face similar problems with regard to road safety and have, independently, embarked on similar paths with a view to resolving the issue. Morocco’s Works and Transport Ministry is setting up a think tank that will attempt to tackle the country’s growing rate of road fatalities.

Strong interest is being shown in the construction sector in Chile for the project to build the Chacao Bridge. The tender process is due to open in the first half of 2013 and a large number of contractors, over 30, have already acquired terms and conditions of the works package. The construction project is expected to cost US$740 million.

Plans are in hand in Israel to widen a 21km stretch of the Road 6 highway and strong interest has been shown in the tender process. Also known as the Cross-Israel Highway and the Yitzhak Rabin Highway, Road 6 is a major transport artery for the country. The construction work required would be for widening of sections 3 and 7 of Road 6 and the project is worth US$880.6 million and also includes a 35 year concession to operate the route.

Malaysia-based UEM Group has been invited to bid for the contract to build the 22km long Temburong bridge in Brunei, according to company chairman, Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali. The UEM Group is already constructing the 24km long second Penang bridge, of which 16km is over water. Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali said UEM Group would also aim to finish the 4,000 housing development in Kampung Mentiri by 2014.

The municipal government of Hanoi is to invest US $ 96.02 million to reduce traffic jams in 27 locations in the Vietnamese capital. Between 2012 and 2015, the government will build more parking lots and multi-story car parks in the city as well as eight new overpasses. Bus stations will be relocated from the city centre. Construction of arterial roads including Cat Linh-La Thanh-Thai Ha-Lang and Van Cao-Ho Tay will be quickened.

Road deaths in France were down 7.6% in August 2012 compared to the same month in 2011. In total, 342 people were killed in road accidents. During the first eight months of 2012, road deaths were down 8.9% compared to the same period of 2011, despite a 3.6% increase during the month of July. Between September 2011 and August 2012, the number of deaths was 3,728.

The America Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is honouring Astec Industries Founder Don Brock with a lifetime award as a leader in the transportation design and construction industry. As a result ARTBA’s annual innovation event and awards programme has been renamed the, “Dr J Don Brock TransOvation Workshop & Awards Programme.”

LiuGong and ZF are intensifying their cooperation by building a new joint venture axle company in Liuzhou. China’s construction equipment manufacturer, LiuGong and German drivetrain specialist ZF-Group established a joint venture called ZF Liuzhou Axle. The new company will produce wheel loader axles that are specially tailored for the requirements of the Chinese market. In the long run some 190 employees will be working at Liuzhou Axle Co. Ltd. and more than 30,000 of the newly designed axles will be deliv

New Zealand transport minister, Gerry Brownlee, has announced plans for a US $ 10.3 billion program to improve public transport and roads. Under the three-year plan, authorities for the public transport system, state highways and local roads will receive $ 1.36 billion, $ 4.09 billion and $ 3.29 billion, respectively, for upgrades.

Albanian primeminister, Sali Berisha, has promised that his government will keep up its investment in road infrastructure projects, due to their importance to the economy. The PM was speaking at the launch of two new road sections, between Uzina e Autotraktoreve and Lanabregas, and the Bridge of Surrelit to Farka. Both of the sections were built using funding from the EBRD and the EIB, with some funding also being provided by the Albanian government.

Indonesia’s government is setting a US $ 20 billion budget for transport and energy sector development. The country’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the government plans to build 559km of new roads as part of a new transport infrastructure program.

A shortage of skilled engineers has caused a delay in the renovation of tunnels in Norway, according to Tore Braaten, project leader in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen). Braaten has called for the Ministry of Transport to attract expertise from abroad to improve the situation. Responding to Braaten, transport secretary, Lars Erik Bartnes, emphasised that the engineer shortage is a problem for tunnel renovation, rather than the construction of new tunnels.