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Topcon Europe has acquired Roadware in the form of a business and assets deal. Roadware, based in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands,develops smart electronics and software aiming to fully automate and control road construction machines and processes. Topcon designs and manufactures precise positioning products and solutions for the global surveying, construction, agriculture, civil engineering, mapping and GIS, asset management and mobile control markets.To Roadware’s founder Joop Mennink said: "After many years o

The installation is underway of the first superspan gantries on the M4/M5 managed motorway scheme. The existing gantries and infrastructure were successfully removed last month while the new steel gantries were being constructed, fitted-out and tested at a dedicated facility located near junction 17 of the M5, before being delivered to the works site. A total of 33 new overhead gantries, a number of which span 50m and weigh over 30tonnes, will be installed along the new managed motorway section up until T

The European Commission yesterday launched its Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign, a three-year initiative aiming to support sustainable urban mobility campaigners in 31 countries, with the opening of a registration system to support outstanding actions for fostering positive change in attitudes and behaviour. The central objective of this new campaign is to promote the advantages of combining different modes of transportation. Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: "We wan

Telvent GIT has announced that it is working together with the Chinese cities of Nanning, Fushun and Erdos to implement its SmartMobility technology aimed at intelligent urban and mobility management to enable local authorities to make the most of their road infrastructures. These cities are expected to lower the current number of traffic delays by over 35 per cent and the inner-city commute rate is anticipated to drop by around 15 per cent. Telvent will work on centralising real-time traffic infrastructur

Italy's motorway infrastructure is expected to receive US$ 49.95billion (€40bn) of new investment. The entirely private company backed investment will be financed by tolls. In the first four months of 2012, around US$873.8million (€700million) was invested in Italy's motorway infrastructure.

Vietnam’s Dung Quat-Sa Huynh road project, on which initial works are being carried out, will receive additional funds for land clearance and construction. The cash injection increases the amount invested in the project in Quang Ngai Province to more than US$267.68million (VND 5.60tn).

Spain’s tough economic conditions have resulted in difficult times for the country’s private toll highway operators. A fall in revenue has combined with a tough financial situation to make it difficult to pay off debts. Spain’s Ministry of Public Works is offering potential help with a new viability plan for tolled highways. This would involve merging weak, loss-making highways with long concession contracts, with highways that are profitable. Several options meet this criteria but the sector considers the

Traffic on the A 40 motorway in the German province of North-Rhine Westphalia will be stopped from using the key highway to allow for tests on a new road repair scheme. The vehicle ban on the motorway near Essen begins on 7 July, 2012. Sources close to the scheme say that without the complete closure of the A40 motorway, the work would have taken two years to complete.

THE AUTHORITIES in Belgian capital Brussels are discussing the possibility of introducing a congestion charge system. UK capital London and Swedish capital Stockholm already have functioning congestion charge schemes that have helped solve the previous near traffic gridlock in both cities at peak periods. Another option for Brussels would be to tackle congestion by boosting the use of public transport for commuters entering and leaving the city. Meanwhile in the Belgian Flanders region the authorities are e

In Australia, a road contract worth US$400.47 million (A$400 million) has been won by Interlinks Roads. The deal involves upgrading a key section of highway, with Transurban holding a 50% stake in Interlink Roads. In addition, Abigroup will carry out a $315 million deal to widen a 21km section of Sydney's M5 highway has been secured by Abigroup. The M5 work is due for completion in 2014 and includes widening 21km of the M5 from two lanes to three lanes between Camden Valley Highway and King Georges Road.