News

As many as 25,000 bridges in France are considered in poor condition according to research. In a bid to tackle the problem, there have been calls for an annual budget of €120 million for the next 10 years to improve bridge condition. There are an estimated 200,000-250,000 bridges in France. An additional fund of €130 million/year is proposed to tackle the problem of ageing tunnels in France.

Bosnia is investigating a series of road financing solutions. The country intends to borrow €150 million to construct the Corridor 5C highway project. A loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expected to provide much of the financing required, however the terms have still to be finalised.

The proposed Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link project in Sydney, Australia is coming in for renewed focus. Financing institutions are being invited by the New South Wales State Government to enter discussions over providing backing for the project. The new route will be one of the largest motorway construction projects for Australia should it get the go ahead. The work could cost US$9.9 billion (A$14 billion).

Astec Industries has appointed Barry Ruffalo as its president and chief executive officer, effective on August 12th, 2019. Ruffalo has also been elected to the board of directors. He will join the board of directors as a Class I director and will stand for re-election at the Company’s 2020 annual meeting. On the effective date of Ruffalo’s appointment, Richard Dorris, interim chief executive officer, will resume his role as chief operating officer. Prior to his appointment, Ruffalo was employed by Valmont

The tender process for Colombia’s Buga-Buenaventura fourth generation (4G) toll road project is being planned. The tender for the 114.1km dual carriageway is being handled in two separate stretches however. One of the road stretches will be for a 55.4km section from Buga to Loboguerrero, which is expected to cost US$359.45 million. The 58.7km stretch from Loboguerrero to Buenaventura meanwhile is expected to cost $362.75 million. The Loboguerrero to Buenaventura section of the route includes building a 19km

A finance package has been secured for Colombia’s Pasto-Rumichaca fourth generation (4G) road project. A loan package worth US$$593.6 million from a series of backers will underscore the project. These are; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Spain's credit institute Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO), JP Morgan, MetLife, Banco Santander, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Credit Agricole, and Bank of China. The project is for work to an 83km section of the route, incl

The UK firm Amey Consulting is working on two innovative projects utilising smart technology to improve air quality around major A roads and motorways.

The UK’s Department for Transport is providing £348 million of funding to help improve local roads over the next four years. This funding will be available for local authorities to bid for, allowing them to work on major maintenance projects, as well as on projects that will ease congestion on the UK’s busiest roads. This announcement follows a £6.6 billion investment in local road maintenance in the last five years The funding will be available in two stages for local authorities to bid for in an effort t

Chinese companies look likely to play key roles in major expressway construction projects in Thailand. The Rama III-Dao Khanong-Western Bangkok Outer Ring Expressway project is being handled in four separate sections, with the deals being finalised in September 2019. Major Chinese contractors are amongest the leading bidders for three of the four sections.

A new agreement has been reached that will foster more cooperation and collaboration with regard to engineering at an international level. The International engineering federation FIDIC (the International Federation of Consulting Engineers) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the China International Contractors Association (CHINCA). This move is intended to improve collaboration between international and Chinese businesses, facilitate skills and knowledge transfer and increase the unders

Volvo CE reports strong financial performance on the back of healthy sales. The firm says that improvements in the key European and North American markets, coupled with a strong focus on its service business, volume flexibility in the industrial system and tight cost control have helped the company to deliver a good all round performance in its second quarter 2019 results. Net sales in the second quarter increased by 10%, amounting to SEK 26.814 billion, compared with SEK 24.403 billion in Q2 2018. Operati

Indonesia is working on plans to develop its toll road network during 2019. A further 400km of new toll roads will be completed during 2019, bringing Indonesia’s total toll road length to 2,000km in all. Key toll road sections due for completion include stretches of the Jakarta Outer Ring Round 2 and the Balikpapan-Samaridan toll road. Indonesia’s Trans-Sumatra toll road is one of the country’s key projects, with some 561km of the route due to be in use by the end of 2019. The Balikpapan-Samarinda toll road

Construction work is commencing on the project to build a new expressway link in the Philippines. The new road section will link the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). The project is costing nearly US$430 million to build and should be ready by 2021. The route will be 8km in length and will feature two lanes in either direction, reducing journey times considerably between the SLEx and the NLEx routes. The work is being carried out for Metro Pacific Tollways (MPTC).