News

Lebuhraya Borneo Utara, the project delivery partner for Malaysia’s Pan Borneo Highway project, has awarded a US$317.5 million contract to a joint venture of local Sarawak state firms. The 70:30 partnership of KKB and WCT will rehabilitate and upgrade the Sungai Arip Bridge-Bintulu Airport Junction section of the highway. Piling works, earthworks, geotechnical, drainage, roads, pavings, as well as demolition and site clearance are all part of the contract, said WCT. Work is expected to take four years an

A 25km section of Guadalajara’s new bypass route in Mexico’s Jalisco State is now open to traffic. This section of the route cost just under US$81 million to construct. The bypass section features four lanes, with two in either direction and will help cut congestion in the centre of Guadalajara, as through-traffic will no longer have to drive into the city. The route is being built by Grupo Ideal and should be complete by December 2016. Once fully open for traffic, it will cut journey times in the area arou

A report is being compiled in Brazil regarding the state of the country’s road network. The report was compiled by the country’s national transport confederation, CNT, in July 2016. The report is due to be released in October 2016. However CNT says it is pessimistic about what the report will state. This is due to cuts in public investment in roads and delays in the launch of concession programmes. Brazil’s 2016 federal road budget has been set US$2.03 billion. However up to $1.3 billion had to be used to p

The organisers of the World of Concrete Europe -Exhibition & Forum 2017 event say that interest is strong from the industry. The organising team continue to develop the event and have now opened a new website dedicated to the exhibition, which will be held from 22nd-23rd Feb 2017. The exhibition and conference will be held in the Palais de Congrès in Paris and aims to attract industry professionals from across Europe. This will be the second edition of the World of Concrete Europe -Exhibition & Forum, with

The IRF is running a workshop in Zimbabwe intended to highlight key success factors for PPPs. The event is looking closely at PPPS, due to the issues seen in many nations, where there are dwindling funds for infrastructure development. As a result of this funding shortage, many governments and infrastructure providers are now considering the prospect of taking up Public Private Partnerships (PPPs for financing of roads and surface transport infrastructure. With this in mind, the International Roa

Work is now commencing on the final stretch of the Wekiva Parkway, State Road 429, in Florida. This will be the fifth section of the parkway, with the work being managed by the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX). Section 2A will stretch 3.2km and the construction work expected to be complete in January 2018. This US$38.65 million project will be located north of Haas Road between Plymouth Sorrento Road and County Road 435 (Mount Plymouth Road). Section 2A will connect to Section 2B, the systems int

The organisers of the CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE exhibition from March 7th-11th 2017 are offering attendees in-depth industry education. In addition to exhibits, CONEXPO-CON/AGG and IFPE 2017 will feature, flexible education ticket options to fit attendee needs and schedules. Attendees will also have access to the new 6,970m2 Tech Experience area, which will showcase ideas and technologies to transform the future of construction, boosting safety, productivity and profitability. The organisers are also offe

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has revealed a strong financial performance during the first half of 2016. Profits for the engineering firm reached US$792.754 million (900 billion South Korean Won) for the first half of 2016. The second quarter for the April-June period was healthy, with HHI achieving $8.68142 billion (9.8627 trillion Won) in sales, while operating income stood at $490.504 million (557.2 billion Won). Meanwhile accumulated sales hit $$17.7306 billion (20.1355 trillion Won) and operating p

Sure, it’s a spectacular run down a mountain road. But it’s also an extremely visual reminder that highway infrastructure is important for work and play. Let’s not forget that the road - in this case Switzerland’s Grimsel Pass, 2,164m - has to be smooth enough for Jean Yves “Rollerman” Blondeau to reach those speeds without being chucked over edge and down a cliff. The pass is a driver’s delight as it crosses the continental divide in the Alps where rivers flow one way towards the North Sea and the ot

David Quarmby, one of the United Kingdom’s most influential and experienced highways and transport senior executives, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at the European Roads Infrastructure Congress – ERIC 2016 - in the autumn. Quarmby has had a long career in policy, planning, management and research in UK transport, with 39 years’ board-level experience in government, public agencies and the private sector, including London Transport and the retail food giant Sainsbury’s. Most recently he has b

The authorities in Thai capital Bangkok are launching a new mass media campaign aimed at increasing awareness around helmet use. This is a critical road safety issue in a country where over 60% of motorists use motorcycles. In collaboration with Vital Strategies and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), Bangkok’s campaign will encourage motorcyclists to wear helmets. The campaign will also encourage powered two wheeler riders to properly fasten helmet buckles, a key compone

The German province of Thuringia plans to maintain, repair and develop its road network during 2016. A budget of €222 million has been set for spending on roads in Thuringia during 2016 by the authorities. During the summer period there will be 37 workzone sites on Thuringia's road network. The main commercial and administrative centre for Thuringia is Erfurt, although the province also includes the historically important towns of Weimar and Eisenach.

Sales of construction machines have been improving in Italy. Data from the Italian equipment manufacturing association, UNACEA, shows how the market picked up during the first six months of 2016. The report reveals how sales in the Italian market rose 22% compared to the same period of 2015. The UNACEA quarterly study shows that 4,723 construction machines were sold during the first six months of 2016, including 4,617 earthmoving machines and 106 road machines. Compared with the same period for 2015, this e

It caught all the cyclists by surprise when a young bounding kangaroo decided to hurl itself at the peloton during a bicycle race in Australia. A fellow racer trailing behind took the video. The targeted cyclist was severely bruised from hitting the deck and he needed stitches. But the marauding kangaroo apparently died from its injuries when it slammed into the bike at a right angle. Cyclists being taken out by kangaroos is more common than most non-Australians would think. Click here to see one cycl