News

A joint venture comprising BAM Nuttall and Morgan Sindall will carry out the 4km widening of the UK’s heavily congested A14 route. The €28.5 million (£24 million) project is being carried out for the Highways Agency to reduce journey times more reliable, improve safety and support proposed local development. Mott MacDonald will carry out the design work for the project. Junctions 7-9 of the A14 are highly congested at present due to a combination of heavy commuter traffic and the high percentage of HGVs car

A €150 million budget has been set aside by the Moldavian Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure for upgrades to 200km of the country’s major highway links. The funding is coming in the shape of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). In addition the US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is investing a further US$132 million in its Moldovan Compact agreement. The EBRD loan will be used to improve sections of the R33 Hincesti-Lapusna-M1 road to the Rom

Two Chinese firms are building a new road connection in East African nation Ethiopia. The 133km road will run from Mille to Kombolcha, through Bati. Shandong Highway is working on a 73km stretch of the route from Milla to Burka, while Zhongmei Engineering has the deal for the 60 stretch of road from Burka to Kombolcha. The project is being carried out for the Ethiopian Government and is being handled by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA). Indian firm International Consultants & Technocrats (ICT) has a US$1

A group of seven banks is to fund the construction of the third Bosporus Bridge crossing in Turkish commercial centre Istanbul. A group of six Turkish banks, Garanti Bankasi, Halk Bankasi, Is Bankasi, Vakiflar Bankasi, Ziraat Bankasi, and Yapi Kredi Bankasi, is being joined by the Netherlands-based Garantibank International to provide the necessary US$2.3 billion of funding required for the project. A joint Italian-Turkish consortium comprising Astaldi and IC Ictas will build the bridge, which will reduce c

AECOM is starting work on its contract for Singapore’s North-South Expressway project. The US$15 million contract covers 21.4km section of the route. The contract is for consultancy work on the electrical and mechanical engineering aspects of the expressway project.

A report from the US-based research firm Freedonia suggests that demand for asphalt in the country looks set to increase 3.7%/year to 25.17 million tonnes in 2017. US demand for asphalt is expected to grow from the low levels in 2012 due to an increase in spending on highway and road construction, as well as building. However, the report suggests that asphalt demand in 2017 will not reach the levels seen in 2007. Rising use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) and a growth in the market for rehabilitating

Research from business intelligence specialist Timetric suggests that the market for infrastructure construction is growing fast in the Philippine. Timetric’s data shows that infrastructure accounted for 37.3% of the country’s construction sector and was worth US$9.6 billion in 2012. The market grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.12% and is expected to reach a CAGR of 8.19% by 2017, having been boosted by the need to repair flood damage that occurred in 2012. The country’s construction ind

A note of cautious optimism can be seen at the Austrian contractor Strabag, with the release of its half year results. The company saw turnover of € 5.6 billion for the first half of 2013, a drop of 7 % from the same period for the previous year but with some of this fall coming from weather-related issues that delayed the start of construction acitivity. However the company says that the impact of the weather on its performance should be made up by the year end. Strabag is a major contractor and is Central

Ian Webb is taking over as director general of the IRF Geneva Programme Centre. This is a six month appointment and involves continuing the transition of IRF Geneva, which commenced in 2012. Webb has 32 years of experience in Australian Governmental roles and at senior level, including Roads Australia. This interim appointment comes as IRF Geneva’s acting director general Susanna Zammataro steps aside on health grounds. Zammataro will however continue to support IRF Geneva in two key areas in the coming mon

Problem tyres played a role in nearly 15% of fatal passenger car and van accidents in Finland from 2000-2009, based on the accident database kept by the Finnish Motor Insurers' Centre. During the 2000s, passenger cars and vans have been involved in 2,647 fatal road accidents. In 393 of these, the accident was caused or at least partly caused by the installation of bad or wrong type of tyres. In some accidents, there was also found to have been problems with the tyre pressure.

Poland is to benefit from a €17.5 billion investment in its transport infrastructure from 2014-2020, according to the country’s Deputy Minister for Regional Development, Adam Zdzieblo. The substantial sum is part of an over EU Infrastructure and Environment programme worth over €24.1 billion. Other than transport, areas of investment will be the same as for the previous EU programme, including health protection, culture, energy, and environmental protection. The exception is higher education, which will