News

A road safety success is the benefit of strategic action in Hungary by the authorities. Official data shows that Hungary has reduced its number of road deaths by 49% since 2001. This has been achieved through tougher enforcement and a crackdown on speeding through the use of speed cameras. With road 64 deaths/million inhabitants, Hungary has made major achievements in tackling road safety, and further gains are expected.

The authorities in Moscow intend to invest in new roads, repairs and maintenance in a bid to tackle the city’s road connections and pothole problems. The repairs and maintenance will be carried out in and around the city. Some 180km of roads and 50km of highways will be either constructed or rebuilt during 2012. Some US$650 million has been budgeted for the work, some 2.5 times the sum spent during last year. Around 64km of highways will be built and repaired by 2015.

TTS Italia is now involved in the optimised CO-Modal PASSenger transport for reducing Carbon emissions (COMPASS) project that started in November 2011. The 25-month project is being coordinated by Edinburgh’s Napier University, which is a leader in industrial and transport research. The project forms part of the European Transport Policy (ETP) for the 21st Century and looks towards the new challenges. In particular, three topics must be addressed: challenges from the key socioeconomic trends, challenges fro

The European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) is calling on the European Governments to recognise the importance of investing in infrastructure. The FIEC says it recognises the challenging economic climate and the need for governments to cut unsustainable levels of public debt. But FIEC president Luisa Todini commented, “Austerity is however not a solution by itself.” Europe’s transport, energy and telecommunication networks are the backbone of the EU internal market, ensuring that goods and services

Amsterdam in the Netherlands is to benefit from €131 million aimed at improving roads. The funds will be invested in 50 measures including 9km of peak traffic lanes on the A7 and A8 highway between Purmerend, Zaandam and Oostzaan. This forms part of a €794 million programme of upgrades to the country’s transport infrastructure.

The partnership of national road research centres, FEHRL, is setting out two key strategy elements in a bid to develop an advanced and affordable transport infrastructure. FEHRL says that an effective transport system will provide the basis for economic opportunities. The major focus of FEHRL’s work is on roads, which is where its expertise lies and the most important part of Europe’s transport system, but the body is increasingly looking at the complementary aspects of infrastructure in bridges, earthwork

Strong interest is being shown in the coming Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress. Pavement durability and reduced temperature asphalt technologies are key topics of the Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress 2012, to be held this June in Istanbul from 13th-15th June 2012. This fifth Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress (E&E 2012) already has a strong line-up of speakers and delegates, with the programme being fine-tuned to meet expectations. Over 800 delegates are expected to attend the event, which will provide detaile

A new 1km long tunnel is being planned to help reduce congestion in Skopje, capital of Macedonia. The tunnel will be built by Turkish contractor Limak. The contractor will also build its own commercial development above the tunnel as part of the agreement. The cost of the tunnel project is not available at this point.

The Productivity Committee in Sweden has presented a commission report to the country’s government criticising how it invests in roads and railways. The independent body’s report also highlights three areas where changes are needed to revitalise the construction sector: better forward planning; more turnkey contracts; and an industrial approach to civil engineering construction.

Engine manufacturer DEUTZ claims record results for its latest financial year. The firm says that the 2011 financial year was one of the best in its history even though the global economy deteriorated, particularly in the second half of the year. The firm beat the forecast that it had made at the start of 2011 and revised upwards during the course of the year. Revenue rose by 28.6% to €1.53 billion, compared with €1.12 billion in the previous year. This set a new revenue record for the current corporate str

The Heartland Expressway, a postponed highway project connecting Rapid City with Denver in the US, will take 20 years to finish. The 498-mile expressway will become the central part of the Great Plains International Trade Corridor. An investment of over US$500 million is forecast to be required for the four-lane highway project, which will stretch between Rapid City and Limon, Colombia.

The UK’s road markings are said to be vanishing rapidly, according to a new survey by a leading highways organisation. A snapshot survey of nearly 500 miles by the Road Safety Markings Association (RMSA) revealed that well over half of white lines in Scotland and Wales are almost non-existent, and England’s fare little better. On average, the RSMA survey found that 50.6% of the UK’s surveyed road markings are barely visible. And almost a quarter (23%) of roads are classified as needing ‘emergency repairs’.