News

Road deaths in France reportedly fell by 22.2% to 280 in April 2012, compared to 360 in the same month of 2011. Further figures show that the number of road deaths over the first four months of 2012 fell 16.1%, which translates to 202 lives saved in comparison to the same period of the previous year. The number of road deaths fell 9% in March 2012 and 25.3% in February 2012. From May 2011 to April 2012, road deaths fell 8.7% to 3,765, the first time the number of people killed over a year has fallen to und

The latest IRF Bulletin is wholly devoted to issues of Environment & Climate Change as they impact on the road infrastructure sector. It features an authoritative but highly readable set of articles contributed by IRF members throughout the world. A comprehensive range of topics is covered in-depth, including policy & regulatory measures, tools for assessing, quantifying and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, technology advancements and mechanisms for adapting to climate change impacts.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Transport has awarded Traffic Tech (Gulf) – Abu Dhabi a traffic signal maintenance contract for the Al Ain Municipality. Valued at over US$ 4.5 million, the contract will run for two years covering maintenance and development of all traffic signals throughout the city. Recently, Middle East Integrated Systems (MEIS), Traffic Tech Group’s Bahraini based company, has also been awarded Bahrain’s traffic signal maintenance contract covering over 280 intersections. Currently, the grou

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved two loans worth €85 million for Croatia's road infrastructure. The first part of the loan is worth €60 million and will be used for construction of the Corridor Vc highway. The deal was signed between the EIB and Croatian motorways company Hrvatske Autoceste (HAC). The loan will finance 50% of the construction of the Corridor Vc highway. This includes a 12.5km section of the highway along the southern and northern part of the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina

The introduction of diesel hybrid vehicles in Europe will help reduce CO2 emissions. Automotive OEMs are now developing and introducing low-emission vehicles and by 2015, every other new car sold in Europe will have CO2 emissions in the range of 101-120grammes/km, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.

The UK Highways Agency is urging drivers to take extra care at roadworks. This moveis intended to reduce deaths and injuries among roadworkers and road users. The issue of safety in workzones is a serious one and has been highlighted in other European countries as well as in the US. Highways Agency research shows that over 80% of UK drivers say that their driving changes at roadworks, including slowing down and being more careful and attentive.

Europe’s road building contractors are likely to see a drop in activity levels in Poland in coming years. This is likely to spark concern in the industry as Poland has been a major source of revenue in recent years due to the expansion of its road network. The country’s expenditure on road building may well shrink in the next EU budget. Poland’s Infrastructure Ministry GDDKiA has said that the pace of road building in the country will drop considerably after 2013. GDDKiA said that it had no information as y

Frost-heaving continues to be a problem on Norwegian roads despite the introduction of tougher regulations for building and frost securing over the last 20-30 years. An expert group at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) has reviewed the problem and concluded that lacking technical competence among road builders and those controlling construction is the main problem. Norway’s Directorate of Public Roads (Vegdirektoratet) admits that there are problems with the lack of competence but

Upgrade work to five sections of the D1 highway in the Czech Republic is due to commence in spring 2012. The first sections to be rebuilt are from are Sternov-Psare, Loket-Horice, Vetrny Jenikov-Jihlava, Lhotka-Velka Bites and Velka Bites-Devet Krizu. The Transport Ministry prioritised these sections for repair, although full permission has yet to be given before the work can commence.

Volvo Construction Equipment has begun the first phase of the US$100million expansion of its site in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. The initial works include the construction of a new America’s HQ office and demonstration centre. Incorporating the latest environmental building practices, the expansion is said by Volvo CE to be a visible sign of the company’s commitment to the North American market. The completed facility will also localise production of some of Volvo CE’s larger construction machines. These a

The Russian highway authorities intend to invest a massive €16.78 billion (US$24.23 billion) in road construction and repairs during 2011. This investment will come from federal and regional budgets and represents a 40% increase over spending made in 2010. The plans involve repairs to 5,500km of road surface at a cost of €2.11 billion ($3.046 billion).