News

India continues to develop its road network, with the country’s ambitious plans moving ahead. Contracts for 6,320km of road projects have so far been awarded by the current Indian Government. This is for the first phase of the programme and the work is worth a massive US$20.95 billion in all. However the entire programme of road development will cover some 84,000km of roads and will be worth an eye-popping $109.1 billion.

Ecuador is working on plans for the new South Crossing Bridge (SCB) spanning the Guayas River, to improve transport connections for the port of Guayaquil. The plans call for the SCB to be constructed in three sections, with the project expected to cost US$1.04 billion. The schedule calls for the link to be completed in 2022, with work starting in the third quarter of 2018. The project is being handled under 40-year concession deal that encompasses the bridge and highway links.

The concession package for a key road link in Ecuador has been awarded to the contractor Verdu. The firm has a 20-year concession for the 162km road link connecting Guayaquil with Salinas. The arrangement is being handled under the PPP model and is requiring an initial investment of US$72 million. A further sum of $232 million will be required to maintain and upgrade the link.

Land is being acquired for a major expressway project in India. In all 10,649 individual land sale arrangements have been made with 20,916 owners for the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway project. Buying the land has cost close to US$775 million so far, with around 86% of the land needed for the project having now been acquired. The deals have been handled by Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

Caterpillar reports strong financial performance for sales in the second quarter of 2018. The firm's sales and revenues hit US$14 billion for the period, compared with $11.3 billion in the second quarter of 2017, a 24%. Second-quarter 2018 profit/share of $2.82 was a second-quarter record. Profit/share was $1.35 in the second quarter of 2017. Adjusted profit per share in the second quarter of 2018 was $2.97, compared with second-quarter 2017 adjusted profit/share of $1.49.

Striping Service and Supply is the first US contractor certified by the Texas Department of Transportation to operate the RetroTek-MU road striping Retroreflectometer. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute stringent certification programme provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the ability of a contractor to operate the RetroTek-MU retroreflectometer. The vehicle-mounted RetroTek-MU - manufactured by Reflective Measurement Systems, based in Dublin, Ireland - measures the retroreflectivity of lo

World Highways contributor Maxwell Gordon-Lay is publishing a new book entitled ‘The Harnessing of Power’. In this book being published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Lay details the history of transport in the 19th century. This reveals the importance of the transport innovations introduced in the 19th century and how these shaped transport moving ahead into the 20th and 21st centuries.

Construction work on the Kramertunnel in South Germany is to restart. The tunnel is needed to help reduce traffic delays in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the southern German state of Bavaria and with lies next to the border with Austria. The twin tube tunnel stretches will both be around 2.8km long and the project will also include building six bridges as part of the new bypass around the town. The new bypass, with its tunnel and bridges, is required as traffic jams occur regularly in the town on th

A new road safety conference is being planned in Morocco. This event is intended to help address poor road safety across Africa as a whole, in a bid to cut the shockingly high casualty rate. The event is being organised by the Moroccan National Committee for Prevention of Road Accidents. The African continent has a high risk of death for road crashes for vulnerable users. Pedestrians and cyclists represent 43% of Africa’s road victims. On a global level, vulnerable road users account for an average of 26

The contracts for two major road projects have been awarded in Argentina. Both of the road contracts will be handled under the PPP model, having been awarded by the Argentine Government. Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles will handle the contract for a 780km stretch of the C road corridor, connecting capital Buenos Aires with Mendoza, close to the Chilean border. Meanwhile a consortium comprising Paolini, Vial Agro and INC will handle the contract for 706km of road for the A road corridor, which is loc

A major road infrastructure development is being put forward in South Australia. A 14km-long bridge is being proposed that would connect Kangaroo Island with the mainland. The bridge has an estimated pricetag of US$3.7 billion (A$5 billion). The proposals call for a PPP project, with tolls on the four lane bridge helping to pay for its construction. However with a population of under 5,000, there are questions as to whether there would be sufficient traffic between Kangaroo Island and the mainland to make t

After decades with no proper transport connections South Korea and North Korea will soon have new road and rail links. The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is drawing up plans to rebuild the cross border, transport connections between the two countries. Work looks set to commence in 2018 on rebuilding a 12km highway section, as well as a 105km stretch of rail. Officials from both countries will carry out inspections jointly on the transport links so as to determine the extent of t

Up to 15 public-private partnerships are likely to be underway in Romania by the end of the year, according to the government. Included will be the Sudului, Ploesti-Brasov and Targu Neamt-Iasi-Ungheni motorways. A tender will be launched for the Danube-Bucharest corridor, which will be carried out in partnership with the state. These highway projects were among a list of strategic PPP projects that the government published in May. Other projects included a large medical complex near the capital Buchar