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London requires a radical new strategy to delivering the transportation development the city will need to cope with its fast growing population. Martin Tugwell, Transport Programme Director for England’s Economic Heartland Strategic Alliance said, “A road network fit for the world’s fifth largest economy cannot be planned from London: it is time for a revolution in approach, one that is focused on meeting our needs.”

The planning of strategic highways in England is locked into a two-tier mentality that is not good for the economy or for society. It is time to change. That is the message that David Quarmby, former chair of the RAC Foundation and head of RJRF’s Major Roads for the Future study, will be bringing to Highways UK, the landmark new roads conference at ExCel, London, 25th-26th November. In his keynote address Quarmby will argue that while welcome new funds, a new planning regime and a new arm’s length ro

Work is now underway on a new highway in Mexico’s Baja California State. The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has invested US$148.7 million in building the new Cabo San Lucas-San Jose del Cabo highway. The 38.7km project will include the construction of Caduano Bridge, the renovation and expansion of the Santa Rosa-Puerto Chale road and road surfacing at Todos Santos municipality.

Poland’s road authority GDDKiA has signed 13 road deals and has secured European financing worth a combined total of €1.91 billion. These works are being carried out from 2014-20. The available EU finance in the current perspective allocated to GDDKiA's projects stands at close to €10 billion. Poland’s road investment programme for 2014-23 includes building at least 3,900km of roads and 57km of ring roads.

Financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will help develop Tunisia’s road network. A 34 year loan worth nearly US$192 from the IBRD will help fund the work. The deal was agreed between the IBRD and the Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People. The road projects will enable an improved access to a number areas in the country.. A special office will be in charge of monitoring bridges from 2016 and drafting reports regarding their condition. Similarly, Tunis

God willing, two nuns in northern Slovakia caught on camera speeding managed to get home, or to the church, safely and on time. The sister, accompanied by another nun, was pushing her Skoda Fabia with religious conviction to around 160kph, or 100mph. However, they haven’t been the fastest nuns around Europe in recent years. In 2009, a nun in Italy, near Turin, was stopped by police for nudging upwards of 180kph – 110mph. The UK’s Daily Mail newspaper reported at the time that “demon driver Sister T

A wheelchair user was recently caught hitching a ride up a hill in the Brazilian city of Salvador. It’s slow progress, as the video shows, and care was taken by the driver to deliver his “passenger”. It is not known if the wheelchair owner had to pay for his external ride. His feat was not the first time he has picked up a lift, according to media reports that quote some of his neighbours. Media have also said the city is one of Brazil’s worst for getting around if you are in a wheelchair. The head

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will consider approval of seven Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, two of them highways, by the end of this month. The highways are the US$516 million Manila connector road and the $209 million Plaridel toll road. A report by the Manila-based Business World Online newspaper said the deals are worth around US$3.65 billion.

A series of major highway and road projects have been proposed for Vietnam. Investors have submitted a proposal to build North-South road costing an estimated US$383.8 million. Another proposal has come from the Project Management Board 85 to develop Bien Hoa-Tan Thanh-Cai Mep Seaport expressway, with an estimated cost of $591.5 million.

Data from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) shows that motor vehicle traffic has increased, for the tenth quarter in succession. Motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain increased by 2.2% in the year ending September 2015 from the previous year. The provisional figure of 505.76 billion vehicle km is the highest rolling annual total ever and 0.6% higher than the pre-recessional peak in the year ending September 2007. The upward trend in traffic volumes is likely to reflect growth in the UK economy, wi

The latest financial results for Wacker Neuson reveal strong demand for compact construction machines. The firm has reported revenue in excess of €1 billion for the first nine months of 2015. This marks an increase in business activity compared to the same period last year and a record high for the group. In light of the downturn in key markets in the third quarter, the company revised its forecast for 2015 downwards. However, it still expects to achieve record revenue business levels for 2015.

Britain’s Civil Engineering Contractors Association has warned of declining infrastructure workloads despite indications that the UK is climbing slowly out of the global economic downturn. The slump in infrastructure workloads is a “surprise”, according to a statement by the CECA. The CECA survey of companies that build and maintain the UK’s vital transport and power networks also comes just as the government launched the National Infrastructure Commission to oversee more than €140 billion of spending o