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Software specialist Bentley Systems continues to develop its portfolio of construction solutions with the acquisition of North Carolina-based BLUERIDGE Analytics. This new addition brings the proven SITEOPS software, used for site design optimization. The cloud-based computing techniques within SITEOPS are used by site development professionals to investigate engineering alternatives and their costs. This improves the options considered for any project development.

The Wirtgen Group reports that strong financial performance is expected for 2014. Full results are not yet available for 2014 but the privately held, family owned firm is confident for good results. Joint president Jürgen Wirtgen said, “Sales for 2014 will reach €1.95 billion.” He explained that for the first half of 2013, turnover reached €285 million, whereas for the first six months of 2014, turnover reached €329 million, a jump of 15%. The second half of the year is also looking healthy with the firm on

Making an emergency? Image courtesy of World Highways reader John Metcalf

Road safety lobby groups have criticised Britain for pushing down its annual road fatality rate by a further 2% in the past year, the lowest figure since records began in 1926. The Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2013 (RRCGB) Annual Report, published in September 2014, reveals that 1,713 people were killed in road accidents in the country during 2013, with the number of people seriously injured down by 6% to 21,657 versus 2012.

London’s transport authority, Transport for London (TfL) is considering orbital and cross-city road tunnels to help reduce pollution in the capital and create more pleasant environments for the residents of its various districts. “We believe we need to think more ambitiously,” TfL’s Michael Colella, currently lead sponsor for HS2, told the British Tunnelling Society conference in London on Wednesday. “We are looking at taking a significant part of our road traffic and in essence burying it and reusing the

Hungary’s huge highway programme will see close to €161 million being spent on upgrading some 500km of the country’s network. Hungary’s Ministry of National Development (NFM) plans for the work to commence in the first half of 2015 and completed by the second half of the same year. The cost of the work will be covered from EU funds in line with the country's Transportation Operative Programme (KOZOP). The work is needed as data from Hungary’s national road information source, Orszagos Kozuti Adatbank, revea

Construction is commencing on a new logistics corridor crossing Honduras that will connect the country’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Some US$271 million is being spent on the project so far. The highway will feature two lanes in either direction for all of its 391km length. The country aims to boost its economic presence in Central America through this project, which will also help stabilise its economy. The work will cut congestion in key urban areas along the route, as well as improving connections to th

In Romania plans are in hand for a new ring road around the city of Satu Mare. The 19.5km ring road will reduce congestion in the city, which lies in the north of the country. The tender process has been opened by the Romanian roads authority, CNADNR, with bids being received until the 10th November 2014. Including VAT, the project will cost in the region of €184.7 million to construct and is expected to take four years to complete, with financing being delivered by the Operational Programme for Transport.

In Bulgaria questions hang over the construction of a section of the Struma Highway. Greek construction company Aktor was originally awarded the contract for Lot 4 of the Struma Highway but work on the project slipped behind schedule. The delays seen so far with the project have not been well received within the Bulgarian Government. The work was supposed to have been completed around the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015 and the country’s transport ministry has said that work on the highway cannot be de

Urban road in Brazil are to benefit from additional funds for repairs and repaving. An increase of some US$1.35 billion in financing for the country’s accelerated growth programme (PAC) has been approved by the Brazilian Government. The increase in funding has been required as the budget set previously was insufficient for all the planned works.

Victoria Banks and Neville Stanton [1] of Southampton University’s Transportation Research Group examine the real impact of creeping driver automation.

Victoria Banks and Neville Stanton [1] of Southampton University’s Transportation Research Group examine the real impact of creeping driver automation.

RedSpeed International is to supply around 600 speed and red light safety cameras to Transport for London (TfL). The award is the result of a process which started in August 2012 and will see the company’s SpeedCurb and RedSpeed products progressively installed with a completion date of October 2016. The installation of the RedSpeed digital red light camera replacement in London has already started. The cameras not only enforce against red light running, but also monitor and enforce against vehicles brea