News

Mexico is continuing with its plans for a series of major transportation projects aimed at boosting connectivity. The country’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) says that work is underway on 110 of the country’s 128 planned bridge projects. Construction of the remaining 18 bridges is commencing in due course. And 23 of the 110 bridges being built at present are being opened to traffic shortly, with a further 46 opening in November 2014 and 38 opening in December 2014. The project to wi

Pakistan is planning a project to construct a new northern highway connecting Havelian and Hassanabdal. The loans required to finance the project have been signed by both the government of Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Havelian-Hassanabdal (Burhan) Expressway (E-35) project is for a north-south access controlled highway. This new link will connect the existing highway network with north Pakistan and the associated construction contracts are worth some US$200 million in all.

A prominent PPP project is planned by The Portsmouth Gateway Group in Ohio. This will be the US state’s first ever PPP project as well as being the largest single construction job ever handled by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). According to the Portsmouth Gateway Group, the PPP project will cost in the region of US$429 million to construct. The 25.6km Portsmouth Bypass will feature four lanes in either direction and will be a limited access highway that will between US23 north of Lucasville to

In Bhutan work is now commencing on a new highway project worth some US$118.4 million. The work involves widening the existing Thimphu-Trashigang highway along its 546km route. The Indian Government has given its approval for Bhutan’s planned budget to widen the highway. A portion of the funding for the work is being provided by Indian sources.

Explosive demolition has been used to remove a Tennessee bridge that no longer met requirements. The bridge was on Tennessee Interstate 65 near Franklin in Williamson County and has been removed by a specialist contractor. The highway authorities decided to demolish the bridge following a crash involving a tanker truck in August of this year. The structure was pre-drilled with explosive charges and then demolished remotely, with the explosive demolition being carried out successfully and without any injurie

Financing has been found for road repairs and rebuilding in Paraguay. A series of planned projects will see roads and bridge being refurbished and rebuilt. The Latin American Development Bank (CAF) will provide loans worth US$272 million for road and bridge repairs. A $50 million loan will be used to pay for work in the country’s Oriental region. In all 110 bridges will be built across Paraguay. A loan will also pay for improvements to National Route 9 connecting Mariscal Estigarribia and La Patria and La P

Malaysia is planning a series of new hew highway construction projects that will commence in 2015. The Works Ministry of Malaysia has plans for seven new highway projects with a combined value of US$6.19 billion to begin in 2015. The projects include the Serdang-Kinrara-Putrajaya Highway (SKIP), the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE) extension and the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE). They also include the West Coast Expressway (WCE) from Banting to Taiping, the Damansara-Shah Alam Expresswa

An investment of nearly US$510 million is being planned in Bolivia for road building works. The country’s state-run road company, Administradora Boliviana de Carreteras (ABC), has plans in hand for a total of 32 road maintenance and construction projects in Santa Cruz department. In all these will stretch for some 5,773km. Of this, $291 million will be spent on 276km of new roads, including the Saavedra-Chane and Circunvalacion Mineros, Hardeman-Colonia Pairi and Rio Uruguaito-Santa Rosa de la Roca-San Igna

Belarus is boosting its transportation budget in a bid to develop its road and highway links. The country is increasing investment to US$1.06 billion during 2015, an increase of 40% from the budget for 2014. The budget will be spent on rebuilding existing highways as well as building new highway sections.

Tomorrow's Road and Infrastructure Monitoring and Management (TRIMM) conference is being held in Brussels on October 23rd-24th 2014. The TRIMM event will be located at the Diamant Centre in Brussels, Belgium. This meeting is being organised in conjunction with the European Road Profile User's Group (ERPUG), which has objectives that fit with the TRIMM project. The event will be composed of a mix of presentations from TRIMM and ERPUG. ERPUG will also organise an exhibition and a get-together event includ

In the UK Mott MacDonald has been reappointed as support service provider by the Highways Agency (HA). The agreement covers the centralised maintenance depot terminal equipment (CMDTE) system. The consultancy will manage the on-going operation of the system which supports the HA’s emergency roadside telephones (ERT) placed along the motorway and trunk road network in England. CMDTE is the back office system that monitors and records faults with approximately 7500 ERTs. The project aims to maintain syste

Prizes have been awarded by the American Road Transportation and Builders Association (ARTBA) in its 2014 student video competition. In Category Two for Post-Secondary, College or Graduate Students Aubury Erickson at Florida Polytechnic University won with the video: “Our Deficient Transportation Infrastructure”. Erickson, a freshman studying mechanical and industrial engineering in Lakeland, Florida, created an informative, four-minute animation outlining the importance the US transportation system to the

The American Road Transportation and Builders Association (ARTBA) has awarded prizes to winners of its student video competition. In Category One for Elementary, Middle or High School Students Ty Miller from Boyertown Area Senior High School was selected as the winner with his video: “Infrastructure: the Unsung Hero”. Miller, a 12th grade student made a thoughtful video underscoring that transportation infrastructure is the catalyst of the US economy. It discusses how the construction of bridges, canals, wa