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The UK now has new guidance designed to ensure that when utilities companies dig up the road surface, they leave proper repairs once the work is complete. It is estimated that poorly replaced road surfaces mean there are around 90,000 remedial works each year, adding inconvenience to motorists and cyclists. Many of the road repairs are not properly carried out, increasing the risk of potholes forming and further defects. This significantly increases the risk of accidents and of damage to vehicles. The new l

Environmental questions are facing the construction of the Martin-Presov highway in Slovakia. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are waiting to receive approval to fund construction of the highway in Slovakia from the European Commission (EC). However the EC is not giving its approval for the loans at present until the Slovak Government provides answers as to why the route goes through a national park. Although the Slovakian Transport Ministry is k

Environmental questions are facing the construction of the Martin-Presov highway in Slovakia. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are waiting to receive approval to fund construction of the highway in Slovakia from the European Commission (EC). However the EC is not giving its approval for the loans at present until the Slovak Government provides answers as to why the route goes through a national park. Although the Slovakian Transport Ministry is k

DELAYS are facing construction work on Serbia’s Corridor 10 highway project. The country’s present administration has explained that the previous government left debts of €300 million and that many planned projects had been left uncompleted, with only the draft of the Serbian Urban Plan being finished. The Dimitrovgrad Ring Road is opening to traffic but other links are delayed or well behind schedule. Meanwhile a €170 million deal for construction of the Zemun-Borca Bridge has been signed with Chinese comp

A proposal for a new bridge from Sweden to Denmark is included in the Swedish government's new infrastructure development plan for the country. The Swedish politicians would prefer a fixed link and they have invited the Danish government to examine the prospects for bridge plans. The Swedish suggestion is for a bridge link across the Sound (Øresund) between Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden and Danish officials have been invited to comment. This proposal forms part of Sweden’s new infrastructur

FRENCH ROADS have seen a drop in fatal accidents. In the first quarter of 2010, 827 people were killed in road accidents in France, a fall of 6.2% compared with the same period for 2009. The data was produced by French road safety authority, the Sécurité Routière. However in March there was a 3.7% increase on March 2009 with 305 deaths. This increase may have been due to tough winter conditions at the beginning of 2010, which affected traffic levels, particularly motorcycle use, according to Sécurité Routiè

Serbia’s Ministry of Infrastructure intends for work to start on the Corridor 10 highway project during 2010. This is a major project and has been split into several sections, with a total cost of €800 million. The ministry has already signed the contract with a Serbian consortium to build a 110km section of the Horgos- Novi Sad highway. Tenders will be called for shortly for tunnel projects near Dimitrovgrad, worth €60 million, for part of the €38 million Grdelica to Grabovnica road, and for the Neredovac-

The Polish authorities are calling tenders for eight sections of a delayed stretch of the A1 highway. The 180km section is between Strykow to Pyrzowice and the tenders will be for design and construction work. The project is worth €1.8 billion and the contracts are expected to be signed in September of this year, with construction commencing in the second half of 2011 and due for completion in 2014. Meanwhile, over €84 million is being invested on a ring road construction project around Przemysl. Approval h

The Spanish Government has set up its Extraordinary Infrastructure Plan (PEI), which is designed to stimulate the country’s economy and employment through investment in transport. In all the plan calls for public private collaboration investment of €17 billion, with €11 billion being used for new works and €6 billion for renovation and maintenance. Spending on roads will take €5.1 billion and the tender process for the various projects will commence in the second half of 2010. The economic impact on public

A new section of Hungary’s M6 highway, Phase III, is now open to traffic. This is one of the largest infrastructure deals in Hungary. The M6 Phase III Motorway between Dunaújváros and Szekszárd is being run under a 30-year concession awarded by the Republic of Hungary under a design, build, finance, maintain and operate contract. The 65km dual carriageway link forms the central section of the M6 highway linking Budapest to Pecs in the South of Hungary. Eight traffic junctions have been built to ensure conne

Luxembourg’s A7 highway will be connected fully to the rest of the country’s highway network shortly. Work is close to completion on the Strafelter tunnel, which will provide the link. The Nortdstrasse project is costing a total of €680 million and will connect Mersch and Luxembourg.

Official estimates suggest that 70% of Ukraine’s highways require capital repairs. Meanwhile, 50% of the country’s highways (80,000km) of highways are in a poor condition. Roads have been made worse by recent bad winter weather. According to Ukraine’s state body Ukravtodor, traffic volumes have also increased 5%/year for the last five years, making the problem worse. And Ukravtodor says that repairs to Ukrainian highways will cost not less than €59.5 billion. Meanwhile Ukraine’s design institute Kievsoyuzdo

A NEW report revealed by the European Commission says that increasing the share of fuel used in transport beyond 5.6% could cause more harm than benefit to the environment. At the end of 2008 the EU agreed to set a target of 10% of transport fuel coming from renewable sources such as biofuels as well as hydrogen and ‘green’ electricity by 2020. The agreement also included a requirement that all new energy sources be sustainable, setting sustainability criteria for biofuels, and is this last point that is p