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Tunnels are being proposed to improve traffic flow between The Hague and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Dutch civil engineering consultancy Royal HaskoningHDV has carried out a study into traffic flows between the two cities. According to the study, traffic flow will improve if tunnels are built at Wassenaar where the N44 road becomes the A44 highway. The study predicts and increase in traffic volumes to 57,000 vehicles/day by 2030.

A new bridge project is being planned in Argentina. The new link will connect Parana and Santa Fe. Rivers to be crossed between Parana and Sante Fe include the Parana River, the Colastine River and the Sante Fe River, although it is not yet clear which route will be used. The project is expected to cost from US$600-800 million. This will be included in the Argentinian Government’s 2019 budget. The tender process may commence in October 2018. The work will be carried out under the PPP model.

Algeria’s Ministry of Public Transport is increasing the budget for the Bejaia highway project. An addition US$84.4 million has been secured for the project, which is being carried out jointly by the Chinese contractor CRCC and the local firm Sapta. The work on the highway is now said to be some 75% complete, with the project having cost $852.44 million. There have been some setbacks however and there has been resistance from locals in the area between Sidi Aich and Amizour. When the highway is ready it wil

Sinaloa State in Mexico is to benefit from major infrastructure development, with the budget being supplied by the Mexican Government. One of the key road links that will be upgraded as a result of the US$462 million budget is the link between Badiraguato and Parral, which runs through the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. Highway 24 will be upgraded, improving safety for drivers along this section, which features numerous sharp turns and steep gradients at present. A central section of this highway

Excavation work on Slovakia’s Visnove Tunnel has now been completed. Driving the tunnel took nine months longer than originally anticipated. The 7.5km tunnel will be Europe’s seventh longest when complete and forms part of the D1 highway between Dubna Skala and Lietavska. Work on this highway started in 2014, with the construction being carried out jointly by Italian contractor Salini Impregilo and local firm Duha. Fitting out of the tunnel is now commencing, with equipment such as ventilation and traffic

Russia is looking to boost road safety through a combination of upgrades to existing infrastructure and revised standards. The aim is to cut crashes through targeting known hotspots for incidents. The programme will also tackle congestion in key areas. Data is being collated on the sections of road suffering the highst numbers of crashes and most serious congestion, so that these sections can be prioritised for improvements.

Construction work on the road connecting the Bolivian towns of Riberalta and Rurrenabaque has been halted. The project to upgrade Bolivia’s Route 8 is being carried out by a Chinese contractor. Work started on the project in 2014 and is supposed to be complete in 2020 but is said to be significantly behind schedule, with only 11% of the planned work having been carried out. The project is costing an estimated US$579 million of which the contractor has so far been paid some $220 million. The road link

Construction work on Colombia’s two key tunnel projects is being delayed, with insufficient funding proving a major challenge. Both the Toyo Tunnel and La Linea Tunnel projects are behind schedule. In addition, the project to construct the Pumajero Bridge is also being delayed due to a lack of funds.Part of the problems is that the designs for these projects have been revised as construction work has progressed. However the additional funds to pay for the new design features added have not been fully

The Vietnamese Government has given the go-ahead for work on a key section of the country’s North-South highway project. This 7.5km stretch of the route will run between District 2's National Highway 22 and Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park. The work will cost US$365.4 million to carry out as it includes building the Phuoc Kieng, No 1, Rach Dia and Ba Chiem bridges. Located just to the south of Ho Chi Minh City, the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park is in a delta area, which will require the construction of the bridge se

A slow improvement is being seen on Europe’s roads in terms of safety. In 2017, 25,250 people were killed in road crashes in the EU. This represents a 2% reduction from the road death rate for the EU in 2016. However there is concern that progress with road safety is too slow as the road death rate for the EU has fallen by only 3% in the last four years. Of the 32 countries monitored by the PIN Programme, 22 reduced road deaths in 2017 . The best results were achieved by Estonia with a 32% decrease

Kier Group has announced a strong financial performance for its full-year results to 30th June 2018. The results were bolstered in particular by a solid performance in its highways business. The company claims that this has reinforced the firm’s position as the UK’s leading provider of highways management and maintenance services. Over the 12 months, Kier has maintained its position as the lead supplier to Highways England. Securing two three-year extensions to 2021 and 2022 respectively worth over £250 m

Driving too fast is a leading cause of road fatalities, according to the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Region I. Data from the FIA says that an estimated 40%-50% of people drive over the speed limit while a 5% reduction in average speed could result in a 30% decrease in number of fatal crashes. FIA Region I and its members in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are launching a campaign ‘Slowing Down Saves Lives’ and are urging drivers to respect speed limits. In support of the campaign, FI