News

South Korea is seeing an increase in the number of crashes involving elderly drivers. In the 10 years from 2006 to 2016, the number of drivers aged 70 or over being involved in crashes has increased by a factor of just over four. There were around 7,000 road crashes involving drivers aged 70 or more in 2006, compared with 29,000 in 2016.

An important bypass route in Mexico’s Jalisco State is now open to traffic. The Guadalajara Bypass is a four lane route that cost US$479 million to construct and stretches 111km. Now that the bypass is open to traffic it is expected to help reduce congestion in the centre of Guadalajara, as vehicles will no longer have to enter the city when travelling onwards. The new route features seven intersections and connects with the highways running from Guadalajara to Colima, Guadalajara to Tepic and Mexico to Gua

Papua New Guinea is to benefit from major infrastructure development, which is being funded by Chinese sources.

Drivers in Finland now have access to a downloadable reindeer-on-road warning app for their iOS and Android smartphones. The Porokello app – Reindeer Bell - alerts users of reindeer possibly on the road by sound and colour in real time using geographic data, according to Finland’s Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Lapland. Tests have been carried out since June 2016 when the centre started recruiting commercial drivers to try the app. When they come across reindeer either

Construction crews in the US state of Washington are finishing bicycle trails and pedestrian paths leading up to the award-winning SR 520 floating bridge. The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge - officially now the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge - carries Washington State Route 520 across Lake Washington in Seattle. The 2.35km-long floating span is the longest floating bridge in the world and at 35m the world's widest. It opened in April last year as a replacement for the original 50-year-old four-lane

Contractor STRABAG will construct an additional section of road tunnel for Stockholm’s new bypass project. The contract is worth around €45 million and involves building two parallel bores with a total length of 2.5km for the Akalla tunnel section. The Stockholm bypass runs around the Swedish capital and is currently the largest road construction and tunnelling project in the country. The parallel tunnel bores will both be around 1.23km long and will be driven using conventional drilling and blasting

Funding for the final 8km section of a highway project in the US state of Oklahoma has yet to be finalised. Around US$135 million has been secured but a further $165 million will have to be secured by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for this section of the route. The Gilcrease Expressway will be tolled and the rates are now being set, with higher charges for commercial vehicles. The project will be complex due to the uneven terrain and tricky geology. In all 22 bridges will have to be constructed. This $30

The first stretch of a highway development project in Texas is now open. New southbound toll lanes have been built for the Texas 288 project, running between downtown Houston and the Brazoria County line. The existing southbound traffic is being shifted to these lanes on a temporary basis between Holly Hall and Loop 610. But drivers are not being tolled at present. The US$815 million work is due for completion in 2019, when the tolling system will come into full use. The project involves widening the route

The consortium FCC Corredor de las Playas I has won the contract to widen the first section of the Inter-American Highway. FCC Corredor de las Playas I consists of FCC Construcción and CICSA – the infrastructures and construction division of the Grupo Carso. The Inter-American Highway will be widened along nearly 38km to six lanes between La Chorrera and Santa Cruz in the province of Panama Oeste in Panama at a cost of around US$543 million, according to the consortium. The project includes enlarging the

Preparation work for the improvement of the road connecting Uganda with Tanzania is being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Funding worth US$1.5 million is being given by the AfDB to pay for the preparation work. The new road will connect Masaka in Uganda with Kagera in Tanzania and forms part of a programme to improve connections across East Africa. The road project is being carried out in three separate sections. One stretch measures 133km and runs from Kumunazi, through Bugene to Kasulo in

A loan of US$100 million will help pay for road improvements in Swaziland. The loan will be used to improve up to 200km of unsealed roads. Chemical stabilisers from Malaysian firm Probase will be acquired to help boost road quality and to reduce problems caused by seasonal weather conditions. Stabiliser compounds can prevent unsealed roads from becoming excessively muddy during the rainy season. The Swaziland Finance Ministry was given government approval to request the loan, which has a 15 year repayment

A degree of confusion now surrounds a proposed road project for New Zealand worth US$1.32 billion. The proposal was for a four lane road link to connect State Highway 20 with State Highway 1, close to Mount Wellington on the southern side of Auckland. The project called for upgrades to an existing road as well as the construction of new pedestrian and cycling facilities and new link roads for Penrose and Onehunga. Although approval has been given for the work, the New Zealand Government has now decided not