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The Egyptian Government is investing both in road development and road safety, setting strategies in place for future development. The country has a construction programme that will see some 3,600km new roads being built. At the same time, the Egyptian Government has set a budget of some US$5 billion to improve road safety. The authorities in the country have identified the need to boost road safety to international standards as Egypt’s crash statistics and road casualty levels are of concern and have a ver

Forget planes, trains and shipping if you want to be a successful global multi-national says Michelin: the only way to get the right things to the right places on time and on cost is by road. Speaking at the PPRS Paris 2015 pavement preservation and recycling summit, Michelin corporate affairs vice president Eric Le Corre said “we are a worldwide industrial giant that could not operate without good roads. Roads give the critical advantage in logistical terms. We can only be successful if the roads we use ar

Doug Shipsey, founder and owner of Macismo International, announced an 8-year licensing agreement with Bonsal American at PPRS 2015 Paris, the pavement preservation and recycling summit. The deal will be the company’s bridgehead into the giant North American market for its innovative Macfix cold asphalt additive that allows repair material to be laid in temperatures from -10⁰C to +60⁰C. According to Shipsey, his Macfix additive is not only resistant to extreme temperature swings, it is also water resistant.

A huge leap in highway investment, more privately-run toll motorways and a stronger road industry lobby would all be welcomed by Christopher Chope, chairman of the UK’s highway maintenance all-party parliamentary group. Speaking exclusively to World Highways at the PPRS Paris 2015 pavement preservation and recycling summit, Chope said “yes, I would very much like to have a lot more capital investment in the roads sector. There are still too many pinch points out there … where one motorway meets another for

The financial crisis may be easing but the geopolitical situation will continue to hamper heavy equipment sales for some years yet, according to David Phillips, head of Off Highway Research, based in the UK. Gone are the heady days of pre-2007, “when it was unbelievably easy to get credit” to buy machinery, Phillips told delegates during his presentation on day two of the Pavement Preservation and Recycling Summit in Paris this week. North America alone counted for up to half of world demand for equipment w

Extra compaction forces can be delivered using adapted equipment

It’s make or break time for highways maintenance in the United States, according to Greg Cohen, head of the American Highways Users’ Alliance, speaking at the Pavement Preservation and Recycling Summit in Paris today. What happens in the next year will make the difference between a decade of continuing crumbling road infrastructure or a renaissance in America’s highways, he told delegates attending the first day’s afternoon plenary session. All state governments must submit a road asset management plan to t

A demolition team has successfully demolished the damaged southern lane of the Skjeggestad Bridge in Norway. Located in Vestfold, the bridge was damaged some weeks ago when the ground around its foundations slipped. The explosive demolition project was technically challenging due to the proximity of the bridge carrying the northern lanes but did go to plan according to Norway’s Public Roads Administration (NPRA). Initial plans to repair the Skjeggestad Bridge proved impractical and the decision was made to

Mexico is cutting its planned motorway construction budget. The country's Secretariat for Transport and Communications (SCT) has said the budget will be cut by US$268.8 million, a reduction of 17% from the figure planned originally. The 130 different projects that were to have been carried out under the original budget will still be built, but a number may be delayed. Road construction has been a key priority for this government in Mexico. In all some 46 new motorways will have been constructed by the prese

In Serbia plans are being drawn up for a new tunnel project. The planned route for the road tunnel would run under the mountain of Kadinjaca and connect the towns of Uzice and Bajina Basta. The plans are being drawn up by the Regional Development Agency Zlatibor, with tendering due for a feasibility study into the project. Funding looks set to be provided from European sources with some €176,000 to cover all the necessary project documentation and the paperwork should be ready by the end of 2016. The estima

Road freight’s share in global trade will increase from 6% to 10% by 2050, driven by increasing intra-regional trade, according to the latest report by the International Transport Forum. This growth is especially likely in Asia and Africa where efficient rail networks are and could remain underdeveloped, noted the report ITF Transport Outlook 2015. Hit hard by the global crisis in 2009, road freight volume grew 3% annually from 2010-12 in member countries of the OECD – the Organisation for Economic Co-opera