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Spain needs around €6.5 billion spent on its road infrastructure to bring it back up to ‘reasonable’ quality standard, according to a report drawn up by the Spanish Highways Association (SHA). The huge works’ bill is said by the SHA to be due to the deterioration of the roads since 1985. According to McKinsey, this investment could be reduced if tendering authorities made more effort when it came to project analysis. By improving the use of engineering services by 3% to 5% per investment, cost savings of

Uruguay’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MOTP) has recently presented proposals to the private sector on the modernisation and maintenance of four major national roads (26, 14, 55 and 20) over a ten-year period. A US$550 million government fund, known as Fondo Vial, will pay for the works, which will make Uruguay a real communications hub in the region, especially in light of a future deep water port. The national budget will remain unaffected.

Sweden’s road safety continues to improve as highlighted by the latest official statistics. These show that a 9% drop in road fatalities for 2013 compared with the previous year. In all 260 people were killed in road crashes on Sweden’s roads during 2013. The official data was compiled by Trafikanalys and to put this in context, Sweden’s rate of road-related fatalities is now at its lowest level since 1944. It is worth noting that in 1944, there were comparatively few registered motor vehicles in Sweden whi

Consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff is now carrying out National Road Traffic Census counts across England, Scotland and Wales on behalf of the Department for Transport. This contract almost doubles the company’s previous activity in this area and it will now be managing 1,500 people to undertake over 6,000 traffic count surveys/year. The company is also introducing new le technology to this role and will be trialling a new in-house traffic survey iPad ‘app’. The firm is working closely with the Department for

One of four young talented transport researchers will be presented with the 2014 Young Researcher of the Year Award in the presence of transport ministers from around the world at the International Transport Forum at the OECD’s 2014 Summit in Leipzig, Germany, on 21 May 2014. The jury’s final shortlist for the prestigious award includes Spain’s Francesc Soriguera who is nominated for examining whether real time information on travel time is helpful for drivers. His results show that this information is on

The Philippines Government is unveiling 15 key infrastructure projects worth a total of US$14 billion over the next 12 months. These will form part of the PPP project programme proposed by the Philippines Government. The projects include the $1.44 billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project and the $313.16 million Motor Vehicle Inspection System. Meanwhile the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be allocated a healthy $38.56 billion for road maintenance and repair activities by the gove

The Italian road safety association, Asaps, has released data showing a worrying increase in hit and run incidents in the country. The figures show that there were 653 deaths from hit and run crashes on Italian roads between 2008 and 2013. The percentage of crashes attributed to the use of alcohol and drugs decreased from 43.8% in 2008 to 20.6% in 2013. But crashes caused by foreign drivers grew from 78 in 2008 to 137 in 2013. Hit and run crashes increased from 323 to 973 cases.

Caterpillar has carried out an official renaming ceremony for the Chinese operation formerly titled Shandong Engineering Machinery Co. It is now called Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Co. The Qingzhou facility will be used to produce the Caterpillar-branded 950GC wheeled loader at present) and SEM-branded products at the plant. Caterpillar will carry out a dual brand (Caterpillar and SEM) strategy in China, so as to provide differentiated products to the Chinese users.

What’s the best way to get technology to the end-user? Topcon believes it has the answer with the 2014 edition of the Topcon Technology Roadshow, previewed for industry editors this week in Livermore, Calif.

In Colombia work on the dual carriageway connecting Bogota and Buenaventura is now 40% complete. The link should be complete by the end of 2016. The Bogota-Girardot road is now opening, with excavation work still underway on the La Linea tunnel. The tunnel section of the project has been subject to delays arising from geological issues but when it is open, the tunnel will cut travel times and also improve safety over the existing route. The driving of the tunnel should be complete by September 2014 with the

The Spanish Road Association (AEC) has published a study detailing the condition of the country’s road network. The report highlights the condition of road infrastructure and sets out replacement requirements for safety features such as signage, safety barriers and lighting. The technicians have reviewed and rated some 3,000 sections of road, which were randomly selected from both the State Highway Network and local networks. The report includes for the first time a Territorial Status Indicator or weighted

The latest data available through Pan European safety body TISPOL reveals that road fatality levels have reduced in the Dublin Region in recent years. However, the information shows that pedestrians are still at risk. Since 2008, almost 40% fatal road traffic collisions involve pedestrian fatalities. A Casualty Reduction campaign has been run in the Dublin Region to tackle the problem. A key police strategy has been to improve pedestrian awareness of the dangers. Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid, head of Dub