News

Traffic police in Finland have been carrying out breath tests across the country in a bid to reduce the around “58 cases a day” of drink-driving detected on the nation’s highways. A recent breath test day operation was held in Mikkeli, southern Finland and filmed by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network). Speaking to the TISPOL film crew during the test day, Finland Traffic Police Chief Inspector Jarmo Puustinen said, “We are doing this because we have an average of 21,000 cases monthly where people

The Philippines is said by campaign group Red Advocates to lose US$2.36 billion (PHP 104 billion) each year due to road traffic congestion in the metro area of its capital, Manila. The nation’s government part says it plans to develop more transport infrastructure to resolve the costly congestion issue. Meanwhile, Red Advocates is urging motorists to drive responsibly on Philippines roads.

A total of 29 transport projects costing a combined US$7.42 billion, including the Phan Thiet-Nha Trang road, will be carried out in Vietnam from 2013 until 2016, according to the country’s Ministry of Transport. Of the 29 projects, 18 projects worth $2.34 billion collectively were due to be commissioned by the end of 2013. The ministry has said that the projects are supported by the government of Japan through $6 billion of ODA funds, including around $774.59 million for 2013. The Quang Ngai-Danang and D

In the US state of California, construction is now underway for the State Route 91 (SR-91) Corridor Improvement Project. This improved section for SR-91 will run through the Corona and Riverside, both of which are located in Riverside County. The project will extend the SR-91 Tolled Express Lanes in Orange County into Riverside County, a distance of 17.6km. This includes a 13km stretch into Riverside County on SR-91, with a 5km flyover connecting to Interstate 15 from SR-91. Riverside County Transportation

A consortium is now working on the construction of one stretch of Slovakia’s D1 highway. The section lies between Hričovské Podhradie and Lietavská Lúčka and the project is worth €427 million. The consortium comprises four companies; with Doprastav, Váhostav and STRABAG all holding equal 32% stakes of the contract and Metrostav having a minority 4% share. The work being carried out by Doprastav, Váhostav and STRABAG is equivalent to some €140 million each. The construction work is expected to take 48 months

Guatemala’s Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing is seeking international loans of US$920 million to transform three national road sections into fast motorways. The loans could be obtained at some stage in 2014. One negotiated with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), of $280 million for the widening of CA-2 Oriente motorway to a four-lane motorway, is reportedly at its final stage. The bank has given its approval already and it is only the Monetary Council that has

Public private partnerships (PPP) are being set up by the Indonesian Government to construct three toll road projects valued at US$783.3 million (IDR 9.40tn). Tender for the projects will be launched in 2014, with construction due to begin the following year. A 39km Manado-Bitung road in North Sulawesi; a 37.6km road in Malang-Pandaan in East Java; and 15.8km Medan-Binjai road in North Sumatra comprise the three toll road projects. The three projects are due for completion by the end of 2017. Also in Indon

Hyundai Engineering and Construction (Hyundai E&C) has developed an information system that offers motorists real-time information on weather, roads and traffic congestion. Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Motor also collaborated in the development of the system, for which five individual patents are said to have been secured by Hyundai Group. With the system, data can be sent through the WAVE telecom technology via message signs on roads or directly to cars, while information from weather reports, vehicle sensor

Calls are being made for comprehensive studies into India’s road safety issues. The country has a spiralling rate of deaths and injuries on its road network with a continuing increase in the number of registered vehicles and total distances travelled. Randall Clark, vice-president of Norms and Regulations at tyre manufacturer Michelin, the Indian Government needs to carry out extensive studies in the causes of road accidents in the country. In India, the total figure for vehicle kilometres/year driven is in

The Detroit Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has awarded a traffic research deal for the city's I-375 corridor in the US. Traffic and planning consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff won the deal, worth nearly US$373,000. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the DDA will decide whether to convert the corridor into a surface street to improve pedestrian access or to reconstruct it. The study will also include consultation with major downtown employers like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and G

The Russian government is allocating an extra US$1.56 billion (RUB 51bn) for the construction of new airports and roads in FIFA World Cup 2018 host regions. The Russian transport system development programme for 2010-2020 is reported to have been amended accordingly. Of the overall new funding pot, $936.34 million (RUB 30.7bn) will be spent on road construction. The government is looking to attract private investors to contribute to the new road and airport works through public-private partnerships.

Skanska has won a €144.01 million Highways Agency contract for improvements to the UK M1 motorway that will improve traffic flow at the intersections linking the M1, M6 and A14. Construction is set to begin in January 2014 and the project is scheduled for completion in late 2016 or early 2017.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry in India has approved the building of 6,418km out of a total of 10,141km of new roads under the Special Accelerated Road Development Project-North East (SARDP-NE) and the Arunachal Pradesh (AP) package of roads and highways. The major ‘Phase A’ SARDP-NE and AP works are due to be completed by March 2017. Phase B of the SARDP-NE and AP programme consists of the construction of the remaining 3,723km of highways. The ministry has approved a comprehensive project