News

Italian asphalt and road association fights economic downturn with plans to relocate the Italian asphalt industry’s leading show, Asphaltica, to Verona. The Asphaltica show is to relocate from Padua to Verona, in Italy for the next event in 2014. Italian asphalt and road association SITEB signed an agreement with exhibition company VeronaFiere in the week leading up to this year’s show, held between 21 and 23 November. Details of the deal have yet to be worked out. SITEB’s agreement with PadovaFiere to hol

The Vögele road paver SUPER 1800-2 HD has been specially developed to meet the requirements of road construction in China. This heavy-duty machine can be used for placing cold, coarse-grained materials such as cement-treated base (CTB). The paver is designed to cope with the abrasive wear caused by these mixes, increasing its durability. Its SB300HD fixed-width screed is also designed for roadbase applications. It allows thick layers to be paved true to line and level with a maximum degree of pre-compacti

Fiat Industrial said it is targeting a definitive merger agreement with CNH Global within the next few days after receiving a positive response to its best and final proposals from CNH’s Special Committee. Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Industrial’s chairman, said: “We are pleased with the Special Committee’s determination that it views favourably Fiat Industrial’s improved best and final terms for the proposed merger. Work remains to be done, however, over the next few days to finalise the required definitive doc

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) is organising the first-ever conference focusing solely on issues related to environment, health and safety at asphalt plants and paving sites. Beyond Compliance: Achieving EH&S Excellence, which will be co-located with the 2013 World of Asphalt event in San Antonio, Texas, aims to help companies develop a world-class safety culture. The NAPA conference first between March 17–18 is designed for environmental and health and safety managers at asphalt firms, bu

Simon Murray has been appointed a non-executive director of the UK’s Highways Agency. A civil engineer with extensive experience across the transport and infrastructure sectors, Murray has worked for Ove Arup consulting engineers, as a development director for BAA, and at Railtrack as the director of major projects and investment. In his new role, Murray will sit on the Highways Agency Board, taking over the position left by Tracy Barlow whose appointment with the Agency ended in late July this year. Murray

The Indian government and the state government of Assam signed an agreement with the World Bank for a US$320 million loan for the Assam State Roads Project. According to a statement, the project will be carried out over a period of six years and it will comprise three components: road improvement; road safety management; and road sector modernisation and performance. The statement also said that the project aimed to improve road connectivity in Assam and support its Public Works Road Department to effective

Czech Transport Minister Pavel Dobes believes a recent amendment to the land expropriation law, which has been approved by the Czech Senate in November 2012, will reduce the cost of current construction projects by 10%-15%. The ministry is also said to be keen to further lower the price of motorways construction by reducing the number of exits and interchanges, and will require a financial support from those municipalities which will want their own motorway exits.

The 5km Legacy Way underground road tunnel in Brisbane, Australia will cost US$1.57 billion (AUD 1.50bn). Brisbane City Council (BCC) will borrow US$ 1.04 billion (AUD 1bn) from the Queensland Treasury Corporation (QTC) on a 30-year loan to help fund the works. Meanwhile the federal government will contribute US$520.92 million (AUD 500mn) to the project. The tunnel is expected to carry 24,000 cars a day when it opens in 2015. The Clem 7 and Airport Link are two tunnels already operating in Brisbane.

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has revealed its 2012 Hall of Fame inductees. John Deere (Deere & Company); Pierre Bataille (Poclain); and brothers Keith, Leonard and Mervel Wood (Woods Equipment Company); have become the latest inductees into the influential North America-based off-road equipment manufacturing trade association’s Hall of Fame, which recognises and celebrates outstanding individuals in the off-road equipment industry, and their legacy of innovation, service and leadership.