News

Teledata World Services has signed a letter of intent to acquire all of the equity of Superior Traffic Controls, a developer and manufacturer of roadside safety and incident management products. The transaction will result in the majority shareholders of Superior becoming the majority shareholders of the Teledata and comes at the conclusion of a two-year search for a new business opportunity Teledata could merge with or acquire.

The Ministry of Transport, Works, and Housing (TWH) in Jamaica is the first recipient of the International Road Federation’s (IRF) ‘Decade of Action Find a Way’ Award. IRF chairman, His Excellency Abdullah A. Al-Mogbel, has introduced the award to recognise the value of political leadership in driving road safety strategies as part of the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. Under the leadership of Dr, the Hon. Omar Davies, the Jamaican TWH Ministry has overseen an ambitious regulator

The Spanish Ministry of Works requires further funds to complete work on the 261.5km A-11 Duero Highway. A further €1.13 billion is needed to pay for the work on the stretch between Los Rabanos (Soria) and San Martin del Predroso (Zamora) on the border with Portugal. There has already been €54.2 million invested in the project, which paid for construction of the 15.2km of the Aranda de Duero bypass but work is currently at a standstill. No new work has been carried out since July 2010 when the 6.2km Ronda N

The Danish government has shelved the plans for a road toll scheme for Copenhagen. The decision has been welcomed by opposition parties, and the government is now set increase funding for public transport so that ticket prices can be reduced.

Israeli financing looks to be one funding option for the Northern Tunnel project planned in the Russian city of Rostov. The plan calls for a 2.5km tunnel that will be tolled and link the city centre with the Northern residential area and will help reduce congestion on Nagibin Avenue. This is at present the only large highway linking the city centre with the residential district and is congested at peak periods. The tunnel project is valued at US$252 million and construction work is expected to take six year

The 400km stretch of A9 autobahn connecting the German cities of Munich and Leipzig looks likely to be one of the first major highway links in Europe with charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

The shortlist of three bidders for the €707 million (£600 million) plus Mersey Gateway Project in North West England as been revealed. The first bidder is the Balfour Beatty, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Egis Projects consortium. The second bidder is Merseylink consortium, comprising equity members Macquarie Capital Group, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments, Vialia Sociedad Gestora de Concesiones de Infraestructuras and FCC Construcción. Completing the bidding trio is MGL consortium, comprising equity membe

An International research project into the effects of extreme weather on Europe’s transport network has shown that rain causes the most problems. Heavy rain can cut off or submerge low-lying areas, cause bridge scour, flood underpasses and damage earthworks. The Project is headed by the Finnish research body VTT and is investigating the impact of extreme weather on transport further.

The authorities in Romania are launching the tender process for a new highway section. The country’s national roads and highways company,CNADNR, is handling the tenders for the project, which involves designing and building a 9km section of the Transilvania Highway between Gilau and Nadaselu in Cluj county. The deadline for ids is 21st March 2012. The project is expected to cost from €73 million to €80.3 million to construct.

Ireland's Ministry of Transport is focussing on road maintenance rather than building new links at present. With the country’s economy still struggling under a burden of debt, finances are limited. Around 30 road maintenance projects are planned to be carried out in in Ireland during 2012. The Irish Government intends to invest around €200 million/year on road maintenance until its finances improve. New road projects are being delayed and will be held back until 2016 or 2017.

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) president and chief executive Pat Olney said demand for construction equipment in North America could jump by a quarter in 2012, after revealing the company posted a 111% increase in like-for-like first quarter year sales. Olney said Volvo CE’s strong Q1 2012, and improved overall construction equipment trading in the US and Canada, had re-emphasised the company’s belief in a sustained North American market recovery.