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Tensar is making some key moves internationally, as well as in terms of market segments. The company is now marketing the GlasGrid range in the US and expects to develop healthy sales, however it sees major growth potential with the Geogrid product range. Jim Penman, director for bi-axial products & applications said: "One area we're moving into is base reinforcement and in particular what we're looking at is mechanistic emirical (ME) technology." Tensar has worked with the University of Illinois on a new d

In Colombia the Government intends to invest US$170 million into the road networks of 23 departments. Repairs will be carried out to tackle damage caused by harsh winter weather. The authorities in Colombia’s Santander region also plan to improve road infrastructure. Meanwhile in Rionegro there have been calls to stop work on the Tunel del Oriente road and tunnel project, carried out by Conexion Vial Aburra-Oriente. The scheme has been criticised by environmental groups over inconsistencies with environment

Work on a 39km toll road linking Pemalang with Batang in Indonesia is expected to start in mid-2012, although the finance structure is still being established.

A new highway project in Texas will tackle peak congestion

Construction work on the 13.6km Gempol Pandaan toll road in East Java is commencing. The US$174.5 million project will take 18 months to complete and is expected to open for traffic in the third quarter of 2013.

A major highway deal has been agreed for a road project in Gujarat, India, worth an estimated US$810.8 million. It will be handled under the build, finance, operate and transfer basis and will involve upgrading and widening to six lanes a 102km section of National Highway 8 (NH-8) from Ahmedabad-Vadodara. The project also includes upgrading 92km of the existing Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway. Work is expected to take three years to complete, and the 25-year concession deal for the project has been a

In the Czech Republic tenders worth €146.15 million are now open for bids. The bidding process was started for the 50 tenders by the Czech Roads and Motorways Directorate (RSD). Most of the tenders relate to the D1 and D3 highway project, the Prague Ring Road and the R6 link between Prague and Karlovy Vary and for documentation and technical supervision of the upgrade works. RSD will also spend €32.4 million on the technical supervision of smaller projects in the next four years.

In the Czech Republic the road authorities are looking to address quality issues that have caused problems on the country’s roads and highways. The Czech Roads and Motorways Directorate (RSD) plans to check the quality of highways using vehicle-mounted scanning laser technology. This will allow RSD to launch repairs before potholes are formed. It is estimated that costs of the repairs will be cut by 30%. RSD tried a similar method of scanning in 2006 but the project was suspended because of a lack of fundin

Riga International Airport in Latvia is seeing growth in aircraft numbers and passengers, prompting a need for investment and upgrades.

A new southern bypass is planned for Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains area of Russia at an estimated cost of up to US$721.5 million. When complete, the bypass will connect the existing Chelyabinsk and Perm Highways. The state-owned road company Avtodor will work with the local government for the Sverdlovsk Region to finalise the details of the company building the link.

The Mongolian Government intends to boost investment in the country’s road network, part of a move to improve access in major towns and cities as well as connect outlying areas. With development of Mongolia’s mineral resources set to expand, new road links will be crucial to its economic future. The government has given approval for the construction of bridges and roads. This also includes repairing 35km of roads and building 25km of paved roads will be built in capital Ulaanbaatar.

Controversy still surrounds a key road project in Bolivia. Local communities within the TIPNIS nature reserve are once again protesting against the project to build a new road, the ninth such march carried out so far. In all 64 communities in the TIPNIS reserve are being consulted on the construction of the second stretch of the Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos road, which is at the centre of the protests. The road is planned to be built through part of the reserve, although the authorities say the link wi

Delays are expected for the project to build a new tunnel connecting Denmark with Germany. Femern, the firm managing the 19km Fehmarnbelt tunnel project from Denmark to Germany, has said that the current time plan is too ambitious. Femern believes that it will be 2015 rather than 2014 before work will commence. The tunnel would then open in 2012.

The strong road construction market in Morocco is helping boost the quarrying market in the country substantially. One such operation exists near the town of Ben Slimane, situated north of Casablanca. Agregat Oued Cherrat (AOC) owns a 65ha quarry, one of the largest of the 14 in the region and when the firm decided to buy new excavators, it also opted to buy Hitachi machines. AOC placed an order for one ZX330-3, with the second delivered three months later and the company now has three ZX330-3s, with a four

A novel use of a scrap shear has helped safety upgrades for the A14 highway linking the Italian cities of Bari and Naples. A Promove SC2200 scrap shear has been used to cut and remove old steel guard-rail on the highway.