News

Doosan is now offering its new DL06K engine, which is designed to meet the needs of the Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB emissions requirements. Delivering 91kW at 1,950rpm, this six cylinder diesel is said to be both powerful and economical and weighs in at 900kg. Common rail, direct injection feeds the fuel to this 5.9litre four stroke diesel engine, which is also turbocharged.

Bidding is healthy for the I-77 Interstate highway project in the US state of North Carolina. This 47km highway runs from the city of Charlotte to Mooresville and the contract will be for a 50 year period. Spanish construction companies ACS, OHL and Ferrovial are all amongst the bidder for the US$501.5 million package, which includes construction, maintenance and. French firm Vinci has formed a partnership with US companies Parsons, Archer Western and Blythe Construction. ACS has ACS formed a consortium wit

Engineering specialist AECOM will carry out a study into the proposed Lower Thames Crossing project in the UK.

A transfer of responsibility is planned for bridges in Qeubec, Canada. Structures currently under the responsibility of the Canadian Federal Government may be handed over to the Quebec Government, should proposed moves be made. This policy looks likely to include the Jacques Cartier Bride. After the completion of the Champlain Bridge, planned for for 2021, the Federal Government may hand over the bridge to the provincial government. This is due to the Federal Government's lack of sufficient funds for the pr

Capita Symonds’ Innovations has a new contract that forms part of the Highways Agency Traffic Information System (HATRIS) programme. The contract is an extension to the company’s current HATRIS work and will run until 12th December 2014. The HATRIS system has been developed and improved by Capita Symonds since 2005 and is used to monitor and report on vehicle journey times across set routes on the motorway and trunk road network. This enables the Highways Agency and Department for Transport to identify tren

A consortium composed of Egis Projects and Sanef has signed a contract for the operation of the Port Mann Bridge open road tolling (ORT) project in the Metro Vancouver Area, Canada. The largest transportation infrastructure project in British Columbia history, it includes doubling the capacity of the bridge and widening the highway from Vancouver to Langley, a distance of 37km. Once complete, it will reduce travel times by up to 30%, and save drivers up to an hour a day. The new bridge will also provide for

The Israel National Roads Company (INRC) has developed an action plan with record levels of spending for 2012. The INRC is publishing tenders for projects this year worth a total of US$942.65 million. The INRC will publish some 36 tenders in 2012, roughly three/month. Among the list of key projects are scheduled work on Road No.1, including the Harel tunnel and Motza Bridge, as well as Roads 531, Road 4 (Morasha), Road 9, Road 31 and Road 38. Forming part of the Netivei Israel plan, a tender for the constru

Hamm is launching a range of compaction equipment at INTERMAT. The company is offering its latest HD+ series of tandem rollers. There are 12 models in the new HD+ series from 9-15 tonnes. The range includes vibration, oscillation and combination rollers as well as models with split drums.

Port road improvements worth US$104 million (A$100 million) will boost connectivity for a key facility in Western Australia. A contract for Esperance's port has been awarded by Australia's Main Roads West Australia to Australia-based John Holland. The engineering and construction firm will be responsible for diversion of a 1.3km section of railway, realignment of 1.8km road and construction of two bridges to cross the railways. The firm, which is a unit of Leighton Holdings, is expected to take around 18 mo

The Scottish Government has announced that a project to complete the M8 and to upgrade several other highways is going to cost about €606 million (£508 million). In all some 18km of highway will be upgraded, although the project will not be completed until 2017, four years later than was originally planned. The delays are blamed on funding issues. The work is being handled by the Transport Scotland agency, which has opened the tender process

The highways authorities in Vietnam intend to increase the percentage of roads and highways built from concrete. A pilot project will see the construction of a 25km highway link connecting the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh and Hanoi-Haiphong expressways. The Department of Planning and Investment is setting out a plan for transport project development using concrete instead of asphalt. The plan will run at least until Transport. The aim behind this strategy is to increase the longevity of road surfaces.

The authorities in Albania are planning to open a new tunnel that will form part of the Tirana-Elbasan highway. This new link is currently under construction and is due to be opened in early May 2012. The tunnel is 4.3km long and is around 66% complete.

The new 13.6tonne Caterpillar 312E small crawler excavator replaces the 312D, while the new 16.7tonne 316E takes over from the 315D. Both machines feature what are said to be highly efficient Cat engines to EU Stage IIIB emissions standard, while providing fuel savings of 8% and 9% respectively.