News

The authorities in Brazil have been facing problems with the expropriation of land needed for new road projects. This is a key issue for new roads planned for the 2014 Football World Cup and is affecting local governments and county councils.

Work on a new bridge spanning the Yangtze River in China is now underway. The Wangdong Yangtze River Bridge project is expected to cost US$758.6 million to construct.

Concern has been expressed in Austria over the potential costs of upgrading the country’s road network to cope with 60tonne trucks measuring up to 25.5m long. The introduction of these massive ‘gigaliners’ has been proposed across the EC. But Austrian highway operator Asfinag has said that upgrading the country’s roads, highways, bridges and tunnels to make them suitable for gigaliners would cost some €5.4 billion. Asfinag has also expressed its concern over the safety issues surrounding these vehicles due

Motorbike safety has been set as a priority in Colombia, which has identified key risk factors for the country’s many motorcycle riders. Some 4.5 million people use motorcycles/day for transport in the country, according to official studies. To improve safety, plans are being considered by the country’s Transport Ministry for motorcycle only lanes. A pilot will be carried out in Cauca Valley shortly. Motorcycle dealers supply a helmet along with each motorbike they sell.

Indonesia has a population of 238 million, a gross domestic product of US$720 billion (2010) and is one of the world's 20 largest economies. The building industry is booming and in the raw materials sector major investment is scheduled for the medium term. “All all of which are good reasons why bauma should focus more closely on this economic region and the exciting opportunities it offers for the future,” says Messe München International (MMI), organiser of bauma 2013, to be held in Munich, Germany, from 1

By 2014, the Russian capital Moscow is planning to reconstruct nine outgoing highways from the city. Out of US$69.55 billion allocated for the city's transport development programme in 2012-2016 years, almost $19 billion will be spent on road construction and maintenance. In 2012, almost $10 billion will be invested under the programme, including $3.4 billion in reconstruction of roads. Currently, the Moscow Mayor's Office is looking for contractors, and is inviting bids for reconstruction of Entuziastov Sh

New technology could improve safety at intersections by up to 80%. The innovative vehicle and infrastructure technology being developed in the European INTERSAFE-2 research project is targeting known issues of road safety at intersections.

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.

In the US state of California, the Air Resources Board (ARB) is working on a programme that will boost development of new automobile technology with reduced emission levels.

A Chinese contractor is to construct the dual carriageway extension to Langata Road in Kenya. Work is commencing shortly on the US$30.6 million project, which will take 15 months to complete.