News

Work on a major new highway connection is now underway in New Zealand. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) says that preparatory work for a 4.5km stretch of highway is underway. Actual construction expected to commence in late December 2012. Completion of the project is due by 2016, with the highway costing some US$1.32 billion. The project will see the construction of a six lane link connecting State Highways 16 and 20 in Auckland.

The Belarus Ministry of Transport is setting out a budget to rebuild the country’s most important highway links. The country’s Federal Highway will be reconstructed and the Ministry of Transport will publish the tender for the repair work in 2013. The project is expected to cost in the region of US$4.75 billion to carry out and is planned for completion by 2018.

Over 2,000 vehicles have failed Ireland’s National Car Test (NCT) so far during 2012. All of these vehicles and were taken off the road for not meeting basic safety standards, according to data from Ireland’s the National Car Testing Service (NCTS). The data shows that 2,349 vehicles failed because they were classed as dangerous. Almost 300,000 vehicles, more than half of those tested between January and July, failed the first test and had to return for a retest.

Road authorities in Ireland are now installing signs aimed specially at Australian tourists

A new highway project planned for East African nation Uganda will improve the country’s network and boost connectivity. This US$270.55 million project is for the construction of an eight lane highway connecting capital Kampala with Jinja. The project is being planned by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and the work will be carried out under the PPP model. The new tolled highway will help reduce congestion on the existing road and will also cut journey times and improve safety by skirting smaller t

The ICUEE event being organised by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is proving popular with exhibitors. The ICUEE 2013 utility machine exhibition has already topped 92,900m2 of exhibit space sold with the show still nearly 12 months away. The last ICUEE exhibition had not reached that mark until five months before the show opened. The 2013 ICUEE, International Construction and Utility Equipment Exposition will be held October 1-3, 2013 at the Kentucky Exposition Centre (KEC) in Louisville, K

Doosan Infracore attracted nearly 500 existing and prospective customers to this year’s Demo Days events held at Kozli Quarry near Pisek, in the Czech Republic. Attendees from 18 countries right across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region had an opportunity to try out a wide selection of Doosan heavy machines and attachments in real working conditions. They included Stage IIIB compliant crawler and wheeled excavators, wheeled loaders, articulated dump trucks (ADTs) and heavy duty telescopic han

New proposals put forward in Paris could place pollution at peak periods as a priority. The planned pollution programme would include measures such as a toll on the main routes entering Paris. Users would pay rates reflecting various criteria such as the distance travelled, whether it is a peak travel period or the environmental impact of the vehicle being used. Vehicles seen as excessively polluting would be banned, with one proposal forbidding the use of large SUV/4x4 cars that are more than 17 years old

The US state of Indiana’s toll road lease supplied money for vital transport projects and Ohio is wise for studying its own turnpike lease agreement, Indiana’s Department of Transportation commissioner Michael Cline told hundreds of key Ohio transport industry figures. Cline was the keynote speaker for this year’s Ohio Transportation Engineering Conference in Columbus on Tuesday 30 October, 2012. During his address, he touted the benefits of the US$3.8 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road in 2006.

Experts in health, city planning, environment and transport from Europe and the United States, including several local authorities, stressed how active travel can drive urban economic growth and save public health funds during a recent prestigious workshop event in Brussels, Belgium. Integrating health aspects in transportation planning was the focus of The Polis Environment & Health working group meeting at the European Economic and Social committee on 30th October. The event gathered experts from organisa

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) says the 495 Express Lanes -the 14-mile corridor of new high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway - will open as early as November 17, 2012. Drivers are being advised by VDOT that they will need an E-ZPass to use the 495 Express Lanes and an understanding of how they work before they can take advantage of them. “The 495 Express Lanes are on track to open earlier than expected in November which means drivers must take steps

The upcoming 2013 World of Asphalt and AGG1 shows will be largest ever according to the event organiser. The expositions have both already achieved record size. The co-located events are being organised by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and will be held March 19th-21st, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas at the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center. The events are already on track to be sold out by opening day. The shows will highlight the newest products and technologies for the aggregates, asphalt,