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A massive bridge project is being planned for Indonesia that will play a key role in the country’s development of its new capital. Building the 7.35km Balikpapan-North Penajam Paser bridge will provide a connection to Penajam. Constructing the bridge is expected to cost over US$1.02 billion, with work expected to start in 2020. The bridge will be tolled. Serious issues are impacting on Jakarta, with the city suffering heavily from pollution and congestion, as well as its land area sinking. This combination

The west African country of Ghana has commissioned a traffic management centre to alleviate chronic congestion and drastically reduce vehicle pollution in the capital Accra. Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s president, welcomed the opening of the centre, saying the increase in traffic “coupled with rapidly increasing urban population is putting a lot of pressure on facilities in our cities, especially on our road infrastructure and also sapping productivity”. The centre, which local media claim is the first of

The UK is proposing to share road network data, including roadworks, with makers of mobile apps to warn drivers of potential congestion months in advance. The information for navigational apps powered by artificial intelligence would warn of planned changes to the road network, including work zone arrangements, which would enhance worker safety. Tech firms could soon get access to the necessary data thanks to a UK government review of legislation around Traffic Regulation Orders. The orders behind res

Financing has been secured that will help pay for the 110km ring road around Tanzania’s official capital, Dodoma.

The rate of road crashes from drink driving remains a serious concern in the UK. In 2017, there were 220 road deaths in the UK attributable to drink driving, according to the latest figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), the same as for the previous year. However, there were 1,110 crashes caused by drink driving, an increase from the 1,010 from the previous year. In all, there were 8,600 deaths and serious injuries from road crashes in 2017, a drop from the 9,040 of the previous year but still hig

A major road upgrade programme is being planned for the Udmurt Republic, part of the Russian Federation. The road system in the Udmurt Republic measures some 17,400km in all. There are also 363 key bridges and overpasses, which measures some 13km in all. However neglect of the links has resulted in 12 of the bridges and overpasses becoming in serious need of repair. The Udmurt Republic Government has set a target for rebuilding 410km of key road links during 2019, as well as addressing issues for some of th

The UAE has seen a significant improvement in road safety during the 2014 to 2018 period. Road deaths dropped 34.2% during this period to 468, while the number of serious crashes fell by 24.1% to 3,712. While vehicle numbers have increased in the 2014 to 2018 period, a combination of factors has helped to lower the casualty rate. Improved road links, traffic control systems and better emergency response systems have helped to reduce the number of road deaths and serious injuries.

Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary have Europe’s most dangerous roads according to official data from Eurostat. In 2017 Romania had 1,951 road deaths while Bulgaria had 682 road deaths and Hungary had 625 road deaths. The EU average for road deaths was 5/100,000 of population in 2017, with a total of 25,257 road deaths during the year. This is a marked drop from the 43,000 road deaths across the EU in 2007.

A series of loans is helping pay for the 11 major road and bridge projects currently underway in Costa Rica. In all the projects involve US$1.13 billion of financing. One of the biggest projects is the $495 million upgrade work being carried out for Ruta 32, between Rio Fri and Limon. Other major projects include the $200 million upgrade for the La Angostura to Limonal route, the $163 million improvement to the Circunvalacion Norte, $66 million for a new flyover in Cartago and $25 million for the Sixaola bi

Construction work is underway for Mexico’s Atizapan-Atlacomulco motorway project. The project will now be complete in 2021, although it was originally planned to be ready for traffic in 2016. A series of delays hit the contractor originally working on the project, which then resulted in Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) awarding the contract to another group. The concession for the project is now being handled by Aleatica.

New road building work for two key links in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is expected to cost US$124 million. Truong Chinh street and Tan Ky Tan Quy street will be widened to boost capacity and cut congestion. The former will feature five to six lanes in either direction once the work is complete. The latter will feature three lanes in either direction once the work is complete. Considerable site clearance work will have to be carried out for the work to go ahead.

Serbia is planning to build the new Sumadijski Koridor motorway. The project is expected to cost €1.7 billion to €2 billion to build. Financing is being provided by the Serbian Government. The final alignment has yet to be determined but the route is expected to measure from 220km to 270km in length. The new highway will connect with other key road links and will be called the Vozd Karadjordje.

A new road bypass project is being built for the Moroccan city of Berkane. Located in the west of the country, close to the Algerian border, the city of Berkane is bisected at present by the key N2 highway, which meets with the R612 trunk route. The new bypass will carry through traffic using these routes around the city instead, cutting congestion at peak periods and improving journey times for drivers. In addition the new bypass will also improve traffic safety and help with the development of Bekane. The