News

Kazakhstan is setting a budget of US$117 million for a series of road and bridge works in its Turkestan Region.

Planning work is being carried out for a major interstate redesign project in Miami, Florida. The US$802 million project involves the redesign of I-395 and surveying activities are now commencing. The I-395/SR 836/I-95 Project is being carried out in partnership between the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX). The work will be carried out between State Road (SR) 836 beginning at NW 17 Avenue and continuing through the SR 836/I-395/I-95 (Midtown) Intercha

Construction of the WestConnex project in New South Wales, Australia is facing criticism over a lack of accountability over the work. The US$11.85 billion (A$16.8 billion) project is intended to improve transport in and around the city of Sydney and involves building a 33km tolled motorway. The work is costly and complex, with much of the route being built in tunnels and this is Australia’s largest road project. However criticism has been levelled at the state government for not considering a number of opti

A controlled explosion demolished the eastern span of the old cantilever Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River near New York City. The bridge, nearly 5km long, was opened in 1955 to carry traffic between the southern New England area and other regions west of the Hudson. Around 140,000 vehicles used the bridge daily. But the old bridge had deteriorated substantially and would have been too expensive to maintain or keep open for lighter traffic use. It became redundant after the new bridge of the

India’s road network and poor safety presents a major hazard. Low levels of seatbelt use by vehicle occupants in India has been identified as one of India’s road safety problems. Official data from the Indian Government states that 26,896 people died in road crashes in the country due to non-use of seatbelts in 2017. Of those who died, 16,876 were passengers. Meanwhile a further 61,942 people suffered injuries because they were not wearing seatbelts. And children are amongst those particularly at risk on t

In Colombia progress is being seen on three major bridge projects located in different parts of the country. Construction of the new Pumajero Bridge is well in hand and is expected to be complete before the end of 2019. The new PumajeroBbridge will be 2,247m in length and have 990m of viaduct connections and access, as well as two three-lane carriageways on each side. Once the new bridge is open to traffic, the old cable-stayed concrete link between Baranquilla and Sitionuevo will be demolished. The new

Concern is being expressed in the US over the correlation between cannabis use and crashes.

Carsten Karcher has been appointed secretary general of the European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA), based in Brussels. Karcher had been director of EAPA since 2013 and takes over from Egbert Beuving who retired as secretary general at the end of last year. Beuving will continue within EAPA as chairman of the organising committee of the Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress 2020 in Madrid and will remain as convenor of CEN TC227 WG1 for a several more years. Meanwhile, Breixo Gómez-Meijide, who joi

Carsten Karcher has been appointed secretary general of the European Asphalt Pavement Association (EAPA), based in Brussels. Karcher had been director of EAPA since 2013 and takes over from Egbert Beuving who retired as secretary general at the end of last year. Beuving will continue within EAPA as chairman of the organising committee of the Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congress 2020 in Madrid and will remain as convenor of CEN TC227 WG1 for a several more years. Meanwhile, Breixo Gómez-Meijide, who joi

A new transport plan for Colombia’s capital, Bogota, is intended to cut congestion. The plans are being drawn up by Bogota council's Urban Development Institute (IDU). In all 75 separate works are included in the plan, ranging from building or upgrading 155km of roads to constructing 183km of cycle lanes. Of the 75 works outlined in the plans, the aim is for 20 to be complete by the end of 2019. The IDU estimates that the work will cost US$5.5 billion to carry out. Upgrades to the Avenida Ferrocarril shoul

Work on a new road and bridge project is planned to start in Myanmar during 2019 and is expected to take until 2022 to complete. The construction of this new link will improve transport connections with neighbouring China. The US$100 million project will be carried out in Myanmar’s Shan State, lying on the country’s eastern border with China. In all, the new bridge and road will run for 19.3km and will link Nawngcho with Gote Hteik. The existing road passes through a mountainous area along this stretch and

A pre-feasibility study is being planned for Vietnam’s Hoa Binh-Moc Chau Expressway project. Construction of the expressway is expected to cost US$857.4 million, with the work being handled under the PPP model. The 85km is planned to feature two lanes in either direction. Construction of the expressway is expected to reduce journey times between Hanoi and Son La, close to the border with Laos, from six hours at present, to just 2.5 hours in the future.

Dana Incorporated has completed the acquisition of the SME Group, based at Arzignano in Italy. The firm is a specialist suppliers of low-voltage AC induction and synchronous reluctance motors, inverters, and control. These are used in a wide range of off-highway electric vehicle applications. The addition of SME’s low-voltage motors and inverters expands Dana’s electrified product portfolio. These products are primarily designed to meet the evolution of electrification in off-highway equipment. “Dana’

Work will commence soon on Indonesia’s South Cikampek II-Jakarta toll road project. The 64km highway project is benefiting from funding from the Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Central Asia, and Bank Mandiri. These have each contributed US$91.06 million. In all, the project is costing $970 million. The project is being managed by Indonesian firm Jasamarga Japek Selatan.