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The Highways Agency is to deliver 57 vital road improvements said to equate to a near US $ 4.83 billion (£3bn) boost to the UK economy. The $ 274.25 million (£170mn) investment is part of a $ 350.07 million (£217) million programme to remove bottlenecks and keep traffic moving on England’s motorways and major A roads. Many of the improvements will be delivered in 2013 and 2014, and they will all be completed by March 2015. The announcement brings the total number of schemes to receive investment from the Go

The latest highway industry products, systems and technologies will be on show at Seeing is Believing (SIB) next month. Speaking about the event in Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire between November 20-22 Steve Spender, IHE immediate past president & highways manager at Hampshire County Highways, said: “Seeing is Believing provides local authority highway engineers with a great opportunity to keep abreast of ever changing and improving materials and equipment. It provides an opportunity to see these being prac

The Chinese Government is to spend US $4.45 billion on transport infrastructure in 2012. Of the total, $ 789.59 million will go on rural road improvements, of which 88% will be used in the central and western regions of the country. A further $ 789.59 million is being spent on expressway development, with western and central regions receiving $ 442.17 million and $ 221.08 million respectively.

In Europe there is a growing understanding that alcohol use amongst drivers still has to be tackled effectively. Accident data reveals that while safety standards are improving across most European countries, with steady reductions in numbers of serious injuries and fatalities, there remains a problem with alcohol use. In Spain in particular, there has been a major reduction in road casualty levels, but research into the accident data has shown that while the numbers of accidents has reduced overall, there

A new road in Bolivia is planned to improve connections between Montero and Yapacani. A loan worth US$122 million for the project is being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Work on this four-lane road is being managed by Bolivia's road company ABC and the tender process is expected to open shortly. The 70km section of road will form part of the new Santa Cruz-Cochabamba highway. At present Bolivia's road network has a total length of 74,831km and this new highway project will help impr

The European Motorcyclists' Forum at the INTERMOT fair in Cologne on October 3rd attracted a diverse audience ranging from motorcyclists and politicians to representatives of road authorities and the motorcycle industry. Organised by the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA), the event is a platform for discussion on safety, mobility and the future of two-wheel transport in Europe.

The Gulf region has bridge and road projects valued at US$ 121.3 billion in the planning stage or already ongoing. In Bahrain, there is $ 2 billion worth of road and bridge projects underway in various phases, and another $ 8 billion in Oman. In Kuwait, the government will be spending $9 billion for road projects in the coming two years, while road projects valued at $ 17 billion are said to be in ‘cruise control’ in Qatar as the country prepares for the 2022 Football World Cup.

Worrying data has been revealed by a study of bus drivers in Nigeria’s mega-city and commercial centre, Lagos. The research revealed that 39% or 781 of the 2,002 bus drivers tested drive while under the influence of alcohol. Also revealed was the fact that 940 of the drivers have visual impairments, with 13% having been given special glasses. And 22% of the drivers, 441, tested positive for either marijuana or cocaine use (and in some instances both). In addition, 30% of the drivers (601) were revealed to b

A US$1.3 billion toll road project in Indonesia is being funded by a syndicate composed of various financial institutions. In all 22 banks or financial institutions are coming together to provide a loan worth $917 million for the new Cikampek-Palimanan toll road. Export-Import Bank of Malaysia (Exim Bank) is one of the banks involved and is providing $95 million in credit facilities to Lintas Marga Sedaya, which is working on the project. The majority stake in Lintas Marga Sedaya, 55%, is owned by PLUS Expr

After many delays work is now progressing on the expansion of Bulgaria’s highway network. The authorities in Sofia plan to commence construction of the 33km Vratsa-Botevgrad link in the west of the country and the project is expected to cost in the region of €188 million. Meanwhile Turkish input is to be withdrawn from the Ruse-Svilengrad highway project. However, Qatar and Bulgaria remain committed to the project, which will eventually provide a link between Romania and Greece. Running through Bulgaria, th

The government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) will this month begin maintenance works on the Highlands Highway after receiving US$ 46.12 million from AusAID of Australia. The works are to be carried out by contractors Covec PNG and Shorncliffe PNG, and are scheduled to be completed in October 2015.

Several leading Italian and international funds and industrial groups are reportedly looking into the feasibility of uniting all the major motorway construction projects in the north-east of Italy. The aim of the scheme would be to buy into the capital of one of the holdings and then work to buy stakes in the other firms, which are currently mostly under state control. The conglomeration of the three major firms Serravalle, Autostrada Serenissima and Autovie Venete, to be carried out over five years, would

China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is to build the second road bridge in Hengqing, China. A total of US$385.32 million has been budgeted for the two year build. On completion, the bridge will span 6.58km.