News

Finland’s planned 8km Hailuoto Causeway is likely to cost around €74 million, according to the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.

A budget of US$1.2 billion will help pay for road development in Paraguay’s Chaco Region. Two of the most important road projects for the Chaco Region are the Transchaco road and the bi-oceanic highway. These projects will cost $560 million and $640 million respectively.

Melbourne’s growing congestion problem could be reduced significantly if a number of major road projects are initiated. A budget of US$1.67 billion (A$2.2 billion) will be needed for the upgrade works to 13 of the city’s most important road sections. These roads are located in the south-east of the city as well as in the north.

The budget for Bangladesh’s Padma Bridge project may have to be increased. A further US$168.7 million has been requested for the project by the Ministry of Road Transport & Bridges. This additional funding would help pay for additional land on which dredged materials could be tipped. However, Bangladesh’s Implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation Division is opposing the call for extra funds.

LiuGong and ZF have agreed a partnership to develop a new generation of transmissions for use in wheeled loaders and graders. The new system will be developed from existing ZF designs but will be aimed at the needs of the Chinese market.

Rebuilding a stretch of the A20 Autobahn in Germany is now costing more than originally expected. The work to upgrade the A20 in the North East of the country had a budget of €100 million when planned. However the cost of the work has increased considerably.

The recent collapse of the Chirajara Bridge in Colombia has been attributed to design flaws. The Colombian Government has said that it will not pay for rebuilding the structure. Instead, the Colombian Government expects road company Coviandes and its insurance cover to pay for the rebuilding work. The remains of the collapsed structure have yet to be demolished completely. A number of contractors have expressed an interest in building the new bridge, with the work expected to take around 18-24 months to car

The Paris-based International Council on Monuments and Sites – Icomos- has objected to plans by Highways England for a road tunnel bedside the ancient monument Stonehenge. Icomos, which advises the United Nations on protection of world heritage sites, has written to Highways England urging a rethink of the planned tunnel that would be just under 3kmk long. It argues that the tunnel and the dualling of the A303 carriageways either side would damage the landscape and destroy archaeological evidence

Indonesia’s major cities are suffering chronic congestion due to growing vehicle numbers in the country. Capital Jakarta has long been noted for its heavy traffic congestion but studies now show Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya and Yogyakarta to be suffering in this respect also. There are now around 125 million vehicles on Indonesia’s roads according to the latest data, an increase of some 300% from the 30 million registered vehicles in 2004. Of the personal vehicles used and owned by Indonesians, some 85-90% a

A change in road risk has been seen in the Netherlands, with more cyclists than drivers being killed on the country’s roads in 2017. The data came from the Dutch statistics bureau, CBS. The research suggests that there are two key factors in this change. Firstly, motor vehicles are generally safer now than in the past, with better crash protection and other safety technologies. Meanwhile an increase in the numbers and performance of electric bicycles and their use by a greater number of older riders is

Funding has been secured to pay for the Gympie bypass project in Queensland, Australia. The 26km project is expected to cost US$ 767.4 million (A$1 billion) in all. The Australian Government will provide 80% of the funding required, with the remaining 20% being provide by Queensland State’s budget. This section of road will extend the Bruce Highway and is intended to cut congestion in the area.

A new highway stretch measuring 28km long is opening in Macedonia. The work has been carried out by the Greek contractor Aktor. The project has cost €227 million. The new highway section runs from Demir Kapija to Smokvica. Financing has been provided jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), a number of funds and also by Macedonia’s own budget. The completion of this section of highway now completes the route connecting the north and south of