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An innovative combined road and drainage tunnel is being proposed for Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. A study is underway at the moment for this novel integrated tunnel project, which is expected to cost in the region of US$1.88 billion. Work is due to commence during 2015, with the initial phase of the construction being carried out by Antaredja Mulia Jaya. The project is calling for two 12km tunnels that will help alleviate flooding in the city during periods of high rainfall as well as featuring a road. The

Shell is publishing the sixth edition of its handbook on bitumen technology. The Shell Bitumen Handbook is a key guide to asphalt paving technology and is an important reference work for contractors and civil engineers. The latest edition is expected to be used as widely as previous versions by contractors and specialists around the world. The handbook is authored by Shell’s team of bitumen experts, led by John Read, general manager of Bitumen Technology. He said, “This sixth edition is the biggest update

The Romanian National Company for Highways (CNADNR) is commissioning a study for an important new road link. The proposed connection would link the existing Sibiu bypass with the Pitesti bypass. Italian firm Spea Ingineria Europea and Romanian firm Tecnic Consulting Engineering have formed a joint venture to handle the €6.5 million feasibility study into the project. The consultancy work is expected to take 17 months to complete. The proposed link would stretch some 120km and is expected to cost around €1.6

In Slovakia plans are in hand for work to the D3 route that will involve the construction of a flyover, a bridge and a tunnel. The flyover lies on the stretch of D3 between Zilina/Strazov and Zilina/Brodno. Work on this 4.25km section of the D3 is costing close to €255 million. The construction work commenced in June 2014 and is due for completion by 2017. The work is complex and includes building flyover over the Hricovska Prehrada Dam, as well as driving a tunnel and constructing bridge over the Kysuca Ri

The next FEHRL Infrastructure Research Meeting 2015 (FIRM15) event will be held on 22nd-23rd April 2015 in Brussels. This key conference features the theme ‘Innovative maintenance of Transport Infrastructure. Faster, cheaper, more reliable, safer, greener’. The language for the event will be English and it will cost €150 Euros/person, which covers the two day conference as well as the exhibition entrance and attendance for the evening cocktails. This event will help provide scientific input to Europe and n

Controversy continues to swirl around Bratislava’s proposed D4 motorway bypass and what tunnel options under the Little Carpathian Mountains is the best value.

Serbia will enter into talks with two Chinese companies chosen through a tender process that expired this month for restarting construction on the stalled Corridor 11 motorway. Serbian Minister of Construction Zorana Mihajlovic said Shandong Hi-Speed Group and the China Road and Bridge Corporation qualified for tender participation. Work includes construction and maintenance of 17.6km of motorway near Belgrade, between Surcin and Obrenovac as welll as the 31km Preljina-Pozega road and maintenance of t

In Canada, the driver of a dump truck that slammed into a pedestrian bridge, partially collapsing it on to road below, may have to pay for his mistake. Highway 132 in a suburb of Montreal was closed overnight while a demolition crew hastily tore down the remaining section of walkway over the road. Police are questioning the driver of the snow-removal dump truck who reportedly was travelling down the highway with his dumper raised, hitting the bridge which was built in 1979 and had recently undergone a US$

Samsung, Daewoo, Hyundai, Acciona, Ed Züblin, MT Højgaard and Per Aarsleff are among the bidders to build a bridge connecting the Danish islands of Zealand and Falstser. The Danish Road Directorate expects to choose five pre-qualified consortia for the Storstrom Bridge project in May and the bids for the project are scheduled to be submitted by April 2016. The new bridge, likely to cost around €565 million including the cost of demolishing the old bridge it will replace, is expected to open by 2021, a

In a landmark move, the European parliament has voted to approve Pan-European enforcement of traffic laws. This will allow police forces across Europe to share information on foreign motorists who break road traffic rules. No longer will offenders be able to dodge fines and other penalties for driving offences while committed abroad. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and TISPOL – the European Traffic Police Network have both welcomed this move Non-resident drivers account for approximately 5% of

Construction software specialist Bentley Systems continues to develop its portfolio of solutions with yet another acquisition. The company is growing both organically and through acquisition, this time buying up the French firm Acute3D, provider of Smart3DCapture software for reality modelling. Through reality modelling, observations of existing conditions can be processed into representations for contextual alignment within design modelling and construction modelling environments. According to Bentley, rap