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France saw its road deaths rise by almost a third in May 2014 compared to the same month of last year, according to new figures from Sécurité Routière. A total of 258 people were killed on France's roads in May 2014, 63 (32.3%) more than in May 2013. During this period, the number of people injured rose by 10%, or by 20% if only those requiring hospital treatment are included. Sécurité Routière’s figures show the number of accidents only increased slightly in the analysed period, but they were more severe.

Bangladesh's government has contracted an undisclosed Chinese firm to construct the main part of its flagship Padma bridge project – the country’s biggest infrastructure works. Building the bridge's key component is expected to cost around US$2.58 billion (BDT 200 billion), including expenses for river training. Local firms have pledged to supply high-quality construction materials such as rod and cement to the Chinese firm.

A substantial plan for road maintenance has been established by Transport Quebec in Canada. The 2014-2016 roadwork plan sets out works needed to provincial roads on Montreal Island. The work is worth some US$1.23 billion (C$1.34 billion) and involves repairing existing road infrastructure. Meanwhile a further $78.85 million (C$85.9 million) will be spent on new roads. The plans call for some 74 work sites in all, with 244 structures to be replaced or repaired. Under the plan, a total of 11,345 jobs will be

In Bolivia plans are in hand for a new highway that will help improve trade and transport in the country. The highway is costing close to US$180 million and will be constructed by Chinese contractor Nuclear Industry Nanjing Construction Group. The highway will be close to 75km long, connecting Cochabamba with Oruro.

A demolition contractor used 180kg of explosives to bring down an old bridge structure in the US state of Mississippi. The Big Ridge Road Bridge in D’Iberville was demolished as part of a project as part of a US$41 million project to construct a new interchange. Work on the interchange is expected to be complete in 2015. The work is being carried out for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

A study carried out by research company Transport and Mobility in Belgian capital Brussels shows that if more drivers switch from cars to motorcycles, congestion will be reduced significantly. The study investigated the effects of increasing the percentage of motorcycles to traffic flow using a stretch of road used by commuters driving into Brussels, which is one of Europe’s most congested cities. The research team evaluated traffic flow as well as air quality. Using sensors placed along the route, and meas

The redirective capabilities of the latest safety barrier systems can prevent deaths and serious injuries in the event of unforeseen incidents. Sudden tyre failures can be particularly risky with regard to heavy trucks travelling at high speeds on highways. However effective barrier selection can ensure cross-over crashes are avoided, reducing the risk of crashes causing catastrophic deaths and injuries, as this video from the UK reveals.

An improvement in road safety has been revealed in the Czech Republic. Data from the Czech Transport Ministry shows that the country’s road death toll dropped by 12% for 2013 compared with the previous year. There were 583 road deaths within 24 hours of road crashes in the country during 2013, with 654 deaths within 30 days of a crash. On average 63 people/million are killed in road crashes in the Czech Republic, which is higher than the EU average of 52 deaths/million of population.. This places the Czech

Spanish contractor Ferrovial is commencing work on a new highway in Saudi Arabia in partnership with local firm Al Fahd Contracting. The project is for the construction of a 10km section of highway in Riyadh for client, ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA). The project is worth some US$197 million. Ferrovial subsidiary Ferrovial Agroman will work on this project alongside Al Fahd Contracting. The work includes building three intersections as well as installing traffic monitoring technology. In total, the pr

An analytical road video surveillance system will be introduced in Moscow by the end of 2014 in a bid to reduce accidents and improve emergency services’ response to them. The system will automatically detect road accidents, traffic jams, and dangerous situations on the roads, as well as report on emergency situations to operators, who will make decisions on further actions. It will also analyse data from some 2,500 surveillance cameras and some 15,000 city cameras with a recording function.

The state government of Maharashtra in west India is planning to build a 35km road between Kandivli and Nariman Point in the state's western suburban region. The US$1.33 billion (INR 80 billion) road is planned to have 18 access points and the state government might appoint BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to implement the project on a joint venture basis.

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has extended the deadline for submission of abstracts for the 2014 edition of the AFB20(2) Roadside Safety Design Conference until 30 June 2014. The Conference on 5 November 2014 at the CEN headquarters in Brussels, Belgium will be the perfect opportunity for road safety experts around the globe to gather and exchange information concerning the latest trends and developments in the area of passive safety and road safety design. Abstracts should be a maximum two pag

Specialist firms Bekaert and Maccaferri are establishing a partnership aimed at the tunneling market. The two companies will set up a global sales and distribution joint venture that will provide construction reinforcement solutions for underground infrastructure projects. Bekaert, is a market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coatings, while Maccaferri is a supplier of advanced solutions to the civil, geotechnical and environmental construction markets. The companies will set up the pa