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Austria is to invest €1 billion in its road network in 2014, with a further €1.3 billion investment in 2015 funded by drivers and the transport industry. Of these sums, 60% will be spent on new construction projects, while 40% will be used for maintenance works.

One of Poland’s major highway projects is now progressing on track, with regular shipments of asphalt proving crucial. The major Polish oil and petrol company, Lotos, is playing a key role in material supplies for the country’s A1 highway project. Subsidiary firm Lotos Asfalt has supplied some 50,000tonnes of asphalt for work on the Torun to Kowal stretch of the A1 highway. Lotos Asfalt also had an exclusive asphalt supply contract for the 19km stretch of the A1 highway from Wloclawek to Kowal, which was re

A major innovation for California will be the wider availability of hydrogen as a ‘green’ fuel source for motor vehicles. Plans are in hand with the establishment of FirstElement Fuel, a retail hydrogen fuelling start-up business, being part-funded by automotive giant Toyota Motor. FirstElement Fuel is headed by former marketing chief of General Motors Joel Ewanick and is receiving US$7.2 million of funding from Toyota. The funding from Toyota will help with construction of hydrogen fuel stations through th

A consortium has won a key construction and concession contract in Russia for a stretch of the Moscow-St Petersburg highway. The construction consortium comprises contractor Vinci and Russian Bank VTB. The deal involves around US$1.7 billion of public financing for the construction phase and some $983 million for operation for the period of the contract. The concession package involves construction of the highway section, as well as operation for a 24 year period. The construction work will be carried out b

Italian civil engineering group Astaldi is expecting to obtain a €1.7 billion contract from Russia that would see them build a 140km stretch of the Moscow-St Petersburg motorway. Astaldi chairman Paolo Astaldi said that the deal for lots seven and eight of the motorway is “probable”. Astaldi is in a consortium with Turkish partner Ictas, with which it has already banked deals in Russia. The contract will be awarded by the motorway concessionaires, VTB and Vinci.

The Peruvian government has announced that the US$182 million construction of a road to link Tacna (Peru) with La Paz (Bolivia), via Collpa, will begin in 2015. This new road will benefit more than 268,000 people living in the south of Peru.

Road transport pressure groups in Switzerland have criticised the Government's draft report on NAF, a national-road and agglomeration fund. While they are in favour of the general idea of the fund and its purpose, they reject details, like the plan for raising the mineral oil tax by either CHF 0.12 (€0.10) or CHF 0.15. They pointed to their initiative for making all funds generated with the mineral oil tax available to transport projects. The groups say that parliament and the people should decide on NAF an

The German state should prioritise road maintenance over the construction of new roads, according to Christian Ahrendt, vice president of the German audit office. Ahrendt said that the government should distribute its funding for road works ‘correctly’ before it considers creating additional income for infrastructure.

There could be up to 25,000 incomplete roadworks across the UK, according to breakdown recovery firm LV Road Rescue. The estimated figure equates to around 3,862kms of roadworks. Local authorities are spending €800 million (£647 million) on roadworks. In a separate survey, two-thirds of UK motorists believe the quality of roads in their local area is getting worse and more than a third (37%) said roadworks are not completed quickly enough. It is said the road repairs backlog is around €12.78 billion (£10.5

Paraguay's Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) has requested a US$289.45 million donation from the Mercosur Structural Convergence Fund (Focem) for the second stage of the Costanera road project (Costanera II) and a second bridge connecting the country to Brazil. Of this total, around $117.44 million will be allocated to works on Costanera II. This is higher than the initial estimate of $100 million, with 60% covered by Focem and 40% financed by a local counterpart. The bridge, which will req

Research carried out in Spain highlights tyre problems as being the cause of a significant number of crashes. The study was carried out jointly by Spanish automobile club, RACE, and tyre manufacturer Goodyear. The results of the study estimate close to 824,000 private vehicles in Spain feature tyres that are in a condition described as ‘deficient’. Analysis of crash data carried out by RACE also shows that tyre problems were the cause of 34% of crashes in Spain in 2013. Worryingly, this represents an increa

Mexico’s national infrastructure programme, PNI, is helping to extend the country’s highway network and improve connectivity. In the period from 2014-2018, a total of 2,772km of new Federal Highways will be opened to traffic. There will be 46 new highways completed in this period. Key projects include the Mexico-Tuxpan, Oaxaca-Istmo, Tuxpan-Tampico, Atizapan-Atlacomulco and Cardel-Poza Rica highways. Five of the 46 highways planned are already complete, while 27 are under construction and tenders are being

A trial of dynamic electric vehicle charging technology is to be carried out in the UK. The Highways Agency is to test on-road charging systems that will provide significant range extension capabilities for electric vehicles. Equipment installed below the road surface will generate electromagnetic fields, recharging vehicles as they are driven. Tests of both dynamic and semi-dynamic charging technologies are planned, although the dates and locations of the trials have not as yet been disclosed. One of the t

UK equipment manufacturer JCB is bullish and reports strong sales, despite difficult trading conditions. The company claims that its sales for 2013 are the third highest it has achieved, since the firm was established 68 years ago. Earnings stood at €383.7 million on an EBITDA basis, compared with €447.4 million for 2012. Meanwhile turnover reached €3.28 billion, close to the €3.31 billion achieved for 2012 and machine unit sales stood hit 66,227, compared with 69,250 for the previous year. JCB Chairman Lor