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Europe is seeing an improvement in road safety, but at a slower rate than hoped for. Official data shows that 25,250 people were killed in road crashes in the EU during 2017, a 2% drop from the figure recorded for 2016. Furthermore, road deaths have dropped just 3% in the last four years in the EU, with casualty reduction targets not being met. There are 32 countries listed in the PIN programme intended to cut road deaths and 22 of these nations did record improvements in road safety. Estonia managed to

In Panama work is being planned to upgrade the country’s stretch of the important Panamericana Highway. The upgrade will improve capacity and safety on the Panama stretch of the highway, which provides a key link through Central America, connecting South America with North America. Work on the Panama stretch of the Panamericana is expected to cost some US$543 million in all. The contract for the engineering services work will be carried out by Viaponte.

Australia’s New South Wales State is setting out its plan for future transport network development. Roads and highways remain a key priority for New South Wales, although development work will also encompass mass transit systems. However the State Government has made changes to the plans it set out for transport developments following feedback from residents in the areas being affected by the work. As a result, plans to build some road connections have been shelved and this includes work on a stretch of the

As pressure increases on the cost and availability of resources, investment in recycling technology continues to grow across the road building industry. To meet its full potential, a greater understanding is needed of material performance to allow the building of more resilient, sustainable and economic networks - *David Smith explains.

A new road safety drive in Europe is intended to cut casualties and crashes. The programme is being set up jointly in a bid to deliver zero traffic fatalities by 2050. The coalition includes the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA) and the association of national motoring organisations (FIA Region I). It also has support from the Dutch Bicycle and Automotive Industry Association (RAI Vereniging) and the Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB).

A serious problem with driving under the influence is now being seen in New Zealand. For the first time ever, drivers under the influence of drugs have been involved in a greater number of serious crashes than those under the influence of alcohol. As a result, more people were killed as a result of drug use than alcohol use in road crashes in New Zealand during 2017. This worrying fact highlights the problem with illicit drug use in New Zealand. The result of the research into road deaths has been revealed

The European Commission has approved €246 million towards construction of Romania’s Targu Mures-Campia Turzii section of the A 3motorway. The EC money for the 51km four-lane section is from the EC’s Cohesion Fund, according to a report by the Romania Journal. Bechtel was originally going to build most of the 603km A3 to connect Bucharest with the Transylvania region and the north-west part of the country. Work should have started by now but contractual issues with Bechtel hampered progress.

The European Commission has approved €165 million for expansion and upgrading of Croatia’s Istrian Y - Istarski Ipsilon - road network. The Istrian Y on the northern Istrian peninsula near Italy consists of a section of the A8 betweenb Matulji-Kanfanar and a section of the A9, from the Slovenian border-Kanfanar-Pula. The name is derived from the geographic layout of the highway network that takes the shape of the letter ‘Y’. The three stretches meet at the Kanfanar Interchange in south central Istria.

Kazakhstan is working on a major programme of road network development. The country will have an additional 4,500km of roads added to the network during 2018. Kazakhstan’s highway network will measure a total of 600km by the end of 2018 meanwhile. By the end of 2021, the plan is for Kazakhstan to have a network of some 10,000km of tolled roads, with 5,500km being built before 2020. At present Kazakhstan has just one 210km toll road connecting Astana with Buranbay.

Work is underway in Poland on the S1 dual carriageway that will connect the country with neighbouring Slovakia. The project is costing €1.17 billion and the new link should be ready for traffic in 2023. The tender process is underway for one of the sections at present with the bids being reviewed for the stretch linking Pryzbedza and Milowka.