News

Chicago Pneumatic (CP) has unveiled its comprehensive new concrete equipment range. In applications from walls to floor slabs, the range has products to cover every step of the job, from vibration and levelling to finishing and cutting. Freshly poured concrete has air voids which must be removed by vibration to increase its density and finished strength. Depending on the concrete’s depth and slump, this can be achieved using a poker or screed. Customers can now choose mechanical, electric or pneumatic p

The tender process is underway for the third section of Colombia’s Pacific route connecting La Pintada and La Felisa. This route forms part of the Autopistas de la Prosperidad project between Medellin and Buenaventura. The 231km section includes 26 bridges and three tunnels and will cost some US$621.4 million to construct. All three sections plus the Magdalena and Norte highway will be awarded by July 2014 with works due to begin in 2015. The highway stretches should all be finished in 2020. For the first s

The authorities in the UAE have released data showing that over the past 15 years, at least 224 people were killed in crashes involving mini-vans, buses and trucks on the country’s roads. For the most part the fatalities involved workers going to, or coming back from, work and on stretches of major highways with speed limits of 100km/h. The deaths averaged 14/year. Records show the crashes were due to largely to reckless driving by the drivers of the heavy vehicles.

The European Road Federation (ERF) is planning a symposium, ‘The Future Road Infrastructure Challenges’ to be held in Brussels on June 18th. Topics to be covered will include future plans for infrastructure investment, sustainability, intelligent transport systems, financing and innovation. The event will be held at the Hotel Thon and a high number of industry attendees is expected, with a number of firms also exhibiting in an area within the hotel’s conference centre. The ERF says that the event is aimed a

Work is commencing to repair and upgrade Mozambique’s National Road 6 in Sofala Province. The work will take three years to complete and will cost some US$400 million. The project is being carried out by Chinese contractor Anhui Foreign Economic Construction. The upgrades include widening the route, with the stretch between Dondo and Beira being a focus for improvement. The project also includes repairing a number of existing bridges and building several new bridges. Once the upgrade is complete, the route

A study into new technologies by The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) in the US reveals that advanced video systems could cut crashes. VTTI’s report analysed collisions involving heavy trucks and buses and found that Lytx’s video-based driver safety system could save lives and reduce injuries. The study concluded that heavy trucks and buses using the DriveCam powered by Lytx Program could reduce fatalities, collisions and injuries. “If driver behavior is the primary reason for traffic crashes,

A study from the US focussing on driving impairment from alcohol reveals results of major concern. According to the results, even drivers who are minimally impaired are more often to blame for fatal car crashes than the sober drivers they collide with. The study analysed data from crashes in the US and was led by UC San Diego sociologist David Phillips. The results were published in the British Medical Journal group’s Injury Prevention. In all the study examined 570,731 fatal collisions, from 1994 to 2011.T

The UK is to introduce tougher sentences for serious driving offences. This will focus on those repeat offenders who are driving while disqualified and cause deaths or serious injuries to others. The move comes in the wake of several campaigns on behalf of victims of bad drivers. Disqualified drivers will face a maximum of 10 years for those who kill and four years for those who cause serious injuries. The current maximum sentence is only two years for a death, while there is no specific offence for causing

Chilean construction organisation CChC has published a study saying the country needs to spend some US$12.5 billion on road upgrades and construction over the next 10 years. This is because the country’s vehicle numbers are increasing, according to Business News Americas. The report says that Chile needs to expand its road network by 12,500km to 90,000km by 2023 to keep pace with the growing volume of traffic. Some 4,000km of the proposed new road should be highway or toll road, according to the study. To r

The Humber Bridge Board in the UK is set to deploy an automatic tolling system at the famous structure near Kingston upon Hull in northern England from the autumn of 2014 to the spring of 2015. The number of manual payment toll booths is being reduced to three from six to accommodate two free-flow lanes and automatic tolling infrastructure. The updated booths are anticipated to be operational in June 2014 or early July 2014. Until the installation of the automated system is complete, the toll booths will co