News

TISPOL general secretary Ian Hamill has died. A spokesperson for the European traffic police network organisation said that Hamill died suddenly in London on Thursday 20 March 2014. The spokesperson added, “Each and every one of his colleagues grieves at the passing of a tremendous individual and a dedicated professional. We offer deepest condolences to Ian's family. We have lost a dear friend and a much valued and inspiring colleague who has steered TISPOL with such energy and commitment.

The Canadian province of Saskatchewan has set one of the biggest highways budgets in its history for the 2014 fiscal year. The budget of US$591.11 million (CAD 664.5 million) represents an almost CAD 90mn ($80.06 million) rise from last year's total. In 2014, the trucking industry is likely to see several highway upgrades with enhancements to culverts and bridges. The Highway 39 and Highway 7 is also planned to be twinned from Saskatoon to Delisle. Also, some highways are planned to be changed to Supergrid

Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) has been awarded a US$1.7 billion contract to design and build a new orbital highway and truck route near Doha. Under the Qatar public works authority-awarded contract, HLG and joint venture partner Al Jaber Engineering will look to complete the design and construction works in around 36 months. The project will involve five main interchanges and 56km of road works.

Work has begun on Section II of Indonesia’s Cinere-Jagorawi Toll Road. The 5.5km route is costing US$210.25 million (IDR 2.4 trillion) and Section II will have a length of 5.5km. The project by Translingkar Kita Jaya is earmarked for completion in February 2016.

Brazil's São Paulo state is due to call a tender by March 28 2014 to concession its Tamoios highway, a government official is reported to have told regional media. "Governor Geraldo Alckmin will be officially announcing the launch of the tender next week [Mar 24-28]," the official said last week without giving further details. Budgeted at US$1.61 billion (BRL 3.74 billion), the concession involves operating and maintaining the Planalto and Serra stretches of the Tamoios highway, also known as SP-99, which

The Ministry of Transport and Public Works in Ecuador (MTOP) has announced that a Chinese loan of US$367 million will fund the restoration of the Catamayo-Gonzanama-Sozoranga-Macara and Celica-Cruzpamba-Y del Muerto roads.

The best option for a bridge or tunnel to connect the Taman Peninsula in Russia with the Crimea Peninsula across the Kerch Strait will be chosen by the end of 2014. According to Russia's Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov, the feasibility study will focus on several options, including a road bridge, a road-rail bridge and a tunnel project. According to Deputy Transport Minister Sergey Aristov, the construction cost estimated at US$3 billion is within the agreed budget. It may be implemented via a public-pri

CEA (Construction Equipment Association) chief executive Rob Oliver has described this week as a “good week for the [UK] Construction Industry” - after hearing Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s budget speech. “Last year the CEA lobbied for special funding for road repairs – the £200 million (€238.66 million) ‘pothole’ fund is, therefore, helpful,” said Oliver. He continued, “Of potentially more significance is the doubling of the annual investment allowance to £500,000 (€596,673) until the end

Volvo Construction Equipment has carried out the official opening for its new technology centre in Jinan, China. The 50,000m2 facility is located in China’s Shangdong Province, China and will focus on developing products and components for customers in emerging markets. The centre combines design offices with workshops and facilities for testing both complete machines and components. Currently there are more than 150 employees working at the facility, the majority of which are local engineers, but employee

Slovak national motorway company NDS plans to start the reconstruction and modernisation of the D1 motorway section between Bratislava and Trnava in H2 2014. As part of the near €150 million project, the current six-lane motorway will be extended by adding an emergency lane. The building works are expected to last 24 months and will include demolition and reconstruction of some of the existing road bridges, as well as construction of new ones. The motorway lanes will be extended from the current 3.5m to 3.