News

Spanish firm OHL is investing heavily in developing its business operations in Mexico. The firm’s Mexican subsidiary, OHL México, is looking to invest as much as US$1.5 billion in new concessions over the next two years, according to a report from Business News Americas. The firm is keen to win new toll road concessions in Mexico, such as the coming Atizapán-Atlacomulco highway tender. OHL México currently has a stake in the Supervía Poetas tollroad in Mexico City as well as a series of tollroad concessions

Industry associations and manufacturers have reached an agreement on telematics data. A large group off heavy equipment manufacturers, fleet managers and two leading industry associations have agreed on unified communications for telematics.

The European Construction Equipment Committee, CECE, has broadened its portfolio with the formation of a new body. It has recently established a new product group for hydraulic attachment tools. The body serves as a communication and information platform for companies operating in this business segment, including companies such as Arden Equipment, Atlas Copco, Caterpillar, FRD, Indeco, Montabert, NPK, Okada, Sandvik, Simex, Socomec, Soosan, Tabe, Toku and VTN. The product group is chaired by Torsten Ahr,

Drivers on a busy route in the US city of Fort Lauderdale had an unwelcome surprise when a building was demolished just a short distance away. The structure was brought crashing down just 23m from the busy A1A road link. The local authorities however had provided no warning that the demolition work would occur. A change in the work methods used resulted in the old Howard Johnson hotel being quickly demolished, generating a large cloud of dust that obscured visibility for drivers on the route. Both drivers a

The final phase of the Nebraska Bridge demolition has now been carried out successfully. The work went according to plan, despite low temperature conditions and a blizzard on the night before the planned blast. The poor weather did not prevent this last phase of the bridge demolition, located at Rulo in Nebraska. In spite of temperatures well below freezing, the charges placed in the final section of the bridge were detonated and the structure fell into the Missouri River.

Isolux has won a contract to construct and exploit a 34km stretch of highway between Bloomington and Martinsville on Interstate 69 (section 5), which crosses Indiana state in the US. The company becomes the fourth Spanish infrastructure group to have a presence in the US highway market. The exploitation of the highway will be for 35 years, under the terms of the deal, which will involve an investment of around US$325 million. Isolux had been competing against three offers from the infrastructure funds Meri

Leighton Asia, India and Offshore has secured a contract worth US$408.14 million to construct the tunnel buildings, systems and fitting out works associated with the Central - Wanchai Bypass (CWB) tunnel in Hong Kong. This is the third project to be awarded to Leighton on the Central - Wanchai Bypass (CWB) project by the HKSAR's Highways Department, following the award of the 2010 contract for the construction of the Central Interchange and the Central Reclamation Phase III in 2009.

Papua New Guinea will receive an extra US$126.5 million from the World Bank (WB) via its international development association to rehabilitate and maintain the nation’s roads, particularly in coastal provinces. Another $30.5 million is to be provided by the Papua New Guinea government to supplement the projects of the Works Department. The 50km East Coast road in Milne Bay will be upgraded first, with other roads to be identified later. The project covers paid employment for communities who are keen on roa

FTA Ireland (FTAI) says it would like to see proposed new national traffic laws matched with an increased resource for roadside enforcement by the Gardai. The response from the FTAI follows the announcement of The Road Traffic No.2 Act 2013, (introduced to improve safety levels on Irish roads) outlined by minister for transport, tourism and sport Leo Varadkar. The new traffic laws will include roadside impairment tests for drug driving; higher penalty points for speeding, mobile phone use and not wearin

A total of €13 billion has been secured for investments in Serbian road and other infrastructure projects, according to Serbia’s president and minister of transport, Velimir Ilic. President Ilic said that the funding will be used for construction of the road Corridor 11, between Belgrade and Pozega, the continuation of works between Pozega to Boljare in Montenegro, and the connection of Valjevo with Corridor 11, including further works through Ljubovija and Bratunac. He also said that the multi-million eur

The VDMA has given an optimistic 2014 performance forecast for the German construction equipment and building material machinery industry. Compared to the previous year, industry turnover declined slightly in 2013 by 6% to €11.7 billion. But incoming orders for construction equipment are said by the VDMA to have risen by 7% in 2013, compared to 2012. The VDMA predicts a 5% turnover rise in 2014, compared to the previous 12 months. “We can look back on a satisfactory business year overall; given all the

UK drivers are being urged to take a break and enjoy their food away from their vehicles, as road safety charity Brake and Direct Line reveal more than six in ten (62%) have eaten at the wheel in the past year. Further alarming figures revealed that three in ten (29%) unwrapped food themselves at the wheel - a telling symptom, says Brake and Direct Line, of busy lifestyles putting lives at risk. Studies have suggested eating a meal at the wheel increases your risk of a devastating crash as much as talking

The provincial council for Vizcaya in the Basque Country, northern Spain, has, via the company Interbiak, tendered the construction of the Ermua bypass, aimed at easing traffic on the busy N-634. The tender budget is €89.35 million and work is scheduled to start in summer 2014, with a scheduled completion date in 2017. The new road stretch is expected to be used daily by 9,000-12,000 vehicles. Part of the road will be a tunnel and part will be overground, creating two contracts in the tender.