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A study carried out by a researcher in the University of Nottingham reveals improving safety on British roads. The study focussed on data from England and Wales and shows that fatality levels in 2009 were 41% lower than in 1960. The study highlighted several key factors as having improved safety and reduced the death toll including the mandatory use of child seats and seat belts and car design changes, as well as specialist trauma centres and more rigid enforcement of drink-drive laws and speed limits. One

A new road link for Armenia will help improve the country’s connections to its neighbours and provide a through-route for transport. Around US$967 million will be required to build the North-South motor road, with the work set to commence in 2014. The Armenian Government will contribute $100 million while funding will also be provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Once the road is complete it will run through Armenia from the country’s borders with Iran and Geor

A road construction contract worth US$1.07 billion has been awarded to China Railway Construction in Nigeria. The Ministry of Delta Affairs of Nigeria awarded the package of works for Section V of the A121 East-West highway to China Civil Engineering Construction, a division of China Railway Construction. The work is expected to take five years to complete and includes design as well as construction. When it is complete, the A121 will connect Nigeria’s two main North-South highways. Its route runs from the

Only one consortium has submitted a technical bid in the tender for a project to build the Chacao bridge in Chile. The bridge will link Chiloe island with Chile’s mainland Los Lagos region. The Chilean government has earmarked a maximum project budget of US$740 million. The consortium that has submitted the technical bid, which would see the construction of a four-lane bridge, is made up of Hyundai of South Korea, Systra of France, Brazilian company OAS and Aas-Jakobsen of Norway. The consortium has

Regional authorities in Slovakia have been pointing out poor condition of the roads across the country and the absence of the €700 million plus they say is required for their repair. Eight self-governing regions manage around 14,000km of roads, of which some 4,000km are said to be in critical condition. Between 2009 and 2013 regions invested around €283 million into the maintenance and repairs of roads. However, officials of the Presov self-governing region estimate that a further €298 million is needed

Parsons has won an award for its work on the Caldecott Fourth Bore Project. The award comes from Roads & Bridges magazine as the top (US) road project of 2013. Parsons worked as prime consultant on the US$417 million tunnel project, working with Jacobs Associates. The project involved constructing a fourth bore through the Berkeley Hills, near Oakland, California. Parsons was responsible for preliminary engineering and the final design of the tunnel, the operations building, and two associated roadway proje

The French Association d'Automobilists is about to release a publication detailing its plans to improve road safety in the country. Copies will be distributed to senior officials including those at the Ministry of the Interior and also the French the Prime Minister. The publication reveals that some 30% of deaths on the road are linked to drink driving. One plan to tackle this is to have police patrolling popular night spots and another is to carry out more roadside breath tests and catch drink drivers. Acc

The authorities in Russia’s Urals Region are approving a programme that will see major investment in infrastructure. Some US$3.91 billion will be invested in roads as well as communications, and information technologies between the present and 2020. The transport plans will see 225.4km of roads being rebuilt and improved as well as works to repair and maintain 27 bridges. In addition major repairs will be carried out on both regional and rural roads. A novel part of the programme will be the development of

A new underwater tunnel being created in Istanbul, Turkey will dramatically reduce journey times between two sides of the mega city. The €957.34 million Avrasya Tunnel (Eurasia Tunnel) will connect Kazlicesme on the European side to Goztepe in the Anatolian side via a 15 minute car journey which currently takes around 100 minutes. Situated around 106 metres underwater, the Avrasya Tunnel will be the world's sixth biggest tunnel. It will be based on two storeys of two lanes each, and will be used by aroun

Almost US$500 million will be spent in the three years to 2017 on the electrification of public and private transport in Quebec, Canada. Of the overall programme fund, $11.5 million will be dedicated to develop a provincial car-sharing programme. Meanwhile, Quebec's rebate programme for the purchase of electric vehicles by private owners will be extended with an additional $62.34 million. Under the programme, the number of electric cars in Quebec is expected to rise to 12,500 by 2017, from the present f

In New Zealand, Westland District Council has established Westland Properties to manage a US$181.84 million (NZD 220 million) road project between Milford Sound and Haast. The new South Island road is expected to cover 110km-138km and close to 80km will be located in Southland district. Travelling time between Haast and Milford Sound will be reduced by four to five hours once the new road is completed.

Germany's Transport Ministry is considering the introduction of a vignette, a toll ticket for the use of the nation’s motorways. The plans would require all German and foreign passenger car drivers to buy a vignette for the use of German motorways. Such a vignette for one year could cost €100. The innovative proposal would provide for low-emission vehicles to be granted a discount on the price of the vignette. Owners of cars registered in Germany would be allowed to offset the vignette cost against the m

The 13th TRAFIC International Road Safety and Equipment Exhibition Fair in Madrid is said to have been a major success. Run recently by IFEMA at FERIA DE MADRID, the event attracted 110 exhibitors and 4,432 trade visitors according to the show organiser. In terms of trade visitor profile, 28% were from the various public administrations, 19% were from engineering and consultancy companies, and 6% from state security bodies. Most of the participating companies consulted agreed that although visitor numbers w