News

Improvement work worth US$116 million will be carried out on Highway 59 in Texas. The 10.6km stretch being upgraded lies between San Jacinto County and Cleveland. The improvements will include provision for emergency hurricane evacuation, effectively allowing this section of road to meet Interstate standards.

A new plan by the Lithuanian Road Administration (LAKD) has been set out in a bid to revamp the nation’s roads. The plan will run until 2035 and includes rebuilding 400km of the country’s worst roads as a priority and unsurfaced roads will benefit from asphalt surfaces in a plan worth €1 billion. The Via Baltica route running from the Latvian border to the Polish border will be rebuilt in eight stages and is expected to cost €684 million. Improvements will also be carried out connecting capital Vilnius with

A loan will help pay for a new highway project in India’s Chhattisgarh State. The US$350 million loan is being provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In all the highway is expected to cost $521.7 million, with the remaining $171.7 million being provided by the Indian Government. The new highway is expected to boost trade and transport in the state.

Construction work on a major road bridge project is commencing in Germany. The new bridge will be located in the Upper Moselle area in Germany and is expected to cost €483 million. The bridge will carry the B50 route and its construction will improve transport connections with Belgium and the Netherlands. However the project has not been without controversy, not the least of which has been that it is being built in the Moselle Region, Germany’s major wine producing area. Although planned long ago, resistanc

Road safety improved in France during 2018, compared with 2017. There were 3,488 road fatalities recorded in France during 2018, a drop of 5.3% compared with the previous year. This comes in spite of a gradual increase in traffic volumes in France, up 7% from 2013 for example. The data comes from the official body, Sécurité Routière. According to Sécurité Routière, the reduction in speed limits on France’s secondary road network has had a key benefit to overall road safety. The highest risk roads in France

Road safety improved in France during 2018, compared with 2017. There were 3,488 road fatalities recorded in France during 2018, a drop of 5.3% compared with the previous year. This comes in spite of a gradual increase in traffic volumes in France, up 7% from 2013 for example. The data comes from the official body, Sécurité Routière. According to Sécurité Routière, the reduction in speed limits on France’s secondary road network has had a key benefit to overall road safety. The highest risk roads in France

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Works and Transports (MOPT) is planning 110 road improvement projects, with a total cost of US$144 million. Construction will start on the first 14 of these in July 2019, with the work being carried out by the contractor MECO. Funding for the work is being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in the shape of a loan. The tender processes for a further 10 projects are commencing, with tenders for an additional 18 projects due to commence in July 2019.

Mexico’s Quintana Roo State is to benefit from major expansion works to its transport infrastructure.

A new road connection is planned in Algeria that will connect the Eastern Motorway to the RN5 route.

A consortium made up of Cintra, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Macquarie Capital will build the new Silvertown Tunnel under the River Thames in the UK. The new tunnel is expected to cost £1 billion to construct. The tunnel will link the Greenwich Peninsula on the southern side of the Thames with Silvertown on the northern side. Construction of this new link will help reduce congestion on the existing Blackwall Tunnel, which is notorious for lengthy traffic delays at present. When the tunnel opens, it wil

A joint venture team has been awarded the US$1.7 billion I-635 LBJ East infrastructure project in Dallas, Texas. Fluor Corporation heads the joint venture, which also includes Balfour Beatty Infrastructure. The partners will carry out the contract to design and construct the I-635 LBJ East Project in Dallas for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The scope of work includes the widening and full reconstruction of nearly 18km of the I-635 route, which is also known as LBJ Freeway. In addition, th

Argentina is looking to source a series of loans to pay for six important road projects. The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is in discussions with officials in the country over the loans package, worth a total of US$200 million. The funding would be used for six PPP road projects. Other financing worth $900 million is also being secured for the six road projects, with some of the construction work already underway.

Both Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi in Vietnam are to benefit from new transport infrastructure. For HCMC, as much as $39.6 billion will be required to deliver all of the 85 transport infrastructure projects being planned. Severe congestion and flooding are frequent problems causing major traffic hold-ups. Of the 85 transport projects needed for the city, 15 are for the construction of new roads while 55 are for road/bridge works. A further eight are for rail links and seven for waterways. Meanwhile in

Progress is being made for Colombia’s Toyo Tunnel project. Around 20% of the work has been carried out. Building the tunnel and the first stage of the connecting highway sections in Antioquia includes the construction of 17 bridges, seven tunnel sections and 4.4km of road. Tendering for the second stage of the project is due to start soon and will include building a further 19.4km of highway. The Toyo Tunnel project and the entire highway was originally expected to cost US$603.5 million but is now expected