News

Construction of the second tube of the Karawanks Tunnel connecting Austria and Slovenia is now going ahead. The work will be headed by Austrian contractors, ARGE Swietelsky Tunnelbau and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft. The 7.8km-long tunnel route runs under the Alpine Karawanks mountain range. The Austrian motorway operator Asfinag is investing around €168 million into the project, while the European Commission is providing €25 million. The work being carried out will include building new rescue routes as wel

Funding from Japan will help pay for a major tunnel project in Nepal. The work is expected to cost close to US$200 million and includes building two tunnel stretches. The project was first put forward in 2010 and work is now intended to commence in 2020, with its completion scheduled for 2023. The tunnel sections will be built in the area close to Bhaktapur, which lies to the east of capital Kathmandu. Once the links are complete this is expected to reduce traffic congestion to the eastern side of Kathmandu

Work is now starting on a new highway widening project in Azerbaijan.

Approval has been given for 10 key road projects in Vietnam. A portion of the funding required will be sourced via an allotted budget for the 2016-2020 period. The budget is for some US$643.7 million, although this also includes funding for four rail projects as well as the 10 key road projects. The approval has come from Vietnam's National Assembly Standing Committee. One of the priority road projects is for the road connection between the Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway and the Cau Gie-Ninh Binh Expressway.

Munich-based Wacker Neuson is reporting a substantial increase in revenue and profitability for the first six months of 2018. According to the firm’s latest results, revenue is at a record high and there has been a marked improvement in profit before interest and tax. However bottlenecks among suppliers as well as currency developments have had a dampening effect on the results. Revenue for the first half of 2018 rose 8% to a new record high of €825 million, compared with €764 million for the same period i

A highly sophisticated software system is at the heart of a major boost to productivity and efficiency from contractor Tarmac. The firm is utilising the latest logistics software from Germany to improve its performance. The company is the first contractor in the UK to employ the BPO ASPHALT software developed by Volz Consulting in Germany. This advanced planning and real-time software technology can be utilised to optimise road construction logistics and boost productivity. The software allows Tarmac’s co

An event is being held in Brussels aimed at preventing road crashes and injuries for the safety of employees. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is holding the 8th Annual European PRAISE Conference, which will focus on work-related road safety. This is being run on the 17th October 2018 at the Renaissance Hotel, Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels. Using the road network is a necessary part of human activity. But this leads to an incredibly high level of injury and death. It is estimated that in E

Software specialist Bentley Systems has announced the finalists for its 2018 Awards Programme. The winners for the awards scheme will be selected and announced at Bentley’s Year in Infrastructure 2018 Conference, from October 15th-18th, being in London. The annual awards programme honours the work of Bentley users advancing infrastructure design, construction, and operations throughout the world. In all 12 independent jury panels of distinguished industry experts selected the 57 finalists from 420 nominati

Newly available data reveals that construction equipment sales are showing further growth in in the second quarter of 2018. The report reveals that retail sales of construction and earthmoving equipment in the UK market grew by 3.8% in the second quarter of 2018, compared with the same period in 2017. This is according to the UK equipment statistics exchange provided by data processing specialist Systematics International and run in partnership with the Construction Equipment Association (CEA). Th

Drivers using the M60 in the greater Manchester area now using the region’s first smart motorway, according to Highways England. The technology, which went line on July 31 on the final M60 section, includes electronic signs to guide drivers along at a variable but steady speed. Other technology includes an extra running lane in each direction along the M62 between junction 18 and junction 20 and CCTV cameras. The removal of narrow lanes and completion of the project will allow key sections of the M60

Highways England is trialling different speed limits through roadworks during different times in order to respond to drivers’ feedback. Highways England, the government-owned company responsible for modernising, maintaining and operating England’s motorways and major A roads, said it is acting on drivers’ frustration with roadworks. Speed through motorway roadworks could be increased depending on what day of the week they are travelling. The decision follows earlier trials to increase the speed l