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Consultant AECOM is now working with Highways England on improvements to the busy A303 in the UK. The road upgrades will be carried out between Amesbury and Berwick South Down along a 13km section of the A303 route. AECOM will work with its supply chain partners Mace and Mouchel on the project. As the current alignment for the A303 passes just 165m from the Stonehenge World Heritage site (WHS), there is a strong need to redevelop the route so that it causes less harm to this important archaeological area. T

A new road tunnel project is planned for the city of Melbourne in Australia. Construction is set to commence in 2018 and will take until 2022 to complete. The work will be carried out by a joint venture comprising CPB Contractors, the Australian subsidiary of German contractor Hochtief, and engineering firm John Holland. The new West Gate Road Tunnel project will help cut congestion in the city at peak periods. In addition to the tunnel construction the project also includes widening the existing West Gate

Work on the new North-South Highway in Vietnam is now underway, with preparatory work having commenced in 2016 and construction scheduled for completion in 2020. The project is being carried out under the PPP model, with initial funding being provided by a system of Government Bonds. The project is expected to cost US$2.43 billion to complete. The tender process for the design phase of the project is now opening, while a pre-feasibility study has yet to be carried out. The project is being overseen by Vietn

The cost of a major highway project being carried out in Bangladesh has been reduced significantly. The 192km highway connecting capital Dhaka with Chittagong will now cost US$427.8 million, instead of the $$475.1 million originally expected. Reductions in the costs of materials have helped lower the overall pricetag for the project, while the fact that the work has remained within schedule means there has been no need for the contingency funds that were forecast. The highway is expected to open to traffic

Plans have finally been revealed for the new Lower Thames Crossing, situated to the east of UK capital London.

The 2017 TISPOL International Road Safety Conference will be taking place on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th October at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Manchester Airport in the UK. The event will offer attendees the chance to hear some of the latest thinking in the field of casualty reduction, deterrent, post-collision response, enforcement and protection of vulnerable roadusers. Attendees will be able to network with police officers, policymakers, practitioners and equipment manufacturers from around the world. The

Tearing down the old steel truss cantilever Champlain Bridge in Montreal could cost around US$300 million, according to preliminary estimates by a federal government agency. Also, until the nearby new Champlain Bridge is finished, it will cost US$93 million annually to maintain the old one, according to Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), the federal Canadian agency that oversees several major road infrastructure assets in the city. Dismantling will start in 2019 at the earliest and

Three contracts in Angola are now commencing, which will improve road and bridge links in the country. The three projects will be carried out by two Portuguese contractors, which agreed the deals with the Angolan Government. Conduril will build a bridge in a deal worth US$110 million in the northern Zaire Province. Meanwhile Talhabel has a contract worth $28.73 million to upgrade the road 230 in the stretch between Muriege and Chiluage, which is close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

South Korea’s road safety is improving steadily. In 2016 the country’s road death rate was 7.1% lower at 4.292 than for the previous year. Tougher enforcement is being used to reduce the road death toll further. New infrastructure is also being introduced to help protect vulnerable road users. For 2017 the country hopes to bring the road death toll below 4,000 for the first time in many years.

The new bridge that will connect Myanmar with Thailand is expected to open to traffic in 2019. The link will be called the second Friendship Bridge and will provide a connection from Mae Sot district in Thailand’s Tak province with the town of Myawaddy in Myanmar. The new bridge will form part of the Mae-Sot Bypass Road. The link will run from Highway No 12, cross the Moei/Thaungyin River at Ban Wang Takien in Mae-Sot district to link with Myawaddy. The bridge is intended to help boost, trade and tourism be

A new tunnel in the Moroccan city of Casablanca is being built in a bid to reduce congestion. The project will cost around US$81.65 million and includes building a 1.9km tunnel stretch as well as 2.3km of access roads. Preparation work commenced at the start of 2017, with tunnelling due to start shortly. The new Les Almohades tunnel will help cut Casablanca’s chronic congestion, a key issue during peak travel periods.

Road projects in Brazil could see extended deadlines. This move follows on from the impeachment of the former president. Several roads were privatised under the previous administration, with widening and general upgrade works having been required as integral components of the concession packages. The agreements settled with the former administration called for the road widening and improvement works to be carried out in a five year period. But these five year deadlines may be amended once comprehensive revi