Road Structures

ULMA has taken part in construction Ireland’s New Ross, the longest extradosed bridge in the world. The €230 million project includes a 14km dual carriageway and a three-tower 900m-long extrados bridge over the Barrow River between Pink Point and Strokestown – to be open in early 2020 – that bypasses the town of New Ross. The extradosed bridge is characterised by its cables set at lower angles, meaning that pylons are shorter in relation to deck span lengths. ULMA was responsible for the transverse s

A series of improvement works are being carried out in various parts of Florida, in a bid to improve traffic flow. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is starting work to widen the 11km stretch of Florida Turnpike between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Lake Worth Road. This project will see the highway stretch being widened so that it boosts capacity, with the Hypoluxo Bridge also having to be rebuilt accordingly. The projected cost is US$168 million and the work is intended to cut congestion at peak

Highways England in the UK is carrying out major upgrade work for the busy M4 motorway, running west from capital London. In all 11 bridges are being replaced along a 51km stretch of the M4 between London and Reading. When complete, the current hard shoulder will have been rebuilt and resurfaced to allow traffic to use it as a live lane. The section carrying the heaviest traffic, between the M25 ring road around London and the main exit for Heathrow Airport, will be widened so that it will feature five la

The Manila-Cavite Expressway could be extended following a new proposal from Cavitex Infrastructure. This would see the route being lengthened from Kawit to connect with Tanza, running through Noveleta and Sanglely. Building Segment 5 of this route would cost an estimated US$553 million. Should the proposal get the go ahead from the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), the construction work would commence in 2021.

Eastern Russia holds considerable potential for the development of transport infrastructure projects.

Design issues were the cause of problems with Chile’s Cau Cau bridge, not construction.

Mexico has a serious problem with regard to the condition of thousands of bridges in the country. According to Mexico’s general road maintenance authority (DGCC), 2014 bridges in the country are in a very poor condition. A further 3,673 bridges require attention and just 38% of the nation’s vehicle bridges are considered in suitable condition. More worryingly still, local authorities have generally only carried out visual inspection work of existing bridges to assess their condition. Proper structural stu

Key bridge links are benefiting from major upgrade works in Romania’s capital, Bucharest. Work on the Ciurel Bridge is now coming close to completion. The work is costing €470 million. This work has taken 12 years to complete. The work forms part of a wider plan to upgrade bridges in Bucharest. Other bridges being upgraded are the Eroilor, Opera and Timpuri Noi, spanning the Dambovita River. The bridge improvements should be completed during 2020.