Road Structures

A controlled explosion demolished the eastern span of the old cantilever Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River near New York City. The bridge, nearly 5km long, was opened in 1955 to carry traffic between the southern New England area and other regions west of the Hudson. Around 140,000 vehicles used the bridge daily. But the old bridge had deteriorated substantially and would have been too expensive to maintain or keep open for lighter traffic use. It became redundant after the new bridge of the

A pre-feasibility study is being planned for Vietnam’s Hoa Binh-Moc Chau Expressway project. Construction of the expressway is expected to cost US$857.4 million, with the work being handled under the PPP model. The 85km is planned to feature two lanes in either direction. Construction of the expressway is expected to reduce journey times between Hanoi and Son La, close to the border with Laos, from six hours at present, to just 2.5 hours in the future.

the Santiago Nueva Pudahuel International airport development is benefiting from the proximity of Liebherr’s branch location in Chile. At the moment, 18 of the 23 Liebherr tower cranes are in operation on the large-scale construction site. Of the machines in use, three are high-top models and 15 are flat-top types. The airport in Santiago de Chile is expanding its position as a key hub airport for South America. The operators are extending the site to 265,000m² and have commissioned the construction of a

A crane firm in Ecuador, Transportes Noroccidental, has added four new Terex RT 100US rough terrain cranes to its fleet. Transportes Noroccidental chose this particular model because of the Terex RT 100US crane’s high performance, as well as its ability to cope with the tough terrain in which the firm’s machines frequently have to operate. “We own several Terex crane models and are happy with the performance and durability of these machines,” explained Edgar Fabian Andrade, CEO of Transportes Norocciden

A new cable-stayed bridge is being built in China’s Jiangsu Province. The 1,176m-long bridge will span the Yangtze River. The bridge is featuring an innovative design and its construction will utilise new technologies and novel use of materials. The bridge itself forms part of a 5.3km-long crossing over the river. This crossing will include a road crossing on its upper level with multiple lanes and a rail crossing with several tracks on its lower level.

Road widening work is being planned for Sydney, New South Wales in Australia. The project encompasses widening a 3km stretch of Prospect Highway to four lanes and a 2.2km section of Memorial Avenue to four lanes also. Both sections features just two lanes at present and the work is expected to cost US$211.6 million (A$300 million). The tendering process is due to commence shortly, with construction planned to start in late 2019. The work will include building new bridges over the M4 Highway and Great Wester

A UK-based steel sheet-piling contractor, Sheet Piling, is now using a TM 12/15 LR rig from the German ABI Group for motorway projects such as the widening of existing earthworks. This is said to be the world’s first long-reach telescopic leader rig, which is claimed will revolutionise sheet piling operations. The highly advanced vibratory installation rig features a maximum horizontal reach of 8.1m, measured from the centre of its cab’s body to the pile-driving position. This is said to be 3m further t

Machines from Liebherr have been brought in to carry out a piling job in Colombia in tough conditions. The road network between Mosquera and Balsillas is being upgraded at a cost of some US$199.15 million. Mosquera lies on the outskirts of the capital, Bogotá, while Balsillas is to the south-west and close to the borders with Ecuador and Peru. Work started on the project to improve the 230km route in January 2016 and is expected to take until December 2021 to complete. One of the contractors involved in th