Road Structures

A new programme of road development in Moscow will see around 500km of roads being built by 2023. In addition, the programme will see work on 100 transport infrastructure projects and 50 pedestrian crossings. This will continue the programme that has seen around 100km of roads being built in Moscow each year since 2015. The plans have seen an increase in road works. During 2018, 127km of roads were built.

In the Philippines, a proposal has been made for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) to be extended. The US$441.6 million project is for a 59.4km extension to the TPLEx route. The proposal has been put forward by San Miguel Corp (SMC). The highway extension would help improve transportation to the north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The work would extend the route to San Juan from Rosario. The work would be carried out in three stages, with one 18.4km section between San Juan and

Plans are now being drawn up in India for the new Ganga River bridge crossing project. Costing US$395.3 million, the project has now been given the necessary approval by India’s prime minister. Construction is expected to take 40 months once work is underway, with completion due in 2023. The main bridge will measure 5,634m however the work includes building a 1,580m viaduct, 13 interchanges, four smaller bridges and a 110m flyover. It also includes four vehicular underpasses and a rail over bridge.

Major highway and bridge contracts have been awarded in California. The work will be carried out by Granite Construction. The firm will work on the US$113 million Cosumnes Bridge Replacement Project in Sacramento County. The company will also carry out the $410 million Highway 101 Carpinteria to Santa Barbara Project. This last involves upgrading a 17.4km stretch of the route, installing HOV lanes between Santa Barbara and Carpinteria. The company will remove a railway underpass and will replace four existi

A series of road improvements are to be carried out in New Zealand to help boost road safety. The New Zealand Government has identified 870km of roads that suffer high crash rates and which are in need of safety upgrades. A budget of US$901.5 million (NZ$1.4 billion) has been set for the work, which should be complete by 2021. Rumble strips, guard rail and shoulder widening are planned to be carried out.

Uncomfortable questions are being asked about Australia’s WestConnex toll road project. An inquiry carried out by the New South Wales Parliament says that the transparency of the US$11.85 billion (A$16.8 billion) project has not been satisfactory. Questions have been asked about the operation of the Sydney Motorway Corporation, with regard to its accountability and disclosure methods. Questions have also been asked about the cost of the new highway stretch linking with Sydney’s international airport. The 3

Norway’s Public Roads Administration is looking to boost highway construction in the country. Previously only routes carrying more than 12,000 vehicles/day would be considered for upgrade to highway status. However a new report from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration is looking to upgrade roads carrying traffic loads of 6,000-12,000 vehicles/day to highway status also. This could result in an additional 1,110km of roads being upgraded to highway status. These would feature two lanes in either directi

In Australia a contract worth US$2.75 billion (A$3.9 billion) has been awarded to a consortium made up of John Holland and CPB Contractors. The design build deal includes constructing an interchange as well as a 1km stretch of tunnel that will connect with the Iron Cove Bridge. The contract is due for completion by 2023 and forms part of the WestConnex toll road project. Building the Rozelle interchange will be complex as the work will include construction three levels of tunnels as well as a connection to

A design by Italian architect, Renzo Piano, has been selected to replace the Morandi Bridge in Genoa. The new bridge design was submitted to the authorities in Genoa as a proposal in September. Piano is said to be Italy’s most famous living architect and is originally from the city of Genoa himself. The new structure will be built largely from steel and Piano claims that it will be able to last 1,000 years. The new bridge will be built by a consortium comprising the Italian contractors, Salini Impregi