Road Structures

The Northern Spire bridge in Sunderland, northern England, has beaten off stiff competition to win another national construction and engineering award. The Spire, which opened in August this year at a cost of €132 million, was named Project of the Year: Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure 2018 by the UK’s Association for Project Management. The award is the latest honour for Sunderland’s 105m-tall cable-stayed bridge which links Castletown on the north side of the River Wear with Pallion.

SDS says that its engineered treatment media Aqua-Xchange can be used in regulatory-compliant sustainable drainage systems - SuDS. Delivered to site in lightweight 1m³ bags, it can be deployed as stormwater treatment in highways drainage, as well as on other higher risk locations such as retail car parks, freight and logistics hubs. SDS claims that independent tests have shown its Aqua-Xchange removes 99% of dissolved copper and zinc, toxic metals identified by Highways England as priority pollutants

SDS says that its engineered treatment media Aqua-Xchange can be used in regulatory-compliant sustainable drainage systems - SuDS. Delivered to site in lightweight 1m³ bags, it can be deployed as stormwater treatment in highways drainage, as well as on other higher risk locations such as retail car parks, freight and logistics hubs. SDS claims that independent tests have shown its Aqua-Xchange removes 99% of dissolved copper and zinc, toxic metals identified by Highways England as priority pollutants

Piling specialist Soilmec says it is seeing strong sales for its highly advanced SC135 rig. Although this model is new to the market, the firm says it has already sold five of the units into China. In all nine machines have been supplied recently by Soilmec for work in China, with the equipment being utilised for building a new metro system in Guangzhou. The company is also looking to supply equipment for the planned new line for the Shanghai metro. With several metro lines already running underneath the c

Bauer is offering new piling rigs, including models developed for the Chinese market needs. According to general manager Michael Minsky, the new GB80S is an improved version of the earlier GB60 model. He said “We did an upgrade and made it stronger and more productive.” The BCS40 is built specifically for the Chinese market. Although sharing the same build quality as the premium machines, it comes with fewer options and is priced to compete on closer levels to locally made equipment. The base of the machin

Italian attachments specialist Simex reports a strong demand in China for its novel TFV units. Designed for such duties as pile preparation, the three model range is said to be highly productive and well suited to Chinese market needs. These units are used for scarifying the top of a newly installed pile, allowing it to bond more effectively to the structure that is subsequently erected on top. With China’s construction sector featuring the placement of vast quantities of piles to support new structures, t

Soilmec has developed new technology for its new generation of piling equipment. Now being unveiled, the latest version of the SC135 piling rig benefits from advanced electronics and hydraulics. The new systems are said to give the operator a finer degree of control during working for more precise, accurate and effective piling work. The new variant is said to deliver a higher degree of accuracy and quality as a result of its employment of the latest technology.

Work is underway in the US state of Delaware to upgrade the US 301 highway route. The 24km route is benefiting from the installation of the latest open-road tolling technology as part of the US$636 million improvement project, which is being managed by the Delaware Department of Transportation.

A new proposal to introduce road user charging for Hong Kong has been put forward in a bid to cut congestion. The Hong Kong Policy Research Institute (HKPRI) has suggested that open road tolling would help improve journey times for drivers, while delivering a smart city solution to Hong Kong’s chronic congestion. Cashless tolling technology has been suggested as helping deliver the best option, by eliminating the need for drivers to stop and make payments, optimising smart mobility.