Road Structures

The Jambatan Bridge project in Malaysia now looks to be revived. The project to construct the 1.4km bridge was first proposed in 2003 but progress then stalled. However new proposals have been put forward for the project, which would replace the existing Johor Causeway. The new link would provide an improved transport connection between Malaysia and Singapore.

The first phase of a major road upgrade project in Dubai has opened to traffic. The project to improve the Latifa bint Hamdan Street and Umm Al Sheef Street routes is worth nearly US$218 million. The second phase of the project should be complete in the first quarter of 2019. Once the work is finished it should lower journey times between Al Khalil Road and Sheikh Zayed Road, two of the most important highway arteries in Dubai. The project includes the construction of two bridge sections measuring a total

Construction work is underway on stretch of the D11 highway connecting Hradec Kralove and Smirice in the northern Czech Republic. The work is being carried out by a construction consortium comprising contractors Eurovia, Metrostav and Swietelsky. However, the start of the work for the 15.5km highway section was delayed and its completion is timed for 2022. The project is costing €100.5 million and includes a number of engineering challenges due to the complexity of the terrain. In all the work will include

A new electric road is being proposed for Sweden. The stretch of road would feature advanced charging technology. Two locations are being considered, a 4km stretch linking Östercentrum and Visby Airport on Gotland and a 1.4km section close to Almedalan. The section of road would feature the latest inductive charging system, so that EVs would be able to recharge wirelessly. The project is being managed by the Transport Administration (Trafikverket), with the participation of the electrified road consortium,

Controversy surrounds proposals to improve a key road link in Panama. The plan is to widen and improve the Panamerican highway stretch in the country’s Panama Oueste Province, between Las Americas bridge and Arraijan. The work is expected to cost in the region of US$335.5 million. However there is concern over the 91ha of forest that will have to be cut down, of which 50ha lies in a national park. Various groups have criticised the Ministry of Public Works for choosing a road alignment that requires forest

Work is progressing in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City for construction of the new Beltway No3. An additional US$128.6 million is being set aside from the city’s budget to speed up work on the highway. The new beltway will measure 90km long, will allow vehicle speeds of up to 100km/h, with from two to four lanes in either direction. The route is being built in four sections. One stretch connects the Trung Luong expressway and National Highway No 22, another links National Highway No 22 and Binh Chuan, one joins

The new contract for Colombia’s Chirajara Bridge project has now been awarded to a consortium, Eiffage-Puentes y Torones. The consortium will handle the design and construction work for the new bridge. The structure will be a replacement for the earlier bridge, which collapsed as its construction was being finalised in January 2018, just a few months before it had been scheduled to open for traffic in March 2018. The collapse of the earlier structure resulted in 10 fatalities as well as causing serious inju

A new route is planned to connect Kazakhstan with the neighbouring Altai Republic in Siberia. The Altai Republic intends to boost tourism in a bid to help develop its economy. During 2017, over 2 million people visited the Altai republic. Meanwhile Kazakhstan is also hoping to increase the numbers of tourists visiting the country every year, hoping to diversify its economy. At the moment the road networks of both countries are rather underdeveloped.

Two road construction contracts have been awarded in Dubai, which will improve connections for the coming Dubai Expo 2020 event. Worth a total of US$171.5 million, the work will be for the final phases of existing projects. The phase 5 deal includes building a total of 3km of roads and 2.6km of bridges while the phase 6 deal including building 8km of roads and 1.4km of bridges. The construction work also includes improving an intersection that links Emirates Road and Jebel Ali-Lehbab Road.