Road Structures

The US is in desperate need of rebuilding many of its road bridges. This comes from an analysis of official data carried out by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). According to ARTBA’s analysis of the US Department of Transportation’s just released 2017 National Bridge Inventory database, 54,259 of the nation’s 612,677 bridges are rated structurally deficient. The work is needed as these transport links are vital, with Americans crossing these deficient bridges 174 million

Construction has been completed for the upgrade of the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed highway, which links the UAE with neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The project cost US$817 million and the work was carried out by the contractor, Abu Dhabi General Services Company (Musanada). The route runs 246km from the Mafraq region in Abu Dhabi to the border with Saudi Arabia. The road has been resurfaced and widened and now features three or four lanes, compared with the two lanes of the original route. The project included

China has plans to build a smart highway in Zhejiang Province. The route will include warning technology and monitoring systems and will be complete in 2022. By utilising this technology the builders aim to boost the speed of traffic by 20-30%, without compromising safety. The 161km stretch of highway will feature three lanes in either direction and will also feature mobile charging systems for EVs. Once the route opens to traffic it is expected to halve journey times from Ningbo to Hangzhou from the

Consultancy firm Michael Baker International has a US$4 million contract from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to provide safer road links and bridges along the southern gateway corridor into Dallas. This project is due for completion in 2021. It will provide a long-term transportation and operational improvement effort to boost safety, cut congestion and while address roadway deficiencies and system linkage for the critical I-35E and US 67 artery.

Inhouse Tech will construct 13 bridges in Sweden as part of the E20 highway project. The firm was awarded the deal by the civil engineering and construction company Peab. The E20 highway will run from Alingsås to Vårgårda and is expected to be ready for traffic in June 2021.

Construction is to commence on Chile’s key Chacao Bridge contract shortly. This comes after many delays over the years, including the previous cancellation of the project. The South Korean firm Hyundai has the contract to build the structure and has been given approval for a change to the design and construction contract by Chile’s General Comptroller. This development will pave the way for the first five of 24 phases in the bridge’s construction. Final approval for the technical requirements and the contra

Azerbaijan managed to rebuild and maintain 1,335km of its road network during 2017. Around 314km of key national road links were improved, along with 889km of local roads. In the capital, Baku, 133km of roads were built or improved. The programme also included the construction of 15 bridges as well as repairs works to a further nine. For 2018 Azerbaijan intends to make improvements to 2,000km of existing road links.