Road Structures

Financing for a 240km toll road project that will connect Padang with Pekanbaru in Indonesia still needs to be finalised. A combination of loans from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and PPP funding is expected to pay for the project. In all the project is expected to cost US$2.63 billion, with construction work intended to start in 2018.

The new Mixcoac-Insurgentes twin tube tunnel in Mexico City has now been opened officially. The link joins with the Circuito Interior highway and is untolled. Also included in the project to build the tunnel was the construction of a roundabout between Insurgentes and Mixcoac avenues. With the new tunnel open, the city authorities hope that this will help reduce the chronic congestion that occurs daily at peak periods. Construction of the tunnel has taken two years to complete.

The tender process is ending for the tunnel project to construct a new tunnel in New Zealand. The route of the new tunnel runs through the Manawatu Gorge in Tararua District. When the tunnel is complete it will provide and improved link between the east and west at the southern end of New Zealand’s North Island.

Contractor STRABAG is to work on the project to build a new bridge connection in South Africa. This structure is of note as it will be Africa’s highest bridge at 223m high. The 1,132m long bridge will span the Mtentu River in eastern South Africa, close to the town of Flagstaff. The contract has a value of around €106 million and the construction work is expected to take 40 months to complete. STRABAG International is working with the South African contractor AVENG Grinaker-LTA on the project

China’s Guizhou Province is carrying out a major programme of road network expansion and development works. In all the plan calls for the construction of 97,000km of rural roads, which are being built in a bid to boost connectivity. Funding is being provided by the Bank of Guizhou and Bank of Guiyang in the shape of a series of loans.

The cost for Romania’s newest bridge project over Danube River will likely be around €500 million, according to the latest media reports.

The Vietnamese city of Hanoi is set to benefit from a series of bridge construction projects, which are intended to reduce the city’s chronic traffic congestion. These new bridges will span the Red River and Duong River, which flow through the city. The projects are being planned by the Hanoi city authorities and also include the construction of link roads.

West Sussex County Council in the UK, in partnership with Balfour Beatty Living Places, is trialling a drone with a slight difference for bridge inspections – it floats. The floatable drone is at work on two bridges - Swan Bridge in Pulborough and Adur Ferry Bridge in Shoreham-By-Sea - saving around €9,230 over the cost of traditional inspections, according to the council and Balfour Beatty.Routine inspections are carried out on all bridges every two years.