Road Structures

Tearing down the old steel truss cantilever Champlain Bridge in Montreal could cost around US$300 million, according to preliminary estimates by a federal government agency. Also, until the nearby new Champlain Bridge is finished, it will cost US$93 million annually to maintain the old one, according to Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI), the federal Canadian agency that oversees several major road infrastructure assets in the city. Dismantling will start in 2019 at the earliest and

Three contracts in Angola are now commencing, which will improve road and bridge links in the country. The three projects will be carried out by two Portuguese contractors, which agreed the deals with the Angolan Government. Conduril will build a bridge in a deal worth US$110 million in the northern Zaire Province. Meanwhile Talhabel has a contract worth $28.73 million to upgrade the road 230 in the stretch between Muriege and Chiluage, which is close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The new bridge that will connect Myanmar with Thailand is expected to open to traffic in 2019. The link will be called the second Friendship Bridge and will provide a connection from Mae Sot district in Thailand’s Tak province with the town of Myawaddy in Myanmar. The new bridge will form part of the Mae-Sot Bypass Road. The link will run from Highway No 12, cross the Moei/Thaungyin River at Ban Wang Takien in Mae-Sot district to link with Myawaddy. The bridge is intended to help boost, trade and tourism be

A new tunnel in the Moroccan city of Casablanca is being built in a bid to reduce congestion. The project will cost around US$81.65 million and includes building a 1.9km tunnel stretch as well as 2.3km of access roads. Preparation work commenced at the start of 2017, with tunnelling due to start shortly. The new Les Almohades tunnel will help cut Casablanca’s chronic congestion, a key issue during peak travel periods.

Road projects in Brazil could see extended deadlines. This move follows on from the impeachment of the former president. Several roads were privatised under the previous administration, with widening and general upgrade works having been required as integral components of the concession packages. The agreements settled with the former administration called for the road widening and improvement works to be carried out in a five year period. But these five year deadlines may be amended once comprehensive revi

A new four lane road and tunnel connection is to be built in the Sri Lankan city of Kandy. The tunnel section will measure a total of 4.4km while the project also includes 1.2km of connecting roads. The project is costing over US$252 million to construct of which just over $199 million will be supplied by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) from South Korea.

Work on a major Autobahn widening project is set to commence in Germany shortly. The projects calls for the widening of the A6 Autobahn. The project is worth some €1.3 billion. Widening work is already being carried out on A6 between Wiesloch and Weinsberg. The upgrade work involves widening the Autobahn to six lanes and is due for completion in the second quarter of 2019.