Road Structures

Surveying and design work for a new road link in Russia to connect the Black Sea with the Caucasian Mineral Waters will commence in 2017. The new toll road will run between Kislovodsk and Sochi and will halve the distance between the two, currently a distance of 600km. The project is expected to cost in the order of US$1 billion to carry out, with the contract having been organised partly by the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia (North Caucasus), through which a section of the new route will run.

Work is now going ahead on the new highway stretch to connect Peka Peka with Otaki, which will form part of the planned Kapiti Expressway. This 13km stretch of highway is being built by contractor Fletcher Construction. The package of works was awarded by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and involves designing and building the new link. Construction work will start in 2017 and is expected to take until 2020.

New bridge crossings over the Amu Darya River will improve transport connections between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The bridges will open to traffic in early 2017 and will carry both motor vehicles and trains. The bridges have cost around US$123 million to construct. The new links have been needed for some time as existing crossings between the two countries have been insufficient and resulted in long delays. The river forms the border between the two countries for some distance.

Funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will help with the construction of a new tunnel as well as road links in Nepal. The US$168.56 million funding package comes in the shape of a loan to Nepal’s Government. This will be used to pay for the construction of a 2.5km tunnel that will link Nagdhunga with Naubise. The loan will also pay for the 7km of road on either side of the tunnel. The project is due for completion in 2022 and will fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Roa

Work is now starting on the new bridge linking Paraguay and Brazil. The construction work is planned to take 36 months to complete and the new link will improve transport connections between the two countries as the existing bridge is no longer able to cope with demand. The contractor for the project is the joint venture alliance Construbase-Cidade-Paulitex. When originally planned the bridge was expected to cost in the region of US$71.3 million, however more recent updates as to the pricetag have not as ye

A budget of US$8.97 billion has been set as the limit on borrowing for India’s highways development programme for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The financing agreement has been made by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), acting through the country’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. This substantial budget comes in spite of fewer projects being awarded as well as less financing having been secured during 2016. In the April to October 2016 the NHAI awarded contracts for 2,330km of highways.

The New Zigana Tunnel project in Turkey is currently under construction and is expected to cost up to US$1 billion in all. When complete this tunnel will measure an impressive 14.5km long. The two lane tunnel will connect Gumushane and Trabzon in the country’s north east, and will be located at an altitude of over 1,200m above sea level. The construction of the tunnel will replace the existing route over the Zigana Pass, which reaches an altitude above sea level of 2,032m. Once complete the new tunnel under

The tender process for a key road project is commencing in Malaysia. The tender is for building the KPC Port Link Road as well as a number of other associated works, which will be carried out in Bandar Pelabuhan Kuantan, Pahang. The project will form part of plans being set out by Malaysia’s East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC). This new road link will imrpove connectivity to the port, allowing for more efficient transportation of goods by road, to and from the facility. To be considered