Road Structures

Contractors OHL and Astaldi has won a major portion of a large highway project in California. The work is for the upgrade to I-405 in Los Angeles and is valued at US$ 1.2 billion. The two firms will work in a joint venture on the project. OHL has a 60% stake in the project while Astaldi holds the remaining 40% share. The deal represents a positive move for Astaldi, which is keen to develop its presence in the western US. The six year contract requires the design and construction of the improvement works

The Australian state of Victoria will benefit from US$2.26 billion (A$3 billion) in funding for planned road projects. This financing will be split equally by the Federal Government and the Victoria State Government. Some $520 million (A$690 million) will be spent on regional and rural road projects while $753.3 million (A$1 billion) will be used to upgrade the Monash Freeway as well as for other works including improving the M80 Ring Road.

Swedish construction company NCC has signed a contract to build two sub-sea road tunnels in the Faroe Islands, an archipelago north of Scotland. The first project – the Eysturoy Tunnel between Eysturoy and Streymoy - will cost around €152 million. The value of second one – the Sandoy Tunnel between Streymoy and Sandoy – will cost about €120 million, but there is an option for the government-owned client, P/F Eystur- och Sandoyartunlar (EST), not to proceed. The government created the company, Eystur – og

Sydney’s proposed WestConnex motorway will be wider than planned to accommodate four instead of three lanes in each direction, according to media reports. The changes are part of a revamp of the third and final stage of the ambitious project in the capital city of Australia’s eastern New South Wales state. Some exit and entry ramps will also be scrapped but the overall cost of just under US$5.3 billion for the third stage remains unchanged, reported the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The projects

Work is being carried out on the Wekiva Parkway project in Florida at present. Pile driving for the bridge at Yothers Road has been carried out, although care has been taken to minimise the disturbance to the surrounding area.

Approval for a US$50 million loan to develop a highway stretch in Armenia has been given by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The loan will be used to upgrade the M6 Highway from Vanadzor in Armenia to the country’s border with Georgia at Bagratashen. The route is one of the most strategic roads for internal and external trade for landlocked Armenia while it also lies close to the country’s border with Azerbaijan. The upgrading of this highway will also provide an important link to the Black Sea Ring Road p

The pre-feasibility study for a US$400 million bridge project in Indonesia has been delayed. The East Nusa Tenggara bridge project is planned to include an innovative tidal power generation system. The study was due to commence in December 2016 but now looks likely to be held back. The 1.6km bridge will provide a link between the Indonesian islands of Andonara and Flores. The aim of the project is to build a crossing that also includes turbines able to generate up to 300MW due to the tidal flow passing thro

Indonesia is setting a massive infrastructure budget in place. Some US$29.52 billion will be invested in infrastructure under the 2017 budget. The country is planning to construct around 550km of new bridges and 9,400km of new roads.