Road Structures

The Czech Republic is planning a major programme of road upgrades. This will target secondary roads in the country, improving road surfaces as well as safety features. Some €155.45 million is being provided by the Czech Ministry for Local Development for the work. Much of the funding is being sourced from EU financing, with the programme of road repair and upgrade works scheduled to take place from August 2016 until October 2022.

Delays are afflicting the official opening of a stretch of the East-West highway in Algeria. This 84km section of the highway connects Dréan in the east of Algerian to the border with neighbouring Tunisia. A Japanese contractor was in charge of the project to construct the 400km eastern stretch of the East-West highway. However financial problems surrounding the need for additional work led to construction of the final stretch being curtailed. There is concern that should the work be left unfinished any lon

The Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) has awarded Poyry detailed engineering planning work for the upgrading of operational and safety equipment in two major tunnels on the A2 motorway. The A2 forms the main north-south motorway in Switzerland, connecting Basel with Chiasso. The Schänzli and Hagnau tunnels have been in operation for four decades and are being completely refurbished. Pöyry has already been handling the structural measures and ventilation systems in the tunnels, said Marcel Winter,

Congestion is a major problem in certain areas of US state Florida. Large number of commuters and tourists means that central Florida’s Interstate 4 (I-4) highway suffers particularly from congestion. Its proximity to Disneyland means that the traffic often comes to a complete standstill. A 2012 report from the Texas Transportation Institute ranked Orlando 13th in the US for traffic congestion, with more than 1.5 million daily trips on I-4. The report estimates that each frustrated commuter wastes about 45

The tender process for Chile’s Cau Cau Bridge rebuilding project is due to be opened in August 2016.

Plans are in hand for a new bridge between Cameroon and Chad. The new bridge will be built to improve the road connection between Yagoua in northern Cameroon and Bongor in Chad. It will cross the Logone River, which forms a stretch of the border between the two countries from Lake Chad and running to the south of Bongor. The work is expected to cost around US$127 million. The authorities in both countries are involved with the planning for the new bridge as there is a recognition in both nations that improv

The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) said it is on track to announce tender winners for two bridges, across the Msikaba River and Mtentu River, by the end of the year. The Msikaba River Bridge will be constructed on the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road and will consist of a cable-stayed 580m-long structure spanning a deep gorge. The Mtentu River Bridge, also on the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road and around 12km to the north of Msikaba River, is expected to be a concrete structure and nearl.y 1.2kkm long.

A 25km section of Guadalajara’s new bypass route in Mexico’s Jalisco State is now open to traffic. This section of the route cost just under US$81 million to construct. The bypass section features four lanes, with two in either direction and will help cut congestion in the centre of Guadalajara, as through-traffic will no longer have to drive into the city. The route is being built by Grupo Ideal and should be complete by December 2016. Once fully open for traffic, it will cut journey times in the area arou

A report is being compiled in Brazil regarding the state of the country’s road network. The report was compiled by the country’s national transport confederation, CNT, in July 2016. The report is due to be released in October 2016. However CNT says it is pessimistic about what the report will state. This is due to cuts in public investment in roads and delays in the launch of concession programmes. Brazil’s 2016 federal road budget has been set US$2.03 billion. However up to $1.3 billion had to be used to p