Road Structures

Key highway links in Chile are likely to see upgrading, although the operation of the links could change. The country’s Ministry of Public Works (MOP) is keen to see widening work for Ruta 68, a route currently operated by Abertis. However MOP has not revealed if it intends to buy back the Ruta 68 contract from the operator and then put the highway back out to tender, with the new deal then including the widening work. It may prove simpler to strike a new deal with Abertis that includes the necessary highwa

The construction of a new interchange to the south east of Casablanca in Morocco will make a substantial reduction in traffic congestion when it is complete. Work started on the interchange in February of this year, once of several major road projects being carried out in the area around the city. The work is expected to take 32 months to complete. The new interchange is much needed as Morocco’s traffic volumes have increased substantially in recent years due to a higher percentage of citizens owning privat

Tunisia is working on a series of major new highway connections. The new highway connecting Bou Salem with Beja and Oued Zarga should be ready for traffic in the third quarter of 2016. This will provide a highway link all the way from capital Tunis to Bou Salem, as the A3 previously stopped at Oued Zarga. In addition, the new highway connecting Gabès with Medenine in the south of Tunisia will be complete by the end of 2017. Meanwhile the winner of the tender process for the study into the El Kef highway con

Construction work on a 130km section of highway is being carried out at present in Ethiopia. The stretch runs between the towns of Awash and the city of Adama, which lie to the east of capital Addis Ababa. The new section of road being built will form part of the highway from Adama to Dire Dewa. The US$544 million project is being managed by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA). The work is needed to improve the route from Addis Ababa to Dire Dewa, which carries a high percentage of heavy truck traffic and i

A heavily-used bridge of historic importance in US capital Washington DC looks set to benefit from much-needed improvement works. The work will be part funded by a US$90 million from the US Department of Transportation. The structure of the Arlington Memorial Bridge has become degraded over time and has been highlighted in a number of reports as being in dire need of a major rebuild. The 651m bridge links Washington District with Arlington County, carrying around 68,000 vehicles/day. But in all the bridge i

Work is now underway in Namibia to upgrade key road links. One project will see improvement works to the B2 coastal road connecting Swakopmund with Walvis Bay. Another project is for the widening and resurfacing of the C28 link, which runs from Swakopmund to Namibia’s capital Windhoek and will be reclassified as Main Road 44 once the improvements are complete. In all the work is expected to cost over US$137 million, with a total of 100km of road due to be improved and upgraded over a three year period.

ABM reports that investment manufacturing equipment at its UK factory in Nottinghamshire is permitting production of an increased range of larger, heavier bridge components The new facility means that the company can now also manufacture U and W section prestressed concrete bridge beams of up to 120 tonnes. The company said that the additional capability means it can offer customers shorter cycle times, even for the heaviest and most complex beams, and a product of high and consistent quality. The dev

CTE has a new video for CTE ZED 21.2 JHV, the truck-mounted articulated platform launched on the market at bauma 2016. The video, made with the help of a drone, emphasises the strengths of the platform in a particularly innovative way thanks to the use of graphic elements that capture the viewer’s attention. The new S3 (Smart Stability System), fully proportional controls with ramps, the simultaneous movements, the variable engine speed depending on the number of boom manoeuvres, the design of the