Road Structures

Work is now commencing on the US Route 301 project, which will cost US$635 million and is intended to reduce congestion and benefit commerce in the Northeastern United States. “When completed, the project will link to I-95 and support the economy of not only Delaware but also one of the nation’s largest regions,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “It will increase access to economic opportunity by making it easier for people to commute to jobs in the fastest growing region of the state.”

Progress is being made in Chile for two key mega projects, the Chacao Bridge and the El Melon Tunnel. Chile's Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has ordered the consortium working on the Chacao Bridge project to carry out additional studies. The consortium comprises Systra, OAS, Aas-Jakobsen and Hyundai and the project is worth US$511.45 million. The consortium has to respond to observations made by the MOP on the design proposal presented in August 2014. The works to build the bridge now look likely to continu

Interest is strong in the project to build and operate La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara road concession in Mexico. Seven firms have expressed interest in the La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara road concession. Caabsa, Constructora Garza Ponce, Ideal, Idinsa, OHL Mexico, Omega and Pinfra and are all in the running for the project at present. The winner of the tender process for the 10km route will be announced on 21st April 2016. The road will be built under the public-private partnership model and the conce

The ring road project for Lima looks set to be hit by further delays. The construction seems likely to be delayed by a further 18 months due to the inability of Lima’s municipal authorities and the Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) to settle key administrative agreements. Called the Anillo Vial Periferico, the new ring road is being built by the Cintra-JJC consortium.

Austria’s Infrastructure Ministry is setting out an ambitious programme of transport infrastructure development. Plans have been announced for €25 billion worth of infrastructure improvements over the next five years. This will include improvements to road and rail, as well as broadband services.

Tunisia’s road network looks set to expand now that new funding has been secured. The Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People has agreed two loans from the African Development Bank (ADB) worth a total of nearly US$208 million. These loans are to be repaid over 20 years and will help fund road infrastructure developments for the 2016-2020 period. The work will focus on upgrading classified roads. This includes renovating 719km of roads, building 23 bridges and constructing a 7.3km-long bypass

Plans are moving forward for the new bridge structure connecting Thailand with neighbouring Laos. The Mekong Friendship Bridge will be 1.35km long and is expected to cost US$84.3 million to construct. The building work on the bridge will commence in 2019, with the necessary surveying work as well as the design now close to completion.

An Italian-Iranian road study agreement has now been signed. The Italian state-controlled road concession firm ANAS has a cooperation agreement with Iran's Construction and Development of Transport Infrastructures Company (CDTIC). ANAS International Enterprise (AIE) will carry out the study for the completion of the 1,500km north-south corridor, which runs between the port of Bandar-E-Imam on the Persian Gulf up to the northern border with Azerbaijan through the city of Tabriz. The aim of the study is to co

Delays look likely for Indonesia’s massive toll-road development programme. Funding shortages for the necessary land acquisitions will hold back commencement of highway construction activity. In all over US$18.1 billion has been set aside by the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry for the necessary land purchases. But this sum is insufficient for the massive land areas required. The ambitious programme of works has called for the construction of 1,000km of tolled highways by 2019. Additional funding wi