Road Structures

Tunisia has major plans to upgrade its road network, with work due to commence in 2016. The Tunisian Government has said it intends to modernise 718km of roads across the country. The aim is to widen roads to 7.6m so that they meet international standards. The scheme will cover 21 governorates. Five national roads will be upgraded with a total distance of 105km, while 20 regional roads covering a distance of 320km will be updated. The project will also improve 20 local roads with a total distance of 294km.

Plans are being worked on in Norway for a new tunnel development for part of capital Oslo’s ring Road. The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property (Statsbygg) has proposed that part of ring road Ring 1 in Oslo should be placed underground where it runs close to the government quarter. The proposed changes are part of a risk assessment for the government quarter decreed by the Defence Estates Agency (Forsvarsbygg). Knut Jørgensen, project manager in Statsbygg, says that Statsbygg recommends

A series of major road rebuilding projects in Bolivia look likely to be handled by Chinese contractors. The Bolivian Government is deciding on the Chinese firms that will carry out road infrastructure works in the country. This decision follows from a loan provided via the Chinese Government loan worth US$7.5 billion. There have been criticisms of the link between the loan and Chinese firms being allowed a greater chance of winning repair contracts. But this has been deflected by the Bolivian Government, wh

Skanska has won the T02 Sørkjosfjell Tunnel Contract as part of the government’s Highway E6 improvement project in the county of Troms, northern Norway. Norway’s rail administrator Statens Vegvesen awarded the €50 million contract for the 4.6km Sørkjosen Tunnel -- its common name -- and work is scheduled for completion in July 2018. According to the OJEU document Contract T01 consists of the open air road from the breakwater in Sørkjosen to tunnel portaling at Mølnerelva, a length of 870m, as well as

India will carry out a feasibility study on a road link between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu state and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka, a federal government minister has said. "It needs the consent of both countries,” said Union minister of state for road transport, highways and shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan. “The project needs to be discussed at various levels," according to a brief report by India’s Hindu newspaper. Radhakrishnan told the reporters that federal government had begun consultations to carry out a

In Bangladesh, the draft detailed design of the US$5.14 billion Dhaka-Chittagong highway has been approved by the government. The feasibility study to execute the plan has already been completed. The highway will measure 198km in length. The project is to be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.

Plans are underway to widen a stretch of the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) around St Petersburg in Russia. The northern section of the WHSD, near Beloostrov, will be widened from four to six lanes. The work will be carried out by Northern Capital Highway (NCH), a consortium owned by VTB and Gazprombank. This consortium is currently building the central section of the WHSD, as well as operating the tolled northern and southern sections under a PPP concession agreement. The project will cost around US$15

A major upgrade of Mexico’s Atizapan-Atlacomulco road link is being planned. The work is expected to commence in 2016 and will cost in the region of US$182.63 million. The project will be carried out by OHL Mexico, the Mexican subsidiary of Spanish form OHL. Once the upgrade is complete, the route will be able to carry heavier traffic volumes than at present and the extra capacity will cut delays on the route, as well as increasing safety.