Road Structures

Bolivia is looking to source funding for two major highway projects from China. This development could follow discussions between Bolivia's vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera and Chinese funding bodies being held during his trip to China. The highways in focus are the links from Porvenir to Chive and from Chive to Ixiamas. The 151km Porvenir to Chive highway is expected to cost around US$385 million to construct. The 254km Chive to Ixiamas highway meanwhile is expected to cost $600 million. Should Chinese

In Morocco a key highway extension project is now moving forward. Moroccan road authority Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM) says that work to extend the Casablanca-Berrechid highway will commence in the first half of 2016. The US$62.32 million project will focus on a 21km section of the highway. The Casablanca-Berrechid highway will be the first segment of the Casablanca-Agadir highway, a route carrying some 40,000 vehicles/day at present.

The EU will provide funding worth US$613.37 million to the Ethiopian Government for rural road development. The financing will be provided between 2016 and 2020, as part of a road funding programme in place since 1997. Around 65% of Ethiopia’s local districts have road access at present. The country’s investment in road infrastructure has seen a halving of average journey times in Ethiopia. Meanwhile the road network had grown to nearly 100,000km at the end of 2014 compared to just 26,000km in 1997. The con

Work to complete the Kosice-Ruzomberok highway connection in Slovakia is now being planned. The remaining stretch still to be built is for the South-West Presov by-pass, with the most challenging section being the road tunnel at Presov, which will be 2km long. The construction work is commencing shortly and is expected to cost close to €370 million. The work is expected to take four years to complete. Slovakia’s national highway company NDS is at present evaluating which construction firm would be best plac

Work on a series of major road projects is now gathering pace. The Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is signing contracts worth over €753.55 mIllion for the construction of two S7 dual carriageway sections. These will form part of the Gdansk-Warsaw route. Czech firm Metrostav will build the 20km section between Koszwaly and Nowy Dwor Gdanski. And Budimex will construct the 19km section between Nowy Dwor Gdanski and Kazimierzowo.

Japanese funding will help pay for the construction of a key bridge link in Sri Lanka. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing a loan worth US$292.14 million for the bridge project. The new link will span the Kelani River.

In Australia plans are in hand with regard to constructing an asphalt-surfaced road connecting Adelaide in South Australia with Brisbane in Queensland. The state authorities in South Australia are working with Infrastructure Australia on a plan to construct an asphalt surface for the 426km section between Innamincka and Lyndhurst in South Australia. This section of the work is likely to cost in the order of US$317.3 million. Funding sources for the project are being considered at present although the work c

A study by Danish consultant Hans Schjær-Jacobsen has shown that the payback period for the proposed Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link tunnel project between Denmark and Germany will be close to 50 years. This is a decade longer than estimated by the developers of the project which focusses on a 17km immersed tunnel, the study noted. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link will connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland. The 17km tunnel, including two railway tunnels, two motorway tunnels and an