Road Structures

Engineering firm Siemens is part of the team constructing an electric road project in the Swedish town of Gävle. A section of the E16 road outside of Gävle is being fitted with overhead electrical wiring, which will be used to power trucks. The project means that Sweden is likely to be the first country with a public electric road. The first electric truck is expected to be taken into operation in April 2016. Gävleborg Region, truck manufacturer Scania and other industrial companies are also involved in the

BSP International Foundations has unveiled the latest in its line-up of Rapid Impact Compactors (RIC). The new RIC-16000 unit joins an established four-model range offering drop-weights from 5tonnes up to 16tonnes. Depending on prevailing ground conditions this model is capable of significant ground consolidation to depths of more than 8m. RICs have been successfully used to consolidate gravel, sands and some silts. The ability to dump and compact sand or stone to significant depths simplifies remediatio

Strong interest is being shown in the tender process for a major highway project in Portugal. The Portuguese Road Agency, Infraestruturas de Portugal - IP, has so far received 11 bids for the construction of the first section of the Via dos Duques highway. This route will connect Coimbra between the junction of the main road A13 and the A25 highway in Mangualde and also through Viseu. The bids were well below the initial reference price and 72km of highway will cost an estimated €320 million.

Major highway projects are commencing in Indonesia at present. One of the most important is for the Trans-Papua Highway. Work on this is being carried out by the Papua and West Papua Highway Centre. The new highway will be able to link key urban areas including Wondama, Sorong, Manokwari and Enarotali in Pania, Elelim, Jayapura, Ilu, Sinak and Karubaga in Tolikara, Ilaga, Sugapa, Bioga, Nabire and Mulia in Pucak Jaya. Some 827km of the 4,325km highway will pass through jungle area. The construction team has

A series of major highway infrastructure projects are planned for the Philippines. Plans are in hand for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project, with MPCALA Holdings calling on the authorities to give final approval so that construction can commence before 2017. MPCALA Holdings is a subsidiary of conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments (MPIC) and won the 35-year contract to build, operate and maintain the CALAX in June 2015. The CALAX project is worth US$754.6 million. At present, the company is lookin

Overpass projects are being planned for Myanmar to help cut traffic congestion in key areas around the country’s commercial centre, Yangon. One project proposal has been submitted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This will see the development of elevated roads on the Wai Zayandar Road. The cost of constructing the elevated roads has been estimated at some US$2 billion. The project looks likely to be carried out under build-operate-transfer model.