Search

The strong market for shotcreting technology has led BASF to hold a workshop for waterproofing specialists. The firm's latest system can be used to provide a permanent waterproof single-shell tunnel lining based on sprayed concrete and double-bonded waterproofing membrane.

US firm Highway Products says that its Pickup Pack provides a truck bed tool storage system that suits use with road and bridge contractors. The system features storage compartments built to fit equipment and is spacious, secure and versatile. The system includes a gull wing saddle box, two lockable low side boxes, a flat or dome centre hatch. Mounting brackets for warning lights and signs are also fitted. When closed, the hatch locks the tailgate, making the bed area secure and weather resistant.

Roads in south-eastern France and those on the west coast of Spain share a common challenge often faced by road construction crews around Europe: extremely tight working conditions. According to Caterpillar, such conditions create construction demands that can affect traffic flow, the preservation of historic structures and even the ability to resurface these narrow roads that, in some cases, have been around for centuries. Add to these challenging working conditions, the mountainous terrain found in the Al

In Australia contractor Leighton Holdings intends to reclaim extra costs incurred for a major airport link road project in Queensland.

New generation wheeled pavers aimed at use in territories such as the UK, Italy, South Africa and Southern Germany are now coming to market. Pavers in these countries are often expected to be driven from one part of a site to another or for short distances, which is why the additional mobility of the wheeled machine is preferred in many instances over similarly-sized tracked models. This preference for wheeled units comes in spite of the greater stability offered by tracked machines. BOMAG, Caterpillar and

Roadtec is developed a new sweeping system for clearing road surfaces after road construction work has been carried out. The new FM-85 is a heavy-duty, front-mounted broom and is powered by a Caterpillar 3.4T diesel rated at 61kW. The machie weighs in at 2.7tonnes and feature an innovative side shift system that allows the brush to move 380mm. The novel telescoping feature allows brudhes measuing 1.83, 2.13 and 2.44m long to be fitted. The operator sits inside a high visibility cab with air-conditioning and

The Riga Northern Transport Corridor is an ambitious transport E1.5 billion infrastructure development project involving a new 30km long inner city highway. Its aim is to provide a fast connection between the east and west of Riga City and integrate the city and Riga port into the Trans-European road network. It will include another major new crossing of the Daugava River which is 420m wide at this point. The project will lead to a substantial improvement of transport efficiency in the Riga region and will

Tunnel technology advances will make driving through underground links considerably safer, writes Mike Woof

Funding from Japan is helping speed construction of a new bypass in Kenya. The US$190 million grant from the Japanese International Corporation Agency (Jica) will be used for the project to build the 17.5km Southern bypass for the South Coast of Mombasa.

New products, including additives, are coming onto the market to help reduce the cost of producing bitumen. Patrick smith reports. According to Eng. Paolo Visconti of Iterchimica, environmental issues and the health and safety of operators of manufacturing plants and workers laying bituminous mixes have raised long debates on the possible harmfulness of fumes which are emitted when heating these mixes at the temperatures (160-180°C) required for their production. "If, on the one hand, the effects on operato

Italian firm Massenza is boosting its range of road repair machines with the introduction of an innovative unit that combines the functions of an emulsion sprayer and chippings spreader. According to Diego Massenza, "We have made a prototype and it has been running now for two years." The machine can be used to spread chippings and then immediately after, spray emulsions or polymer-modified bitumen (PMB). Massenza explained that the firm is expanding its range of road repair machines as it sees a particular

A US$131 million road contract in Sri Lanka will be handled by Chinese firm Dagang Road Machinery.

Official approval has been given for New Zealand's new Waterview highway project. The project is estimated to be worth some US$1.53 billion (NZ$1.85 billion).

Wirtgen has developed a novel control system for use on its concrete paving equipment. Matthias Fritz is the product engineer at Wirtgen tasked with developing the system. The new AutoControlpackage uses GPS technology to provide guidance for the machine's steering functions. Fritz added, "It has an augmentation centre for vertical control because it requires millimetre accuracy for height." This 3D control system is for use with the firm's SP15 and SP25 slipform pavers and is said to be a user-friendly, co

Sophisticated dual layer paving technologies currently on the market are said to offer major advantages to road builders. Roads built using twin layer, hot on hot paving techniques can last considerably longer than those constructed using conventional methods. Contractors and clients also stand to gain from savings on materials costs, through the elimination of the need for emulsion spraying between binder and wearing courses and with the use of thin layer wearing course designs. At present two paver man

The efficiency of asphalt compaction performance has improved immeasurably in recent years with the development of more effective equipment. Manufacturers have honed the designs of the machines, making them easier and more comfortable to operate, improving visibility and also tackling issues such as maintenance downtime by making the equipment more reliable and quicker to service. However one of the biggest advances in compaction performance has come not from the machines, but from the control and measur

Italian firm Massenza is boosting its range of road repair machines with the introduction of an innovative unit that combines the functions of an emulsion sprayer and chippings spreader.

The use of GPS machine control on sub-base has improved final rideability on a major highway reconstruction project. Innovative construction techniques have helped to upgrade a 9.6km stretch of the 307km long I-96 highway in the US state of Michigan. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project was initiated in the third quarter of 2009 and was completed in the fourth quarter of 2010. Interstate Highway Construction acted as general contractor on the project, which included widening the shoulder

The unveiling of HAMM's innovative H20i soil compactor at the recent CONEXPOCON/ AGG exhibition in Las Vegas has been a significant development for this type of equipment. The machine is of note as it packs its emission compliant Deutz diesel under a closefitting cover in the rear chassis. In the 1990s, Ammann was a pioneer in the soil compactor segment when it developed machines featuring a sloping rear engine cover, as well as a larger cab with big glass panes. The range was designed this way so as to

A film has been made of the installation of one of the Ammann Group's first new BlackMove II mobile asphalt mixing plants.