Paraguay road widening – financing settled
Financing is being secured for road widening work in Paraguay.
Panama bridge project report released
A report has been released regarding the project to build the fourth bridge spanning the Panama Canal. The report concerns the awarding of the design and construction contract and reveals that there may be an increase in building costs over original estimates due to geotechnical requirements. The report also says that such large capital projects should be split into two, one covering feasibility studies and design work and the second for construction and maintenance. The bridge project is being handled by t
Angola plans road network upgrade
A huge upgrade programme is being planned for Angola’s road network.
Russian highway deal awarded
In Russia the contractor Primorsky UPK is to construct a highway connecting Primorsk with the A-181 Skandinavia Highway. The 42km highway is expected to cust US$375.3 million to build and should be ready for traffic by 2022. The contract also includes rebuilding a stretch of the existing Primorskoe Highway. Another portion of the work will be to build a 74m overpass over the Primorskoe Highway and the rail link connecting Primorsk to Ermilovo.
New Brazil highway upgrade tender opening
A new highway upgrade tender process is due to open in December 2019 in Brazil’s Sao Paulo State.
Colombian tunnel drive nearing completion
The excavation work for the new La Quiebra road tunnel link in Colombia is close to completion. The drive is being carried out from both ends of the tunnel and should meet by November 2019. The tunnel construction work will then include completing the lining, building the roadway and carrying out fitting out work. The 8.4km tunnel is costing around US$170 million to build and should be complete by December 2020. The tunnel will form part of the Vias del Nus 4G highway connecting the country’s second city, M
Doosan Bobcat expanding Czech facility
Doosan Bobcat is expanding its facilities in the Czech Republic. The firm has spent around €116 million developing its new Doosan Bobcat EMEA headquarters in Dobříš. The facility employs 1,400 and is the headquarters for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), marking a further expansion in the Czech Republic. The newly built facility houses the company's management and other employees and complements the production plant and the training and innovation centre, where Bobcat machines are developed
UK’s A14 upgraded route opening early
A key section of the UK’s important A14 upgrade project is opening to traffic ahead of schedule. Work to deliver the new stretch of dual carriageway for the A14 bypass is being completed a full 12 months early. The bypass section will open to drivers in December 2019, cutting congestion and journey times.
Work on the 19km bypass section commenced in October 2016 and forms part of a programme of 33.6km of road works in Cambridgeshire, costing £1.5 billion. The road building project has been carried out by
Thailand needs emergency repairs to tackl storm damaged roads
Thailand is spending heavily to repair storm-damaged road and bridge links.
Financing secured for Kenya road upgrade
Financing has been secured to pay for upgrading work for the road connecting Kenol, Sagana and Marwa in Kenya. The 84km route includes a stretch of the A2 road and will be widened to dual carriageway status, with two lanes in either direction and a central divider, rather than one lane in in either direction at present. Funding is being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in the shape of loans worth US$237 million. The AfdB’s loan package will pay for around 69% of the work, with the People’s Ba
New bridge link needed for Cape Cod
New bridge links are needed for Cape Cod, in the US state of Massachusetts.
Stop it with SmogStop from Envision SQ
Canadian company Envision SQ says that it has created a photocatalytic pollution barrier for highways that cuts NOx and VOCs in half
Material reduction process in Mexico
A quarrying operation in Mexico has switched to using a drum cutting attachment supplied by 283 MB Crusher, instead of using explosives for blasting. The customer says that this change in working operations has delivered major benefits in terms of efficiency. The company is now able to deliver a more consistent grade of material in terms of both quality and size. Using the drum cutter attachment ensures that there are lower waste fines produced, as well as no over-sized material requiring secondary breaking at additional cost.
Tough tyre from Camso
Camso’s new MPT 732 tyre is a multi-purpose bias unit designed for high traction, stability and durability under a variety of conditions.
Software collaboration between Autodesk and Leica Geosystems
Leica Geosystems has announced further cooperation with Autodesk to streamline construction documentation.
One Giant Leap for mankind…
This past month of July America and much of the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of man setting foot on the moon.
There were speeches, replays of the Saturn V launch and lunar landing videos, interviews with astronauts, and much more as we relived the excitement, danger, and suspense of sending human beings 384,000km into space to land on an uninhabited moon and return. Most Americans over the age of five in 1969 can tell you where they were when the Eagle landed on July 20, 1969, and the world watch
China banks on the Belt and Road Initiative
Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, is capitalising on its well-established equipment and componentry manufacturing base as China’s global Belt and Road Initiative gathers momentum.
Rural Roads for Development: a chat with Dr Michael Burrow
For the last seven years the University of Birmingham has been organising – together with IRF (Geneva) the Rural Roads for Development course in Birmingham. The week-long course is very much a hands-on course delivered by experts from around the world on a topic of relevance to the sustainable provision of rural roads. Ahead of this year course edition which will be hosted on 9-13 September, Dr Michael Burrow from Birmingham University answered key questions about rural transport.
Q: How can improved rur
Indonesia’s massive toll road expansion plan
Indonesia has a massive programme of road development aimed at expanding the country’s toll road network. The plan calls for no less than 2,500km of toll roads to be built over the next five years. In all the work is expected to cost anything from US$16.5 billion up to as much as $24.74 billion. To pay for the works, a variety of financing methods are being used, with PPPs, loans and international firms being involved. Key roads being built in Indonesia include the Trans Sumatra, Trans-Java Toll, Jakarta-Bo
Giving four hours back to the day… and much more
A 20km long elevated expressway in Dhaka will be one of Bangladesh’s first Public Private Partnership transport projects – words and pictures by Ruby Kitching, on behalf of Mott MacDonald.
