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B2W Software has developed a sophisticated new B2W Production Targets package. According to the firm, this allows heavy construction contractors to assess job progress more accurately at any given point in time. Using B2W Production Targets, the firm says that contractors can set specific, variable targets for expected productivity according to the conditions, plan and resources for each individual day. Without this capability, daily targets are typically set by averaging projected productivity from the

A debate about hands-free and hand-held phone use is welcome, but if we want to improve road safety and stop killing people it misses the point, explains Shaun Helman, TRL's chief scientist The Transport Committee’s report on driving and mobile phones is to be welcomed, for focusing attention on a pressing and growing road safety issue. As someone who provided evidence to the committee, I don’t need convincing that the use of a mobile device while controlling a vehicle is something that must be considered

Topcon Positioning Group is introducing a new generation of scanning robotic total stations. The firm’s new the GTL-1000 is a compact scanner integrated with a fully featured robotic total station. The firm says that the system is designed to offer a powerful instrument for single-operator layout and scan on a single set up. Combined with the ClearEdge3D Verity package, it offers effective construction verification workflows. The instrument includes a complete robotic total station with layout functionalit

CONTROLS is aiming to stay one step ahead of its competitors with a new suite of fully automatic compression machines which also offer an extra dimension of connectivity, inside and outside the laboratory - Kristina Smith writes It is just over 50 years since CONTROLS started selling its first testing equipment, beginning with compression machines. Today, it is redeveloping all its compression machines, unveiling two out of a new range of four at this year’s bauma exhibition in March. “CONTROLS has comp

A major road upgrade programme is being planned for India’s Maharashtra State. A loan worth US$200 million is being provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to pay for the work. The plan calls for roads in 34 of Maharashtra State’s districts to be surfaced. The State Government will provide $96 million to the programme also. The ADB is also providing a$1 million for technical assistance to the Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association.

A new bridge connecting Presidente Franco in Paraguay with Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil is now being built. The bridge will be the second spanning the Parana River in the area and is costing US$84.35 million to construct. The present Puente Internacional de la Amistad connection joins Paraguay’s Route 7 with Brazil’s Route 277 but is no longer able to cope with demand. The new bridge will carry all the heavy truck traffic passing this important international border when it opens, with the existing structure bein

A series of highway upgrades will improve transport links in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta area. Improvements will be carried out to 52km stretch of the National Highway 53. The tender process is opening shortly for this road improvement contract, with the work expected to cost around US$51.4 million. Improvements are also being planned for the Quan Lo-Phung Hiep National Highway. This work should commence in late 2019 and should be complete in 2020. Upgrades are also planned for a stretch of the Dong Thap Pro

An asphalt paver from Volvo CE has helped to improve the transport network in Central Sulawesi in Indonesia. The local road contractor PT Sapta Unggul is relying on a ABG5820 paver from Volvo Construction Equipment to make the roads safer and more accessible in Palu. Since 2016, the ABG5820 has been used to pave a number of key roads across the region. The machine has played a more important role recently. Palu, Central Sulawesi, was hit with a 7.5 magnitude quake that affected millions and killed thousa

Wheeled loaders from SDLG are helping build transport infrastructure in Indonesia, including new tolled highway routes. The machines are helping to ensure a steady supply of raw building materials for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Indonesia is the largest economy in South East Asia and is a key node in the BRI. The country will receive more than US$87 billion in infrastructure investment under the BRI, with the Manado-Bitung toll road amongst the high-profile projects. With land acquisition tro

Dressta is expanding its presence in the important Indonesian construction machinery market. Dressta’s exclusive dealer for Indonesia, Intraco Penta Prima Servis, now has a branch located in Surabaya. This branch is an exclusive location for Dressta brand machinery intended to serve customers in the region. Intraco Penta has a long history of distributing construction machinery in Indonesia and has a team of experienced staff. The firm provides parts and service support for the Dressta brand to the cons

Belarus has started pre-qualification for what will be the country’s first public-private partnership – the M-10 motorway upgrade. David Arminas reports "There’s a little bit of almost everything in this project,” said Steve Gilpin, technical team leader and associate of engineers Ove Arup & Partners International. True to his word, there is. That was how Gilpin kicked off his presentation about Belarus’s planned M-10 motorway project to 180 international bankers, private investors, contractors and en

HE Mehmet Cahit Turhan, minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, opened with a keynote address at the session on "The Belt & Road: Bridging the gaps for sustainable transport and growth in EurAsia". This was organised by the International Road Federation (IRF) on 22nd May 2019 at the ITF Summit 2019 in Leipzig. The panel included top representatives from the World Bank, BSEC, AIIB, IATA, Michelin and PwC and offered a deep insight into key topics surrounding the BRI. Organised jointly with th

A crackdown on drivers cheating toll fees is being carried out by the authorities responsible for the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Several drivers have been caught in Bucks Country recently, with four having been recorded as dodging around US$21,000 in tolls over a number of years and the first of their offences dating back to 2012. The worst of these offenders made 252 trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike without paying. The other offenders made 186, 136 and 65 trips on the route respectively without paying.

A road project in Ethiopia is benefiting from a financing package worth US$98 million being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

A series of major road projects are being offered for tender in the Czech Republic. The eight projects will cost in excess of €384 million. Further road project tenders will open in a few months. The work is needed as the Czech Republic scores poorly in terms of how many motorway link it has in comparison with many of its neighbours. One of the projects being planned is for a 13km motorway section connecting Belotin with Novy Jicin. Another major project is for the Brno to Zabovresky ring road, one is for u

One of the most important developments in the world of ‘PropTech’ over the last few years has been that of building information modelling (BIM). The technology essentially facilitates architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals to create and use an intelligent 3D model to gain valuable insight into how a building project can be better planned, designed and managed. Interested in ground-breaking ‘PropTech’, housing agents Sellhousefast.uk surveyed 602 architects, engineers and cons

Digitalization is changing the construction industry faster than expected. Automation, additional sensors and the networking of machines make it possible to exploit optimization potential and noticeably increase productivity. However, despite innovative working methods and digitization, the road construction process is still mainly based on one medium: paper. Paper can be used for a wide variety of purposes and offers unlimited flexibility. Construction schedules, work schedules, work sheets, mix orders

Horiba Mira has partnered with Coventry University to deliver the Trusted and Autonomous Parking (Park-IT) project at a facility under construction in the UK. Park-IT is one of eight projects that create Testbed UK, an ecosystem led by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles and Zenzic which seeks to accelerate the development of autonomous technology. Chris Reeves, head of C/AV technologies at Horiba - an automotive engineering and development consultancy - says Park-IT brings a testing fac

Construction work is underway on Vietnam’s key Trung Luong-My Thuan expressway project. The rate of construction has been speeded up for the section located in Tien Giang Province. Funding issues had previously slowed the work. However a complete financing package has yet to be secured.

Plans are being drawn up for a key coastal road project for Thailand. The project envisages the construction of a coastal road connection, forming part of the Thai Riviera development. The new road is being built in two separate phases, with the first of 683km and connecting Samut Songkhram to Chumphon, and the second of 578km and linking Chumphon to Songkhla. Work on phase two will commence in 2022. When complete, the road will provide a new connection between the Thai capital, Bangkok, and the Golok River