Russia’s crucial city link – construction underway
Construction is still underway on Russia’s key highway project, the M11 route connecting Moscow with St Petersburg. The seventh stage of the project, measuring 103km, is now opening for traffic. Building this seventh stage involved laying 7.6 million m2 of asphalt and using 13 million m3 of sand. The eighth stage of the M11 highway will connect with the St Petersburg Ring Road and is around 85% complete. Should work continue to plan, the entire M11 highway will open to traffic in October 2019.
Study rates Czech road system poorly
A new study has rated the road network in the Czech Republic very poorly. The study was carried out by Raiffeisenbank and shows that the country’s road network is the sixth worst in the EU. According to the study’s findings, the Czech Republic €4.66 billion less in its road network than the average for other countries of a similar size during the 2010 to 2017 period. The Czech Republic requires an additional 800km of highways, with this network intended for completion by 2030. However, highway construction
Serbia highway tendering
The tender process is opening in Serbia for a major new highway construction project. The Moravski Koridor project involves the construction of a new highway measuring 112km in all. Bidding is opening for the project, which will improve journey times between Pojate and Preljina in central Serbia although estimated costs for the work have not so far been released.
Paraguay road rebuild tender due to open
The tender process is being planned for a key road rebuild project for Paraguay. The contract will be for repairs, maintenance and improvement works to the stretch of Route 12, connecting Chaco'i with General Bruguez. Studies are being carried out presently to plan the work that will be required to improve the road. This section of Route 12 measures 160km and runs between Chaco'i, located just across the Paraguay River from capital Asuncion, along the border with neighbouring Argentina. The bidding process
Bentley Systems announces finalists for annual awards
Bentley Systems has announced the finalists in the Year in its Infrastructure 2019 Awards programme. The annual awards programme highlights excellence amongst Bentley software users advancing infrastructure design, construction, and operations throughout the world. In all 12 independent jury panels of industry experts selected the 54 finalists from 571 nominations submitted by more than 440 organisations in more than 60 countries.
The finalists for Year in Infrastructure 2019 awards for going digital adv
Tarmac tyre trial on UK motorway
Highways England is carrying out trials of rubberised asphalt on a busy stretch of UK motorway. A section of the M1 near the city of Leicester has been repaved by contractor Tarmac, using a special asphalt mix containing crumb rubber from recycled motor vehicle tyres. Tarmac has developed the mix specially to meet tough requirements from Highways England.
This trial will determine how the stretch of highway, located between junction 22 and junction 23, behaves in terms of running wear, skid resistance and
New road project commencing in Kenya
Work is due to start shortly on a new road project in Kenya that will boost transport between Kenol and Isiolo. The US$297.5 million project is for a dual carriageway connecting Kenol, Nyeri, Sagana and Isiolo. The road will measure around 163km in all and construction is expected to take three years to complete. Financing for the work is being provided jointly by the African Development Bank and the Kenyan Government.
New Polish motorway opens to traffic
A new section of Poland’s important A1 motorway project is now open to traffic. The 33km stretch connects Pyrzowice with Czestochowa in southern Poland. This forms part of a project to build a 58km section of the A1 route, with an expected cost of €696 million. Improving transport connections with Pyrzowice is important for southern Poland as the town is the location of the airport serving the nearby industrial city of Katowice, as well as Czestochowa.
The A1 motorway connects the port of Gdansk in Poland’
New Panama Canal bridge crossing
Work is now complete the Panama Canal third bridge project. Costing US$590 million, the bridge features two lanes in either direction. Called the Atlantico Bridge, construction started on the link in early 2013. The new link will help reduce journey times for commuters as well as helping Panama’s tourist trade.
UAE introducing new tolling system
A new road tolling system is to be implemented in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Sophisticated electronic tolling technology is being installed at the four bridges, Al Maqtaa, Mussafah, Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa, that connect with Abu Dhabi city. Introducing this tolling system is expected to generate an estimated US$109 million/year in revenue. This will be used to help develop transport infrastructure in Abu Dhabi so as to reduce the reliance on the road network for commuting, improving traf
Rolls-Royce restructuring its Power Systems business unit
Rolls-Royce is restructuring its Power Systems business unit, while the firm also claims strong financial performance.
Wacker Neuson is reporting strong half year results
Wacker Neuson is reporting strong financial performance for the first half of 2019. The firm says that it continued on its growth path, with revenue climbing 15.2% compared with the same period in the previous year. Revenue hit €950.7 million compared with €825.1 million for the first half of 2019. “The first half of the year showed us once again that our solutions meet the needs of our customers,” explained Martin Lehner, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE. “We gained shares in numerous markets, driven largely by our
Polish road tenders being planned
A series of road project tenders are being planned by Poland’s roads authority, GDDKiA. These are expected to open before the end of 2019 and will have a combined value of close to €2.8 billion in all. The project tenders will be for a total distance of 250km of road development works.
Four stretches of the S5 route will benefit from improvements, between Nowe Marzy and Dworzysko, from Dworzysko to Aleksandrowo, between Biale Blota and Szubin and from Wirwajdy to Ornowo. Work will be carried out on two se
Paraguay highway upgrade work planned
Upgrade work for Paraguay’s Route 2 is being planned. This will improve transport for the country’s capital Asunción. The road runs eastwards from the city to connect with Route 7, which connects with the Brazilian border and also lies close to the border of Argentina’s north eastern tip. Costing an estimated US$500 million, the work will be carried out by a consortium, Rutas del Este. The project is being handled under the PPP model while the consortium comprises the firms Sacyr and Ocho A. The contract w
Tunnel project for south German town to restart
Construction work is to restart on a new tunnel project in the South German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen following the necessary approvals having been received. The town lies to the south of Munich and is a popular winter ski resort, while in summer it also experiences heavy tourist traffic as it lies on a key route between Germany and Austria, as well as Italy, lying to the south. The busy Autobahn 95 connects Munich’s southern side with Garmisch-Partenkirchen. But this route ends just to the northern si
Indra tech to boost safety on Colombia highway
Indra is to supply traffic management technology, communications and toll systems to the Bucaramanga-Barrancabermeja-Yondó highway in Colombia, in a deal valued at €10.5 million.
The company says its line of Mova Traffic solutions will manage the 152km roadway, which unites the Santander department in the Andes mountains with the country's main oil production centres.
Indra’s Horus integrated traffic and tunnel management platform is expected to provide operators with real-time information of everyt
New Tanzanian bridge project moving ahead
Tanzania’s planned Kigongo-Busisi Bridge will span part of Lake Victoria and improve transport connections for the country’s Mwanza Region.
Clyde Bridge contract opening for tender
The tender process for the planned Clyde Bridge project in Scotland is now opening. The swing bridge is expected to cost €100 million to construct and will be the first of its type spanning the River Clyde. Connecting Renfrew with Yoker, the bridge is part of a wider programme of work to boost transport links in the area, with 2km of roads and facilities for vulnerable road users also being planned.
Germany’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State seeing road improvements
Major road improvements works are planned for Germany’s Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State. Financing for the work worth €194 million is being provided by the German Federal Government. A further €60 million is being provided by the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Government. The financing will be directed towards upgrading key roads, as well as cycling facilities. However there has been some criticism as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State suffers from poor infrastructure and requires a higher level of road development to
Argentina road works; funding secured
Funding has been secured for a series of road works in Argentina. The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is providing US$300 million in the shape of a loan for work on a number of key routes. The road projects being targeted include Routes 6 and Route 8 in Rio Negro; Route 23 in Villa Elisa; the Gualeguaychu ring-road; Route 1 in Catamarca. Meanwhile the finance package forms part of a much wider plan from the IADB to develop infrastructure in Argentina.