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A notable improvement has been seen in road safety in Lithuania. This is of note, given that the country used to have an extremely poor record for road crashes and road fatalities. In the period from 2001 to 2018, the country’s average road fatality rate plummeted by 75.9%. This is the biggest reduction in road deaths seen in any EU nation, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). The safety improvement has been continuous in Lithuania during this period according to the ETSC’s data, which

The Japanese authorities are taking steps to ensure greater road safety for ageing drivers. This follows data showing that elderly drivers are involved ina worryingly high number of serious road crashes in Japan. And with the age demographic of the country increasing, the problem looks likely to grow unless addressed effectively. As a result, older drivers will be able to benefit from fixed charges for using taxis, in a bid to tempt them away from using their own cars. Older drivers may also face changes t

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) says that road safety requires a major transformation to halve road fatalities by 2020. Data shows that road injuries present a significant public health concern worldwide. Road crashes are one of the top 10 causes of death globally. But despite roads in the EU becoming safer each year, the reduction of road fatalities since 2010 has reached a plateau. In 2018, there were 25,100 reported road fatalities across the 28 EU member states. The average road fatality

Montreal’s US$3.5-billion, 3.4km-long Samuel de Champlain Bridge has opened after four years of construction and months of delays, according to Canadian media reports. Work is continuing on the cycle and pedestrian paths and eventually a light-rail train will run down the middle of the six lane bridge over the St. Lawrence River. The new structure has a life-span of 125 years and runs alongside its namesake Champlain Bridge, a steel truss cantilever that opened in 1962 which will be demolished. Accord

Slovakia’s 14km stretch of the east-west motorway D1, from Bidovce to Budimir, will open in December, according to the government. Last year, Slovakia’s motorway company NDS and the transport ministry agreed a subsidy of nearly €204 million for the D1 section. The EU is covering 85% of the project cost, while the remaining 15% is covered by the government for construction the Budimir-to-Bidovce stretch, near the city of Kosice. The section, being built by Skanska for almost €237 million, is part of th

The UK’s Mersey Gateway Bridge has picked up the Outstanding Structure Award 2019 from IABSE, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering*. Judges described the bridge, designed by Cowi, as "an elegantly integrated solution for a multi-span concrete cable stay bridge in which form follows function". "Everyone involved with the design and construction the Mersey Gateway Bridge over the past six years knows that this is an incredibly special structure,” said Paul Sanders, Cowi’s

For the fourth consecutive year, Norway has topped traffic safety in the Europe Union as reported by the European Traffic Safety Council (ETSC). In 2018, the number of persons killed on Norwegian roads was 20 per million inhabitants. Next lowest was Switzerland with 27 per million inhabitants, followed by the UK with 30. Romania was the worst country with 96 killed per million inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria with 87 and Serbia with 78. The EU average was 49. Norway had 108 persons were killed in

The finance package required for Colombia’s Popayan-Santander de Quilichao highway project is being secured. The highway forms part of Colombia’s fourth generation (4G) motorway plan. Costing US$692.5 million, the necessary financing should be in place by July 2019. The work includes building 78km of dual carriageway and no less than 31 bridges. It also includes improving 18km of single carriageway roads and also installing two new toll booths. The construction work is expected to take a further 36 months t

Solutions have been found that will help finance key road projects in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro State. A combination of road concession packages and PPP agreements are expected to deliver the US$2.16 billion required to carry out the 142 projects needed for key infrastructure work in Rio de Janeiro State. Some of the infrastructure projects are for utilities or waste handling, but around 80% of the works needed for Rio de Janeiro’s southern region will be for road maintenance or upgrades. Key highways in need

Financing worth US$70 million is being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a key road project in Nigeria. The 198km road project will help improve transport in Ebonyi State, as well as between Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon. The project is expected to cost close to $168 million. The route of the Ebonyi Ring Road intersects with the new highway being built to link Enugu in Nigeria with Bamenda in Cameroon at two interchanges. This new ring road will provide better transport flow for the k

Two major road projects are being planned for Russia’s first and second cities, Moscow and St Petersburg. Bidding is opening for the project to build a stretch of Moscow’s North-East Expressway. The work is expected to cost around US$780.6 million and includes building five viaducts and three bridges, as well as rebuilding the existing Novosavinovsky Bridge. Meanwhile in St Petersburg, construction work for the Eastern High-Speed Diameter (VSD) is now being held back until 2022 at the earliest. The work i

The HDR-designed Marc Basnight Bridge in North Carolina recently won the Deep Foundation Institute’s Outstanding Project Award.

Financing is being secured for an important road connection in Rwanda. A grant of US$42 million is being provided by China, following and agreement with the Rwanda Government. The funding will help to pay for a 10km stretch of road that links Kigali with Masaka, lying to the east of the city. The work will also improve connections to Eastern Rwanda, while helping to boost the country’s economic development.

Ethiopia is now benefiting from a new tolled route, improving transport between Dire Dawa and Dewele.

JCB has set a new speed record, with a tractor. The firm modified one of its own Fastrac models for the record attempt, carried out at Elvington Airfield in the UK. Motorcycle racer Guy Martin took to the wheel of the heavily modified tractor, which was able to clock a speed of 165.76km/h (103.6mph). Aerodynamic improvements to the machine had been added by Williams Advanced Engineering. JCB previously set a World Land Speed record in 2006 with its DieselMax Streamliner. Twin diesel engines powered the veh

The European Commission said it will investigate the public financing for the Fehmarn Belt link to see if it in line with state aid rules. The announcement follows the European Union General Court's annulment of a previous Commission decision approving the support. "Today's opening of such an investigation is an invitation for all stakeholders to provide their input, which will allow the Commission to adopt a new, well-informed final decision,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner.

Raising the motorway speed limit in Norway to 120kph could mean four deaths annually, according to research by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen). It could also cost up to €504 million to build or upgrade 460km of motorways to withstand the wear and tear caused by having a 120kph limit. State Secretary Tommy Skjervold said that the government will analyse the research before making a final decision about raising or not the speed limit on some motorways. Norway has some of

There is concern at the ongoing road safety problems for Germany, with preliminary data showing worsening casualty statistics. During 2018, 3,270 people were killed in road crashes in Germany. A further 68,000 people suffered serious injuries in road crashes in Germany during 2018, with 328,000 having minor injuries. This data was compiled by Germany’s official statistics body, Destatis. The results from Destatis reveal a notable drop in road safety in Germany when compared with the previous year. In 20

Financing worth over US$705 million (A$1 billion) has been secured for road projects in New South Wales, Australia. This budget is for the 2019-2020 period and will pay for over 40 separate road projects. One of the key road projects targeted in the programme of works is for the M4 Smart Motorway, connecting Parramattta and Penrith. The work to the M4 is expected to cost $75.75 million (A$107.4 million). Meanwhile in Adelaide, South Australia, plans are in hand for a $283.5 million (A$402 million) grade

Construction activity remains strong in Europe, according to data from the industry body FIEC. The data from the FIEC reveals a 3.5% growth in activity in the overall EU construction industry in 2018 and forecasts a 2.2% growth for 2019. “Although the situation continues to vary from one country to the other, the overall picture is currently positive, with activity in new housebuilding even booming in several countries.” said FIEC president Kjetil Tonning, presenting construction’s annual statistics. “In