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The Serbian Government has secured a financing package to help pay for a key highway project. A loan worth €385.8 million is being provided by China’s Export-Import Bank for the construction of the Preljina-Pozega highway. In addition, the Serbian Government is also being provided with an €867 million loan from China’s Export-Import Bank for the development of the Novi Sad-Subotica railway line.

VSS Macropaver has been benefiting from strong demand for machines, both in the US home market and for exports – Mike Woof writes VSS Macropaver is seeing healthy demand for its machines both in its US home market and also for its export business. The factory has strong order levels for its Macropaver 12D and 12E models at present, reflecting a thriving market for road repair equipment. Doug Hogue is vice president at VSS Macropaver and said, “The D version is more of an export model. The E is more of a

Asphalt paver manufacturers are introducing new models, many of which are aimed at specific market needs – Mike Woof writes A range of new asphalt paver models are coming to market, with some having been developed specifically for certain markets. China’s demand for construction equipment has resulted in numerous firms developing machines just for this market for example. Customers in China have long favoured the European-style machines, featuring tamper bar screeds, over the machines with vibrating

The authorities in St Petersburg are setting out plans for a series of road improvement and expansion works. A budget of US$678.6 million has been set to assist in financing the road works. In all 25 road projects are being planned. Two key projects are for building the Yuzhno-Volkhonskaya Road and the Southern Latitudinal Highway (Phase I). Another two key projects are for the upgrades of the the Petrozavodskoye Highway and the Primorskoye Highway (Phase II). All four of these projects should commence in 2

Thailand is looking to support a major highway project that will connect with its neighbours. A new 138km highway link will improve transport connections between Thailand and Myanmar’s Dawei Special Economic Zone. This route will likely receive financial support via Thailand’s Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA). This is just one of several projects NEDA is aiming to assist. NEDA is in talks with representatives of a number of neighbouring countries such as Laos and Cambodi

Switzerland will soon tender for companies to build and supply a mobile system for physically shifting traffic away from road crews – the Astra Bridge concept. The federal highways agency - FEDRO - will be asking general contractors to submit bids starting this summer for the Astra Bridge system, according to the agency. The system, to be used on motorways, includes ramp sections at each end of what amounts to a train of elevated connected road sections. Vehicles run onto the top of the train which is

Volvo CE and SDLG are further deepening their corporate cooperation. From December 2020 excavators weighing 15tonnes or more that are made for the Chinese market will now bear the Volvo CE brand. These machines will also feature the latest Volvo CE technology. This is a marked change from the present situation, with Volvo CE and SDLG selling their separate products in China. However with the coming introduction of the China IV emission standards, the excavators weighing 15tonnes or more will feature the

SDLG is now offering its proven L958F wheeled loader in the Indian market. Replacing the firm’s earlier generation model, the L958F features a larger bucket capacity, heavier operating weight and a newly-designed cooling system. The firm says that the machine suits a wide range of heavy-duty working cycles, such as in material handling, land clearing and general earthmoving. The 5tonne capacity wheeled loader has a bucket size of 3.2m3 and a maximum dumping distance of 1.12m. Power comes from a Deutz

An extraction operation in China is benefiting from the use of construction machines supplied by XCMG. The site, in Xinjiang, has been using XCMG XE470D and XE700D excavators since 2016. The machines have now clocked in excess of 10,000 operating hours, with operators working in shifts allowing the excavators to operate 20 hours/day. The site is located at the northern edge of the Tianshan Mountains and the south-eastern edge of the Junggar Basin. It is affected by the Indosinian and Yanshan movements, w

Christmas follies Christmas congestion was caused in Cambridgeshire due to an errant Santa. Traffic was forced to halt on a busy stretch of road in the town of Wisbech after an inflatable Santa was blown from the house where it had been secured. The giant Santa inflatable came to rest on Cromwell road, lying on its side and appearing to wave drunkenly at vehicles passing in the opposite lane. Two men then managed to remove the giant inflatable from the roadway, allowing vehicles to pass. And an overze

The latest road safety data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides a serious cause for concern. The annual global road fatality rate has increased in the three years since the WHO last carried out a study of worldwide crash statistics. The report says that 1.35 million people are now killed on the world’s roads every year, compared with a figure of 1.25 million three years ago. The problem is particularly acute in the developing world, where increasing vehicle numbers combine with poor levels

Nortech has designed a range of vehicle detectors that can be set up using a smartphone app. This tool can be used to identify the presence of vehicles through an inductive loop buried beneath a road. The vehicle detectors come with new features and are backed up with a compact diagnostic unit that links to a smartphone app. This enables quick and easy detector setup and comprehensive loop fault analysis. Stable and robust, the units offer automatic frequency selection allowing a 7-series detecto

Caterpillar is launching a mobile app designed to allow customers to take advantage of equipment telematics data. The new Cat App delivers simplified, streamlined data directly to mobile devices, helping customers monitor machine location and health, react faster to fault codes and maximise machine uptime. The new Cat App is optimised for contractors who need to track critical machine operating data fr

During the past two years, Estonia’s Road Administration has clocked up 4,021km during a retroreflectivity project on all main state roads and on basic roads. Estonia’s Road Traffic Development Department of the Estonian Road Administration has been working with ERC Consulting to gather retroreflectivity data on road markings on all main state roads and basic roads. The work has shown that out of 1,609km of main state roads, 20% had problems. The reflective effect is created by glass beads on the surf

Geveko Markings says that better visibility, reduction of noise and increased road safety are the benefits its new ViaTherm LongDot road marking. ViaTherm LongDot has been developed in collaboration with Vejdirektoratet - the Danish Road Directorate – and several of its partners within the highways sector, says Geveko. Road markings everywhere are based mainly on two types of markings. The ordinary flat road marking (Type I) and the structured profiled marking (Type II). Flat markings are noiseless

The first section of the new steel-backed timber guardrail T32 has been recently installed near the city of Dijon, in eastern France. This crash barrier, CE certified in 2018, has been selected not only for its performance but also for its aesthetic quality, perfectly fitting the beautiful scenery of the Bourgogne region, known worldwide for its famous vineyards. The T32 is made of a B-profile steel guardrail cladded with four half-round logs of 16cm. This new system has been tested at N2 containment lev

Concrete barrier expert REBLOC has developed REBLOC 100SFP_8, a powerfully flexible barrier system for new bridges as well as for bridge refurbishment. Tested freestanding, the barrier achieves containment levels H2 with working-width W3 and H4b with W5. It is also possible to achieve H4b with W4 by using an additional position securing system. The safety concrete barrier is part of the REBLOC SWITCH product line which enables the use of the same system as either a temporary or a permanent barrier. All s

Caris Guardrail became the first firm to receive the Innovative Award in the guardrail segment from the International Road Federation last November. Yu Cheol, chief executive of Caris, received the 2018 IRF Global R2T Conference & Expo Innovative Award in Las Vegas. The award was for the South Korean company’s CG10 PVC-composite Guardrail. It has a honeycomb structure for increased strength and the elasticity needed to withstand high-speed vehicle impacts. The fluorescent material enables the guardrail to

Dutch identification technology company Nedap has launched two more cameras for its automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) platform. The advanced ANPR Lumo can be applied in challenging vehicular access control applications, including in regions with license plates that include different font formats. The ANPR Access V2 is the successor of Nedap’s ANPR Access, offering better performance while being fully compatible with existing installations, says the company. Both new cameras easily integrate

A new line of versatile hydraulic attachment tools is being offered by Epiroc. The firm has added three new ranges: ERC transverse drum cutters with integrated hydraulic rotation; ER-L axial drum cutters; and ADU auger drive units based on Erkat drum cutter technology. With models suitable for carriers in most weight classes, these attachments are said to offer reliability and productivity for a wide range of excavation and demolition tasks. The ER range of transverse drum cutters replaces Epiroc's prov