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A programme of works aimed at eliminating all the rail crossings in Australia’s Victoria State is being established. The work is expected to cost US$705 million (A$1 billion). Eight level crossings will be removed in the north of Melbourne during 2019. In all, 75 level crossings in Melbourne will be removed by 2025. The aim of the plan is to improve safety, replacing the level crossings with either bridges or underpasses.

The tender process is now underway for the massive tunnel project for Guangzhou City in China. The tunnel will measure 5.3km in length and the project will also include building approach roads measuring a total of 3.6km. The new tunnel will be built in the city’s Nansha District and will provide a connection under the Zhujiang River Estuary. Building the tunnel and the associated connecting roads is expected to cost US$618 million.

Construction work is underway on the 8km Karavanke Tunnel connecting Austria and Slovenia. The work is being carried out at present from the Austrian end of the tunnel link. However the selection process for the contractor to handle the Slovenian end of the tunnel is now underway. Six firms have shown interest in the project and are in talks with the Slovenian state motorway operator, DARS.

LiuGong Machinery has appointed a new vice president to cover the mining machine segment. Kris Kulkarni now works at LiuGong North America as vice president, Global Mining. Kulkarni began his professional career at Caterpillar in 1996 in structures and steadily progressed in engineering roles across diverse mining products including large wheel loaders, mining trucks, surface drills, and hydraulic shovels. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master’s from the Universi

One of the contractors working on the demolition of the Morandi Bridge in the city of Genoa in Italy is facing a serious legal issue. The firm, Tecnodem, has been hit by an anti-Mafia ruling. This has come into effect due to alleged links between a senior employee and the Camorra groups. The authorities in Genoa have been carrying out background checks on the numerous companies and employees working on the Morandi Bridge demolition works.

The design of a stretch of Chile’s Americo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) highway has been revealed.

An important new road section is expected to cut congestion in the area around the city of Constantine once it opens to traffic.

The upcoming SaMoTer exhibition in the Italian city of Verona will now be the key venue for the precast concrete supply chain business in Southern Europe. The show organisers say that as of 2020, the sector will be covered at Veronafiere within the scope of the triennial international exhibition of construction equipment scheduled 21st-25th March (www.samoter.it). This is the outcome of an agreement signed by Veronafiere Spa and ad-media, the German company that organises ICCX-International Concrete Confer

Sany has introduced no less than 42 new models to its range of construction machines, spanning a wide array of market segments. One of the most innovative new developments from Sany is the firm’s VR unmanned excavator control package. This allows the machine to be operated remotely so that it can be used in difficult or dangerous applications. These duties would include operations such as carrying out the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) in areas of unstable geology where there is a potential for roof

Ammann has assembled a plant that it says is highly competitive on price and performance for its customer Thomas Beton, a concrete supplier near Hamburg. Thomas Beton is among the leading producers of high-quality ready-mix concrete in northern Germany with daily deliveries to infrastructure sites as well as residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural projects. The new Ammann plant – the ninth Ammann-Elba solution for Beton – means that Beton is strengthening its local physical proximity to cu

Caterpillar has expanded its product range for the Chinese and emergent markets, with its own branded machines and also for its Chinese subsidiary, Shandong Engineering Machinery (SEM). Caterpillar has introduced three wheeled loaders for Chinese and emergent territory customers, with the 950 GC, 980L, and 982M models. Also new are the Next Generation 320 and 323 excavators, which benefit from a Smart Mode that automatically matches engine and hydraulic power to specific digging conditions, and an advanced

A Kentucky concrete slipforming contractor is benefiting from new technology in optimising kerb and gutter work. Fox Enterprises now constructs offset kerb, gutter and parking lot island placements using an on-site guidance system. The system permits automated placement of those items, including tight radii. Its fleet recently expanded to include a larger slipform paver that can handle offset curb-and-gutter paving, but also inset pavement slab paving.

An innovative sustainable drainage material is said to offer a simple and versatile solution to removing toxic heavy metals pollution from highways. Developed by the water infrastructure systems provider SDS Limited, SDS Aqua-Xchange is a versatile and efficient granular material that captures copper and zinc in surface water runoff from motorways, trunk roads and other high-traffic areas. SDS Aqua-Xchange is an engineered treatment media that can be used to meet the UK’s Sustainable Drainage Systems (S

Guntert & Zimmerman (G&Z) is experiencing healthy sales for its concrete pavers, with the factory also benefiting from upgrades. Improved manufacturing processes at the G&Z factory in Ripon, California, will help reduce delivery times for customers. This is important given the strong orders that the G&Z plant is handling at present, with the workforce also the highest for many decades. Rolf Guntert is executive vice president, sales and said, “We’re continuing to grow.”

GOMACO is offering yet more functionality on its already versatile GT-3600 slipformer with the release of the latest Xtreme GT-3600 machine.

Power Curbers has seen strong sales of its machines during 2018, with demand expected to continue through 2019 – Mike Woof writes Power Curbers has seen strong sales for its slipformers during 2018, with customers keen to replace ageing equip-ment. Sales of the 5700-C have been very healthy. One of the key changes in the market that Power Curbers has observed is with the growing interest in machine control solutions amongst its customers. Power Curbers said that there has been a massive change in custom

Topcon claims that its HiPer VR GNSS receiver is compact, light and benefits from advanced GNSS technology. The firm says that the rugged design is built to withstand harsh construction environments. Using Topcon’s sophisticated GNSS chipset with Universal Tracking Channels technology, the HiPer VR tracks every satellite signal. The compact, rugged design also features an integrated IMU and eCompass. The HiPer VR can be used for static or kinematic GNSS post-processed surveys: as a network RTK rover with

Bentley Systems has introduced its SYNCHRO XR, its app for immersively visualising 4D construction digital twins with the new Microsoft HoloLens 2. The SYNCHRO XR for HoloLens 2 system allows users to interact collaboratively with digital construction models using intuitive gestures to plan, visualise, and experience construction sequencing. Project digital twin data is visualised with the HoloLens 2 through Bentley’s connected data environment, powered by Microsoft Azure. With the mixed reality solutio

Trimble is now offering its T7 Tablet, a rugged, lightweight and versatile device for construction surveying applications. The unit features the Trimble Siteworks Software for construction surveying, allowing it to provide real-time data to visualise cut/fill levels, calculate material volumes, check grade and communicate work orders. This can allow users to to improve productivity and decision-making. Scott Crozier, general manager for Trimble’s Civil Engineering and Construction Division said, “Surveyors

A motor racing circuit in Italy has benefited from a new asphalt surface, with the paving work carried out by machines from Sumitomo.