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Global sales of earth moving machinery in 2018 accelerated sharply – up 23% on 2017 to top out at 1 million units. The record result in 2018 was driven by a combination of several factors. One of these factors is investments in construction on a global scale in excess of €7,150 billion, as highlighted by data analysed by Prometeia for SaMoTer Outlook 2019, the sector observatory presented today at Veronafiere during the 5th edition of SaMoTer Day. The event is one of the stages in the run up to the 31st

A workshop into environmentally-friendly road construction was held in Denmark - report from Mikkel Bruun, Bruun Communication Recent advances in road construction have included the development of climate asphalt, which reduces rolling resistance and saves CO2. But what is it and how does it affect the production and use of asphalt pavements? And what are the socio-economic implications? The ROSE project that just ended with a workshop in Copenhagen might hold the answers. The rule of thumb is that lo

Morgan Morris, a master’s student at the University of Central Florida, recounts her life-changing experience as President of the 2019 Class of IRF Fellows After the short span of a week, a graduate research IRF Fellow transforms into an approachable, professional leader overflowing with inspiration and ideas. “In some ways, attending the IRF Fellows Road Scholar Program is comparable to going to an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet. You are not sure what exactly you signed up for, but in the end, you rea

For more than 50 years, Evonik – a world leader in specialty chemicals and the inventor of MMA cold plastic road markings - has been at the forefront of efforts to improve road safety and disseminate best practices in the field On 18th December 2018, Evonik bestowed the 3rd edition of the “Evonik Road Safety Award” in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The Road Safety Award is designed to support sustainable road safety initiatives, as part of the company’s corporate and social responsibility. It acknowle

Qatar has started construction of a 1.2km cable-stayed bridge that will be the longest in the Gulf state. The bridge will have 20 pylons and 16 piers to reach the highest point of 30m. It is part of the Sabah Al-Ahmad Corridor project, according to the Public Works Authority of Qatar (Ashgal). With four lanes in each direction, the bridge will accommodate more than 16,000 vehicles a hour, according to Ashghal engineer Abdullah al-Naiemi. Comnpletion is set for early 2021. Meahwhile, the Haloul Int

The partial collapse of the Polcevera viaduct, better known as the Morandi Bridge, has prompted debate regarding the technical and administrative aspects of maintaining road infrastructures. We discussed it with the engineer Gabriele Camomilla, former Director of Research and Maintenance of the Società Autostrade, who coordinated the only major structural intervention performed on the bridge, carried out in the early 1990s

Malaysia’s Sarawak state government has appointed Opus Consultants, part of UEM Edgenta, as management consultant for the Coastal Road Network and Second Trunk Roads project. The US$2.65 billion project's first work package was awarded to Opus Consultants. The firm will be working alongside Sarawak Public Works Department in offering overall technical expertise and project management. Opus will conclude preliminary and detailed designs of 20 work packages, which range from the building of new bridges

Latvia’s interior affairs minister Sandis Ģirģens has ordered the closure of Deglava Bridge from today, 25 April, declaring is a safety risk. “I believe there are enough factors to conclude this bridge puts people’s lives at risk,” said Ģirģens, as reported by national media. If the city doesn’t close the bridge today, Ģirģens said the national State Police will. Latvia's State Construction Control Bureau last week ordered the closure of the bridge after inspectors found that the bridge's supportin

Serbia said it signed two road construction agreements with China during the 16plus1 Summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia earlier this month. The two deals are for construction of the Pozega-Boljare and Novi Beograd-Surcin road routes. The Pozega-Boljare project alone is worth €2 billion and will be financed from the existing loan from the Exim Bank, according to media reports. China’s east-west Belt and Road Initiative was the focus of the annual 16plus1 Summit that brought together leaders from Beijing plus

The tender process is due to open for a major road project in Chile. The budget for the project has now been increased from US$520 million to $800 million as extra works have now been included in the project. The work will be carried out on the Talca-Chillan section of Ruta 5, the main north-south highway in Chile. The winner of the tender process will carry out the construction work and then have a 10 year concession package to manage the highway. Rute 5 is one of the most important highways in Chile, stre

A series of highway improvement works will be carried out in Brazil. The US$521.2 million budget will help to develop transport links in the country. The budget for the work has been set by the Brazilian Government. The various highway works will be targeted on key highway routes that carry heavy truck traffic.

Sweden’s Transport Administration (Trafikverket) has awarded a contract to the Elväg Syd consortium for an electric and recharging bus lane in the city of Lund. The demonstration area will be built in the bus lane along 1km of Getingevägen Road near central Lund. Construction will begin during the first quarter of 2020 and last for three years. The project’s budget is €9.3 million of which Trafikverket will contribute €8.3 million with the other consortium players supplying the remaining funds. Lun

Swedish inductive road consortium Smartroad Gotland has won a contract to convert 1.6km of road around Visby into an electric vehicle demonstration bed. The award by Sweden’s government transport administration agency Trafikverket covers a route used by buses and is also popular with logistics vehicle drivers between Visby Airport and central Visby. The former Hanseatic city, with a population around 25,000, is on the island of Gotland and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. Visby joins

A series of major road improvement projects are to be carried out on key routes in Western Australia. In all US$1.07 billion (A$1.52 billion) is being budgeted for the work to eight important road sections in the state. The Tonking Highway will benefit from improvements to three sections. These include a widening project, a new link to connect with Mundijong, two new interchanges and a flyover. Meanwhile the Roe Highway will benefit from upgrades to two road sections., including new interchanges. Improvemen

Resurfacing work on a key road link in Madagascar is to go ahead. The work will be carried out to the 150km road section connecting Ambilobe City and Vohemar City. The resurfacing work will be paid for by a loan of US$155 million from China. Once the road improvement work is complete, journey times along the revistalised route will be reduced.

Widening work is planned for Route 2 and Route 7 in Paraguay. These highway stretches play important transport roles for the country, linking with capital Asuncion and also connecting the Eastern and Western borders of the country with neighbouring Argentina and Brazil. Construction work is due to commence in mid-2019, although the complete financing package for this PPP project has yet to be finalised. Funding of around US$500 million will be needed for the work, with the project being Paraguay’s first PPP

The tender process is opening for an important road project for Chile. The bidding process for the 142km road upgrade project is opening at the end of May 2019, with construction expected to start in 2021 once the necessary permissions process and financing package has been finalised. The work is for the improvement of the Camino de la Fruta road link, Chile’s Ruta 66. This road runs from San Antonio on the coast and connects with the country’s key north-south link, Ruta 5, at Pelequén to the north of San F

Malaysia’s Penang state has approved the PAN 1 Highway project but with conditions attached following an environmental impact study. Work could start next year on the 19.5km project – officially called the Pan Island Link 1 - that will likely cost around US$1.7 billion, according to a report in the newspaper Sundaily. The project will consist of 7.6km of viaducts, four tunnel sections totalling 10.1km in length and embankment sections totalling 1.8km. Penang Island, around 300km², is the main islan

The French excavator market rose by 1% in 2018 after a hike of 23% the year before, according to the French trade association CISMA. Wheel excavators increased by 31% while mini excavators decreased by 1%. Sales of crawler excavators were up 4% but the wheel excavator market increased by 9%. With 17,600 units sold last year - both wheel and crawler excavators - France remains the third biggest market in Europe with 16.5% of market share. It is the seventh largest market in the world. By category

A new bypass and bridge project for Tolyatti will commence in Russia’s Samara region. The bridge will span the Volga River and the work is costing US$462.4 million. The funds will be allocated in three stages. The first tranche will be received in 2019, while the second and third will be transferred in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The 97km road project includes the 3.75km bridge link, with opening due in 2024.