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A series of road improvements are to be carried out in New Zealand to help boost road safety. The New Zealand Government has identified 870km of roads that suffer high crash rates and which are in need of safety upgrades. A budget of US$901.5 million (NZ$1.4 billion) has been set for the work, which should be complete by 2021. Rumble strips, guard rail and shoulder widening are planned to be carried out.

Kazakhstan is setting out a budget for road repair and upgrade work, in a bid to improve the country’s transport network. The Ministry of Investment and Development has plans to carry out works to 1,700km of Kazakhstan’s primary road links during 2019. The programme of works is expected to cost US$222.8 million. A similar road repair programme with a slightly smaller budget was carried out during 2018.

Uncomfortable questions are being asked about Australia’s WestConnex toll road project. An inquiry carried out by the New South Wales Parliament says that the transparency of the US$11.85 billion (A$16.8 billion) project has not been satisfactory. Questions have been asked about the operation of the Sydney Motorway Corporation, with regard to its accountability and disclosure methods. Questions have also been asked about the cost of the new highway stretch linking with Sydney’s international airport. The 3

Norway’s Public Roads Administration is looking to boost highway construction in the country. Previously only routes carrying more than 12,000 vehicles/day would be considered for upgrade to highway status. However a new report from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration is looking to upgrade roads carrying traffic loads of 6,000-12,000 vehicles/day to highway status also. This could result in an additional 1,110km of roads being upgraded to highway status. These would feature two lanes in either directi

Kenya is seeing a slight improvement in its road safety statistics, with a minor reduction in the country’s annual road casualty rate. The data comes from Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), which reveals a drop in road deaths for 2018 compared with 2017. In 208 3,207 people died in road crashes in Kenya, a notable fall from the 3,658 recorded in 2017. Pedestrians accounted for 1,023 fatalities, while motorcycle riders accounted for 669 deaths. Meanwhile 658 vehicle passengers and 322 ve

A funding package from Japan will help pay for road upgrade work in Ghana. The US$57 million finance package will be used to pay for works in Ghana’s Ashanti Region and in the Central Region. In the Ashanti Region work will be carried out on the Bekwai-Anhwia Nkwanta-Kumasi road links, boosting connectivity for the country’s copper mining sector. Meanwhile in the Central Region, work will be carried out on the N8 route from Yamoransa to Assin Praso, helping to develop the local economy.

In Australia a contract worth US$2.75 billion (A$3.9 billion) has been awarded to a consortium made up of John Holland and CPB Contractors. The design build deal includes constructing an interchange as well as a 1km stretch of tunnel that will connect with the Iron Cove Bridge. The contract is due for completion by 2023 and forms part of the WestConnex toll road project. Building the Rozelle interchange will be complex as the work will include construction three levels of tunnels as well as a connection to

A design by Italian architect, Renzo Piano, has been selected to replace the Morandi Bridge in Genoa. The new bridge design was submitted to the authorities in Genoa as a proposal in September. Piano is said to be Italy’s most famous living architect and is originally from the city of Genoa himself. The new structure will be built largely from steel and Piano claims that it will be able to last 1,000 years. The new bridge will be built by a consortium comprising the Italian contractors, Salini Impregi

A new expressway project is being planned in Vietnam. The expressway will connect Soc Trang Province and Can Tho City to An Giang Province's Chau Doc city. Half of the necessary funding will be supplied by the Vietnamese Government, with development funding and private sources likely to provide the rest of the financing required. The 200km highway will feature two lanes in either direction and will cost some US$1.27 billion to build. Construction should start in 2024 and be complete in 2026.

A series of proposed infrastructure projects have been given approval in Thailand. Worth some US$213.3 million, the projects will be implemented in Udon Thani Province, Bueng Kan Province, Nong Khai Province, Loei Province and Nong Bua Lamphu Province. Transport infrastructure works being planned include a new port on the Mekong River and road works in Chiang Kan Province and Loei Province. In addition, a new 139km road will connect Udon Thani with Bueng Kan.

Bulgaria has earmarked €690 million to build a 134km section of the Hemus motorway between Boaza and the I-5 Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo road in the north. Around 170km have been built of the 420km Hemus Motorway, designated the A2. The motorway is divided into two sections with the first one running from the capital Sofia to Yablanitsa, crossing Stara planina - Balkan mountains. The second segment connects Varna, on the Black Sea coast, and Shumen, an inland city of around 80,000.

Romaina’s new Provincia Transilvania de Nord association for economic development will include road and rail projects. Provincia Transilvania – which starts operations in January – will allocate funds, especially for feasibility studies. The organisation has been championed by the Romanian counties of Satu Mare, Maramures, Bistrita, and Sala, according to Romanian media. Road projects include construction of a motorway between Satu Mare and Baia Mare as well as an orbital road system around Baia Mare.

Work is now complete on a US$33.7 million highway project in Costa Rica. The work was carried out by Eurofinsa and involved upgrading Route 35, including building four bridges and two interchanges, one of which featured two overpasses. The National Route 35 was widened two four lanes between Florencia and La Abundancia and three lanes between Quesada and La Abundancia. According to IBT, part of Eurofinsa, the upgraded road forms part of a new highway that connects the Interamerican North Route 1 to the r

Plans are in hand for the bauma CTT RUSSIA 2019 construction machinery exhibition, which will be held in Moscow from June 4th-7th 2019. Registration is now underway for the event, claimed to be Russia’s most important construction equipment and technologies trade fair. The event will be held at Moscow’s Crocus Expo IEC and this show will be of special note as it will be the 20th anniversary of the exhibition. The organisers point to Russia’s positive economic market due to planned infrastructure expansion a

Plans are being drawn up in Russia for the M-49 route in St Petersburg, a project which is expected to cost US$225.2 million. The new road will be built in St Petersburg’s Primorsky District, on the northern side of the city. The work is expected to help reduce peak time congestion in the city. The plans call for the road to be operated under an 11 year concession package. Much of the financing is being provided by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), with the remainder being supplied by the First Eurasian

A 198km stretch of highway in northwestern Vietnam is to be upgraded. The route forms part of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Kunming-Hi Phòng Transport Corridor. A loan worth US$188 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help pay for the work. The highway runs through a mountainous region and is important to Vietnam as it provides a connection between Hà Ni and China's Yunnan province. The work will improve the existing road connections and boost connectivity for Vietnam’s northern provinces

Russia plans to spend a record amount on developing its road and transport network for the 2019-2021 period. The country’s Ministry of Economic Development is setting a state financing budget of over US$84 billion. This is the largest sum that Russia has directed towards road spending over the last 10 years. One of the key projects will be the upgrading of the Kerch-Sevastopol highway, which is expected to cost $1.6 billion. New transport hubs for Murmansk and Novorossiysk as well as airports will also be

The Court of Justice of the European Union has said Denmark’s state grant aid to the proposed Fehmarn Belt link is illegal under EU rules. The court noted that the European Commission approved the Fehmarn project’s financing – total cost likely around the €8.7 billion - in July 2015 without a formal procedure. Denmark is completely responsible for financing the project that will replace a ferry service. Part of the funds were to come through the European Union and its Connecting Europe Facility for tr

Work to upgrade a section of Paraguay’s Route 8 between Caazapa and Yuty is finally close to completion. The work to improve the 73km section of the highway is some two years behind schedule. The bridge spanning the Pirapo River that forms part of the project is already open to traffic however. The South Korean contractor Ilsung Construction is currently carrying out the paving work for the project. The firm is also building an additional 12.7km of new access roads to provide connections to Maciel, Yegros,

An upgrade to Norway’s E39 and E6 routes is being planned, in a bid to boost traffic flow and also to optimise safety. The projects are being managed by Norway’s state-owned road contractor Nye Veier. The E39 will be widened and improved between Flekkefjord and Ålgård. Meanwhile E6 will be widened and improved between Ulsberg and Melhus. In addition the E6 will also be upgraded from Moelv to Øyer as well as from Kvål to Melhus.