Features

Potain tower cranes are being used to construct a major cable-stayed bridge in China. The conditions are tough and feature high winds and monsoon conditions, with the cranes working at an altitude of 1,500m above sea level in a mountain range in southern China to build the Duge Beipanjiang Bridge, which will span 720m when it is complete The job is requiring six Potain tower cranes in total during the course of the US$92.75 million (570 million RMB) project. Two cranes have been erected at the job site a

Major investment in Kenya’s infrastructure from Japan will help boost the country’s transport connections and develop its economy. One of the key links for Kenya to benefit has been the Nairobi Western Ring Roads Project, which was recently opened to traffic Named the Cotton Road after a Japanese engineer, this new road will help tackle the Kenyan capital’s endemic congestion problems. Endless traffic jams have become the norm in Nairobi, not only impacting negatively on the health and productivity of r

The current Paso de Agua Negra is the highest border crossing between Chile and Argentina. On the Argentine side, the Agua Negra Pass is located at 4,765m above sea level and 260km from the city of San Juan in the province of San Juan in the north-west of the country. On the Chilean side, the pass lies 229km from the city of La Serena in the Coquimbo region. The pass can be accessed from the Argentine side via National Highway No 150 from the province of La Rioja, which runs for a total of 390km. From the C

Implementation of some large-scale investment projects for road building in Russia’s capital Moscow may be significantly delayed A series of major documentation issues are the cause of the problem. These have delayed projects for up to nine tenders on the total sum of US$2.6 billion (95 billion rubles), with anomalies having been found by the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service.

This year’s 50th anniversary of the first edition of Samoter in Verona, Italy, could mark the start of a construction equipment sales’ renaissance for a nation with a rich construction equipment manufacturing heritage. Guy Woodford reports It’s been a tough few years for the Italian construction equipment manufacturing industry. A difficult domestic and wider European sales market coupled with a challenging European economic climate has created something of a perfect storm. But many Italian and other Eur

Driveline technology continues to develop rapidly, with many manufacturers at this year’s Conexpo exhibition showing Tier 4 Final emissions solutions, along with a host of fuel saving transmissions and hydraulic systems, all aiming to reduce operating costs for the customer. However, while there was certainly a hybrid presence at the show, things haven’t perhaps moved forward as fast as many had expected.

Engines and drivelines technologies have move forward, as could be seen at Conexpo 2014 - Geoff Ascroft reports Solutions for Tier 4 Final emissions regulations dominated Conexpo 2014, with many firms showing off their options of DOC, DPF and SCR after-treatments. Deutz, while staying with an SCR-only solution, took a more unusual approach on its high horsepower V6 12litre and V8 16litre engines. Both get a dual SCR after treatment system to meet Tier 4 Final emission standards. Using a dual SCR system,

Among the new developments in materials testing highlighted this month is a brand new idea from one manufacturer: in-depth training to help upskill technicians in developing countries - Kristina Smith reports CONTROLS has added another dimension to its business with the launch of a specialist training service: CONTROLS Academy Centre. In what the construction testing equipment manufacturer believes is a first for the industry, CONTROLS will be providing in-depth theoretical and practical training to thos

Advances in survey technology and the evolving face of road procurement are driving demand for highway condition data. Mark Thomas, infrastructure services manager at Fugro Aperio writes how surveys of new roads can improve long-term quality While a growing suite of non-intrusive testing, measurement and survey technologies are widely used to target highway repairs and to determine asset management strategies, the use of these powerful tools remains patchy in the early stages of the infrastructure life cycl

Radar Portal Systems (RPS) has spent a lot of time developing its sophisticated pavement top-surface photometric imaging system so it can cater specifically for the aviation market. This has now been specially developed for use on aircraft runways and taxiways The system was recently used at Brisbane Airport to survey runway and runway shoulders, collecting photometric top-surface data at a 4m width at speeds of up to 100km/h. This dataset allows the firm to display meshing data of the runway surface showin