Features

Sydney now has a renovated airport runway thanks to contractors Antoun Civil Engineering and Volumetric Concrete Australia. The airport is a major facility as it is the international hub for airlines like Jetstar Airways and Qantas and handles around 37 million travellers each year, with almost 300,000 aircraft movements. Wear was an issue and the decision was made by the Sydney Airport Corporation Limited (SACL) to replace the concrete slabs that make up the runway system. Originally constructed in the 195

In Tucson, Arizona, contractor McNeil brothers is using a two-track GOMACO concrete slipformer on a 3.2km stretch of highway. This project is for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and involves widening Interstate 10 to four lanes of traffic in each direction between Ruthrauff Road and Prince Road in Tucson. This new stretch was needed to better handle increasing traffic demands in the city and includes rebuilt entrance and exit ramps to improve access to the city.

Concrete paving is being carried out on a key section of Interstate 20, close to the US city of Colombia in South Carolina Contractor Zachry Construction has had success using its Guntert & Zimmerman concrete slipformer for an Interstate paving project in South Carolina. The firm has been using the machine on the US$64 million project to resurface a section of Interstate 20, close to the city of Columbia.

Reducing vibrations on a bridge, supplying high-quality binders to emerging countries and helping small and medium players with warm mix, this month’s stories showcase some innovative bitumen technology solutions - Kristina Smith reports The Kessock Bridge in the Highlands of Scotland has become the third bridge in the UK to be resurfaced with Gussasphalt. A dense mastic asphalt containing Nynas Endura N5, a polymer modified binder, Gussasphalt has been designed to have a longer life than standard mastic as

Retrofitting an existing asphalt plant is only the first step in the successful production of mixes containing RAP –fine tuning and know-how are also required. The Fayat Group, owner of Marini, shares some of its secrets with Kristina Smith Many asphalt producers are making mistakes when producing mixes containing RAP, says Mikael Azran, head of marketing for Fayat mixing plants. The result is that they are wasting energy and could be in danger of producing lower quality mixes.

Cutting-edge RAP production technology and other key asphalt plant equipment in demand globally is examined by Guy Woodford Grossmann, a building services company based in south-east Germany, is now using a state-of-the-art Benninghoven Competence BA 4000 asphalt plant to produce asphalt. Equipped with Benninghoven’s Hot Recycling System RA 180, the plant is said to be highly efficient, economical and one of the most powerful available.

The US Interstate network needs serious investment, and tolling could provide the answer - *Bob Poole writes Could the ageing US Interstate highway system be rebuilt and modernised using toll finance? What kind of toll rates would this require? How feasible would doing this be? In September the Reason Foundation released a study on this issue. The study showed that it may be feasible to finance the reconstruction and selective widening of nearly the entire Interstate system using moderate toll rates collect

Hugh Basham, transport strategy and policy director, UK and Ireland, at DHL Supply Chain, enters the ongoing global debate around the use of road tolls Road pricing has always polarised opinion. Whilst road users - who are already struggling to cope with high fuel prices and insurance premiums – may resent the additional expense, environmentalists and frequent drivers often welcome the introduction of tolls as offering an escape from gridlocked roads. Charging to use the road network isn’t a new phenomenon

Australia’s Hunter Valley will benefit from a new high speed expressway, which is currently under construction - Simon Gould reports Located two hours north of Sydney, the Hunter Valley region in New South Wales is one of Australia’s largest producers of coal and wine. With international demand, particularly from Asia, for both continuing to increase, a significant upgrade of infrastructure was required between the region and the port of Newcastle, the world’s largest coal export port. However the strict en

The Road Scholar Programme identifies promising international students currently enrolled in graduate programs at IRF Member Universities in the United States. The Road Scholar helps the IRF’s Educational Program (IREF) accomplish its mission to apply current transportation technology and management techniques to improve infrastructures around the world.

*Martin Heath, the Chair of the IRF Group of Experts working group on Engineering Measures for Infrastructure Safety, examines the expected impacts of the new ISO 39001 The excitement and enthusiasm generated by the 2011 launch of the Decade of Action for Road Safety is gradually receding amidst the gloom of an interminably slow global economic recovery. However, a fresh and challenging impetus is about to be given to international road safety management following the publication of a new quality management

Caterpillar is focussing on developing solutions for key markets with machine designed specifically for China and built in its Chinese manufacturing operations. The new Caterpillar machines being introduced at BICES include the M

Zoomlion is a world leader in concrete pumping and lifting technology, with an array of highly sophisticated solutions – Mike Woof reports. Compared with other global manufacturers of construction machines, Zoomlion is a comparatively new entrant to the market as the firm is just over 20 years old. However, Zoomlion is now recognised as a world leader in the lifting and concrete pumping markets, developing innovative machines that push the boundaries of technology. The company has grown both organically and

XCMG has seen strong exports, with one deal in particular providing a major boost to turnover - Mike Woof writes It is rare that a single machine order can provide a substantial portion of a large manufacturer’s annual results. However the firm’s massive contract signed with the Venezuelan Government was a major boost to XCMG; the supply of no less than 6025 machines in a deal worth some US$750 million. This order came at an important time for the company when the world demand for construction equipment sl

Chinese bulldozer firm Shantui is building on its core competency of bulldozers, broadening its range as well as its operations – Mike Woof writes Bulldozer specialist Shantui has a clear policy of broadening its product range, having grown from being a small producer with a limited model line-up to become a major global manufacturer. The company began its diversification process in 1999, buying a road machinery range and then following this up with a line of concrete equipment in 2008. This process cont