Features

Dutch-style cycle safety for other European nations – Mike Woof writes A recent event held in London during October was aimed at improving safety for vulnerable road users. Called Love London go Dutch, the event was intended to highlight some of the experience from Holland in reducing risk rates for vulnerable road users such as cyclists. Similar events were held in other UK cities, while other major European cities such as Paris that are seeing an increase in cycling also have a lot to learn from Dutch exp

That roads are essential for Europe’s prosperity is something no policymaker in their right mind would deny Roads have a major impact on our daily lives, as it is one of the primary means of access to employment, services, and social activities. Moreover, by linking people and other modes of transport, they are a sine qua non for achieving greater cohesion within Europe. In light of this, it is somehow hard to believe how long it has taken policymakers to wake up to an inconvenient truth. This is that chr

IRF will be joining with Moroccan Motorways (Autoroutes du Maroc) and the Moroccan Road Association to a host a major Regional Conference focusing on the North Africa & the Mediterranean region (MENA). The event, which benefits from support from the World Bank, the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Transport and ITS Arab, offers industry leaders a particularly prominent and conducive platform for stimulating business and connections in a fast developing region, rich in opportunities for the provision of su

Patrizia Bellucci from the Research and New Technologies Division of ANAS, in Rome introduces a sustainable approach to road noise abatement Traffic noise has been recognised by the World Health Organization as a major factor contributing to environmental pollution. Besides causing annoyance, it has significant negative health impacts on populations living close to road infrastructure. In 2002, to help counter this state of affairs, the European Parliament and Council adopted Directive 2002/49/EC relating t

Earlier this year, a new expressway was opened to traffic in India, adding connectivity to the country’s road network - Mike Woof reports. India’s economic growth has fuelled a massive construction boom in the country. Road building has been set as a priority by the Indian Government to help ensure continued economic development and improve connectivity between major population centres. One major new expressway has recently opened to traffic, having been designed to international standards and provides insi

Guy Woodford reports from Turkey on how Caterpillar is building machines for less regulated markets. Among Caterpillar machines for less regulated countries on show during the recent Caterpillar Construction Days (CCD) Antalya 2012 event in Turkey were the D6R, D7R and D8R track-type tractors. Steven Faucher, product and application specialist for Cat EAME (Europe, Africa and Middle East), said Cat Product Link, a telematics system allowing site managers to improve productivity, boost efficiencies and enabl

People are stealing our money ! According to the World Bank Report: “Curbing Fraud, Corruption and Collusion in the Roads Sector” June 2011. “…roads projects around the globe remain plagued by fraud, corruption and collusion…” In some countries, contractors are refusing to participate in tenders/bids because of the extent of corruption. I hope to encourage you to take action to fight Fraud and Corruption (FC). It is impossible to precisely know the extent of Fraud and Corruption. The reason is simple. If F

Provo, Utah – The scope of the I-15 Corridor Expansion Project (I-15 CORE) in the state of Utah is nearly unprecedented because of the size of the project and the short completion deadline. Twenty-four miles (38.6 km) of removal and replacement of Interstate 15 between Lehi and Spanish Fork, widening the number of traveling lanes by two, for up to six lanes in each direction in 35 months. The new 364 lane miles (586 km) of concrete roadway will be slipformed 12 or 12.5 inches (305 or 318 mm) thick for a tot

More than 3,500 visitors from 80 countries attending Trimble Dimensions 2012 gained a vital insight into how information technology is revolutionising working practises in, among other fields, heavy civil construction, building construction, surveying, mapping and GIS, and transport and logistics Guy Woodford was among those attending the three-day event at The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, USA Themed Transform the Way the World Works, Trimble Dimensions 2012 had new hardware and software launches aplenty, as

The organisers of bauma China have every right to feel pleased with their work - Mike Woof reports As the bauma China 2012 exhibition closed its doors, the organisers were likely congratulating themselves over a highly successful event. Anyone walking the aisles at this exhibition cannot fail to have noticed the huge numbers of visitors, with early figures saying that 180,000 people visited the show. This was a notable 16% increase over the 155,615 visiting this exhibition in 2010. Despite the slowdown in t

India’s road safety record is the world’s worst but there are plans to tackle the problems. Patrick Smith reports from New Delhi. A speeded up video of a short section of road in the Indian capital Delhi was followed by a question. “How many infringements did you count in that 25-second clip on a typical day in Delhi,” asked Dr Rohit Baluja, a question that brought understandable silence. It equated to hundreds of millions of infringements each year, said Dr Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Educ

Lafarge Aggregates Malaysia’s Kulai quarry is designed to the highest standards of safety, productivity and efficiency With an emphasis on high standards of safe, efficient and productive operations, Lafarge Aggregates Malaysia recently installed new quarry plant. It became operational earlier this year after Sandvik Mining and Construction Malaysia designed and installed a 250tonnes/hour, four-stage crushing and screening plant in Kulai, Johor, some 270km south of the capital Kuala Lumpur. It is now fully

Centralised asset management, more use of the latest machine and worksite technology, and deploying value added logistics in machine delivery will enable the construction equipment industry to build on slow world market growth, a panel of expert speakers told attendees at the Construction Equipment World Economic Forum (CEWEF) 2012 The key industry event in Brussels saw more than 130 representatives from across the international construction equipment world given a forecast of 3.5% global growth for their i

Dan Gilkes reports on a Belgian highway upgrade When the Ministry of Public Works in the Belgian State of Flanders decided to reconstruct and resurface 19km of the N49 Antwerp-Knokke Expressway, continuously reinforced concrete paving (CRCP) with an exposed aggregate surface was the natural material choice. Indeed exposed aggregate, with its high grip and low noise benefits, has been the first option for all motorway surfacing work in Belgium since the 1980s. However, the €15.65 million contract is not a li

Empty environmental commitments from governments, falling bitumen quality and the impact of the economic crisis - DenimoTech asked some of its global distributors about the challenges of today’s markets - Kristina Smith was there to listen in Competition from Chinese manufacturers; highways abandoned half-built; the worst year for road building in the last 20 years. These are challenging times for DenimoTech’s distributors whose goal is to sell the firm’s bitumen emulsion and polymer modified bitumen plants