Features

The current US transportation funding law expires in September 2009. The current law allocates US$286 billion to highway and transportation projects. However, simply re-authorising the same amount will not be sufficient to build, maintain and improve the nation's roads, bridges, airports, and other deteriorating infrastructure. The backlog of projects unaddressed has swollen to the point where the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) says it will take $1.6 trillion to address the country's road and in

The UK’s Construction Equipment Association plays a key role in Europe - Mike Woof writes The UK’s Construction Equipment Association (CEA) is playing an important role within Europe, for manufacturers, customers and also for the wider benefit of industry as a whole. One important project where the CEA is closely involved with other sister organisations within the pan-European organisation CECE is with the rationalisation of machine regulations. Requirements were supposed to have been harmonised in 1992, an

Steady growth in machine sales reflects global demand for construction equipment - Mike Woof reports Keynote speakers at the UK’s Construction Equipment Association (CEA) recent annual general meeting revealed steady demand for new machines worldwide. Although Europe’s economy remains troubled, worldwide machine sales are strong and exports are providing huge turnover for manufacturers. Colin Timms of Off-Highway Research said that global equipment sales last peaked in 2007 at $98 billion, falling to $55 b

As Russia prepares for a major Asia Pacific conference in nearly four years' time, the economic climate is felt in other countries in the region. Patrick Smith reports AUS$1 billion-plus suspension bridge is to be built to link the city of Vladivostok in the far east of Russia and Russky Island. Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev has signed an instruction for construction of the 3,150m long bridge, which is intended to provide access to the 24th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, to be held o

Concrete slipforming technology offers long term roadway and barrier construction with new technology now available - Mike Woof reports With road construction investment being seen around the world, concrete slipformer manufacturers are seeing strong export sales at present. New models are coming to market also with manufacturers continuing to broaden ranges by offering additional features and capabilities. US concrete paving specialist GOMACO is benefiting from extensive worldwide sales, with its long term

Guntert & Zimmerman equipment is being used to create a new hard-wearing asphalt surface on a key Interstate highway in the US state of Kansas as Mike Woof reports A busy Interstate highway in the US is now benefiting from a new, long-lasting surface. The road, Interstate 70 in Western Kansas, was in need of resurfacing. The full-depth asphalt roadway, up to 508mm thick in certain sections, had reached the end of its working life.

High specification wheeled loaders are now available from an array of firms, Mike Woof reports In the competitive market for wheeled loaders, Caterpillar, Komatsu and Volvo CE are strong worldwide players with sales figures that many rivals would like to emulate. Their quality products also demand good resale values due to a reputation for longevity, yet other firms are also filling the gap in terms of quality and performance. An array of manufacturers are introducing improved machines to the European marke

Aerial survey specialist Bluesky is funding research into the development and use of a new system to map the UK’s cities and towns at night. Bluesky has teamed up with the University of Leicester to look at solutions using new high sensitivity camera sensor technology. Mounted on survey aircraft, the new system can record the location of street lights, illuminated road signs and other night-time sources of light. This can deliver an accurate resource for asset inventories, light pollution assessment and ene

Troxler Electronic Laboratories is celebrating 50 years of providing services to the highway industry. In this half-century, Troxler says it has been awarded over 100 patents by the US Patent Office for innovative products that have improved or created many of the new technologies used today in the construction industry. The company is originally known for its nuclear moisture density gauges, but it also provides non-nuclear electromagnetic density devices as well as Superpave gyratory compactors, asphalt i

New software and GIS innovations will help boost construction efficiency - Mike Woof reports Major software suppliers continue to develop their technology and offer new products to the market. Major developments from leading firms will help improve operations for contractors in many segments of the construction industry, from initial design and planning through to maintenance. Version 8 of the well-known ARCADY program for assessment of roundabout capacity is just released by UK transport research and soft

A versatile solution has helped with a tricky project at the Grand Canyon in the US – Pierre Peltier When Intermountain Slurry Seal, a division of Granite Construction, submitted its bid in 2009 to repair roads and parking lots along the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, the company knew the job would come with challenges. The remote roads leading from Jacob’s Lake, Arizona, to the North Rim Lodge had deteriorated to a point that the Federal Highway Association’s (FHWA) Central Federal Lands (CFL) Highway Division

The latest construction software developments can speed the construction process overall, Adrian Greeman reports Construction software is by its very nature a very fast moving technology, with new systems coming to the market almost continuously. There are some key developments however, such as major new product launches and market trends. One of the most important developments in the road design sector is the launch of the Bentley Systems V8i versions of its software, including its road design applications

Raubex Construction’s new Cat RM500 rotary mixer is proving its worth on a road reclamation work on a South African highway Part of an extensive motorway network some 185km long, South Africa’s ongoing Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GIFP) is creating a modern, world-class toll route system. The new road will provide major impetus to socio-economic growth in the country’s most populous and commercially active region. Being built in stages by the South African National Roads Authority (SANRAL), these r

Statistics show that wet weather and the dark is not the best mix for driving, but road markings offer a safety solution While good road markings are essential any time of the day, it is perhaps at night when roads are wet that they can offer extra guidance. Statistics are said to reveal that an estimated 50% of all accidents happen during the night when it rains but such conditions occur only 10% of the time and when there are usually less vehicles on the road. Indeed, at the 1st Road Marking Symposium hel