Features

Modern products are making life easier for those who have to look after bridges in need of repair Aproject to repair a bridge in the American state of Tennessee has brought safety benefits and improved the ride quality for drivers using the crossing. The Chickasaw Bridge spans the Ellington Parkway and it has benefited from a rehabilitation job by contractor Jamieson Construction. The roadway on the bridge was in a poor state and required frequent patching, and to tackle the problem, the Tennessee DOT consi

Two technologies combined to give a heavily used bridge a new surface that should last for years The Avonmouth Bridge carries the M5 motorway over the River Avon, and is a vital part of the road infrastructure in south-west England, linking the counties of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country. Completed in 1973, it carries commuters to the city of Bristol, and to South Wales, along with holidaymakers. The 1.4km long steel box girder bridge comprising a 16,000m2 steel decked central span a

Advances in bridge monitoring technology should help ensure structural safety Highly productive, Fugro Aperio's ground penetrating radar system offers accurate scanning of bridge condition Bridge engineers can now benefit from a new technology designed to pinpoint shallow targets, such as masonry fixings, reinforcement bars or delamination between thin layers. This uses the latest high resolution ground penetrating radar (GPR) antenna and has been developed by Cambridge-based Fugro Aperio in the UK. Operati

Cape Town's N2 is a strategic South African highway that connects the port city with the country's southwestern region. Due to increasingly heavy traffic on the highway, it was in need of an upgrade, and fast. So one of Cape Town's largest contractors, Vusela, was awarded the government contract to remove the asphalt layers and stabilise the sub-base to strengthen the road's load capacity in preparation for resurfacing.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is at the stage that it cannot cope with much more traffic, yet the population of the Auckland region continues to grow at a steady rate. Coupled with that, the bridge is a key link in the most important transport corridor in the country, State Highway One. Without it, the country would struggle to function. Not only home to New Zealand's largest city and one third of its population, Auckland's port is one of the country's largest. Some 140m north of the city is Marsden Point, th

For 2009, the Intermat exhibition will prove a major event on the off-highway equipment calendar This year's Intermat construction equipment exhibition in Paris promises a great deal for the visitor. The show will feature a total surface area of 180,000m² including 30,000m² of outside demonstration areas and this represents 7% more space than for the previous exhibition in 2006. Some 1,320 companies are exhibiting and come from 43 countries, with 64% of exhibitors coming from outside France. Around 209,032

IRF's 2nd International Conference on Roads and Environment reveals how to make roads greener, cleaner and healthier, and follows through with action recommendations IRF's Conference in Geneva on 10-11 November, 2008 put three issues in sharp focus: innovative materials to save energy and other resources, inspiring solutions for water management; an integrated approach to noise and air pollution; and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring, accounting and offsetting. Some 140 delegates from 36 countries l

Anticipating new trends, the IRF organised a high level panel discussion on the promising and fast-growing market of carbon trading in the margins of the 2nd International Roads and Environment Conference hosted in Geneva, Switzerland on 10-11 November, 2008. Now is the time for the road builders to add trading to their armoury of carbon-reducing measures. Carbon trading has moved from the margins to centre stage. World economic growth may be stalling or going into reverse, but the search for post-Kyoto cl

Despite the economic downturn, India looks to be pressing ahead with its major infrastructure projects to further boost its incredible growth. Patrick Smith reports India, which like most countries has been affected by the current economic climate, although not to the same extent, is pressing ahead with its ambitious highway construction plans. Each week new projects are completed, started or awarded as the nation seeks to improve its transportation requirements. These are needed to meet the aspirations of

ECED's first 'Machinery Dealers Think Tank' in Lisbon proved a big success Dr. José Gameiro, President of the European Confederation of Equipment Distributors (ECED) and a member of the Board of the Portuguese association ACAP, hosted the Fall General Assembly of the ECED Lisbon, Portugal. Preceding this bi-annual formal gathering (on 22 November), Dr. José Gameiro welcomed 17 independent distributors from Portugal, France, UK, Spain, Austria and Eastern Europe, as well as seven of the most prominent nation

The IRF's 2nd conference on roads and the environment addressed key transport targets, Mike Woof reports Reducing the impact of the road transport sector as a whole was the focus of the IRF's 2nd Roads & Environment Conference. Opening the event, Jean Beauverd, chairman of the IRF in Geneva said, "Evidence of global warming is now unequivocal. Even if we were to stabilise the effects of CO2 emissions, the effects would continue for decades. Eco-friendly processes have not yet reached the full acceptance tha

UK road users receive a mere £4 billion in capital investment, and congestion increases. Road pricing could provide the roads needed and reduce taxes, says a new report UK motorists receive a "paltry" £4 billion (€5 billion) investment in road capacity in return for the €57.5 billion a year they contribute in road user taxes, according to the 2008/9 Road File, published by the UK Road Users Alliance (RUA). Over the last decade, this infrastructure spend has led to a minimal 1% increase in the road network t

How will the deep cuts hitting France's national budget affect French roads and highways? Gordon Feller discusses France has one of the most modern transport systems in Europe, the result of decades of public spending on the sector as well as other infrastructure. The government historically has awarded contracts to build infrastructure to French construction and engineering companies, some of which are now among the world's largest contractors. Among other achievements, France's infrastructure programme re

Mike Woof reviews the latest compaction market developments In the run-up to the upcoming World of Asphalt event in Orlando, Florida in March, the leading compaction equipment firms are rolling out upgraded and improved machines. With market conditions tough worldwide, customers are also likely to be encouraged with competitive deals on purchasing new machines and replacing ageing fleets.

With new roads to be built and existing ones to be maintained, one company is predicting a big increase in asphalt production Asphalt plant manufacturer Ammann says that four factors in particular will shape the future of the asphalt industry. The company, which has sold its first JustBlack asphalt mixing plant to Costa Rica through its Spanish distribution partner, EMSA, says that many more roads have yet to be built in the world. "Building the global road network will provide work for many generations to