Features

A new range of equipment from SHANBAO has helped to increase limestone production to meet Henan Province's aggregates demand. SHANBAO has supplied a full range of equipment to two companies in a growth region of China.The Chinese-based manufacturer of stationary crushing and screening equipment supplied the equipment to Yongsheng Aggregates and Yongye Trading. The crushing, screening and feeding equipment is being used to process limestone that supplies 10% of the aggregate requirements in the Henan region'

The bi-annual CECE Congress was held in Spain when participants looked forward in a bid to see what will happen in the next ten years. Growth markets such as China, India and Brazil offer big opportunities to European construction equipment manufacturers. As companies, particularly those from China, start to expand outside their own countries the competition for business will increase, and it has been claimed that there is no such thing as 'the global market', rather it is the sum of hundreds, if not thousa

Mega project of “extreme beauty” receives top award from the IRF, writes Patrick Smith.The Sheikh Zayed Bridge, which was constructed for the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, has won the Global Road Achievement Award in the design category from the International Road Federation (IRF). The 2011 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) programme is a worldwide contest held to identify and honour excellence, innovation and exceptional achievements in 12 key categories in the transport and infrastructure industry.

The use of high-pressure water jets to remove old concrete on structures is becoming increasingly popular. Hydrodemolition of concrete structures by robotic equipment is becoming an increasingly used method for removing deteriorated concrete with high-pressure water techniques.

A Colombian contractor tackles specifications for asphalt road work with Astec equipment.Award-winning Colombian contractor MHC has upgraded its Astec Portable Double Barrel plant to handle highway and other projects. The plant, installed in Bucaramanga, equipped with two RAP [recycled asphalt pavement] bins, a Double Barrel Green System, and one New Generation silo was bought by MHC in 2009. It has now received a second silo and a truck scale extension.

Infrastructure construction in China is booming as never before, but sealing the world’s longest immersed tunnel is a technically complex engineering project. The impressive Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau fixed link project in China includes an immersed tunnel with a record-breaking length of almost 7km. In 2009 construction began on a project to link the island of Hong Kong with Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai. The link will be one of the region’s most technically complex engineering projects ever. I

A variety of systems are available for quickly and efficiently removing water from roads as Patrick Smith reports. The presence of water in a highway layer reduces the bearing capacity of the road, and in doing so it also reduces the structure's lifetime. Indeed, the recent extremely cold winter in many parts of Europe has shown that in colder climates there is a risk of frost damage when water is present resulting in costly potholes, so drainage systems performing properly are important in road design.

Contractor FM Conway is working on a three year contract with Dover Harbour Board to reconstruct and resurface busy access routes and large vehicle parks within the port. One of the major factors for this contract being awarded was the company's strong green credentials. The contract is based around small and large individual paving projects within the Eastern Docks, which can range in time scales from three weeks to six months. The first phase of work, which started in early May, was to fully reconstruct

Special fabrics are often used in civil engineering works, including highways, to make soil stronger Geosynthetics have been used in roadway construction for thousands of years with natural materials being mixed with soil to improve quality and stability. While today's products are much more sophisticated, the principles are the same. For example, when used with soil, geotextiles (permeable fabrics) can filter, separate, reinforce, protect, or drain, and they are often made from polypropylene or polyester,

Raising awareness of safety in highway work zones is a global issue, and various initiatives highlight this as Patrick Smith reports. So seriously is work zone safety taken in the United States that each year since 1999 a special week has been set aside to highlight it. Each year in April, National Work Zone Awareness Week is held to bring national attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in work zones.

Highway construction work zones are dangerous places, and anything that can improve safety is welcomed as Patrick Smith reports. The safe and efficient flow of traffic through work zones is a major concern to transportation officials, industry, the public, businesses, and commercial motor carriers. This is the view of the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which has developed the Highway Work Zone Safety Program to reduce the fatalities and injurious crashes in work zones, and to enhance traffic oper

Naue Geosynthetics says its Secugrid offers a solution for a host of ground preparation problems, and for use in reinforced retaining walls. Secugrid is a geogrid made from extruded monolithic flat bars with welded junctions, for soil reinforcement in earth, landfill and road construction as well as in hydraulic engineering applications. Among its benefits are said to be its high strength and low elongation thanks to the extruded elements.

Colbond, a leading producer of synthetic nonwovens and polymeric mats and composites, has appointed Jan Mahy as global director of research and development. He brings with him 18 years of professional experience and moves from Akzo Nobel, a former parent company of Colbond. "I am looking forward to join Colbond's vision to strengthen the company's postition as an innovative global player in technical textiles. Leading an international group of experts to develop and improve products for this industry

Geosynthetics have a wide variety of uses and these include providing extra strength in highway construction. Demand for geosynthetics in the United States alone is projected to increase 4.4% per year through to 2010 to more than 727 million m². Geosynthetics, used worldwide in the highway sector for strengthening, include geotextiles, geomembranes, geonets, geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, preformed geocomposites, geocells and geofoams. The US advances will be fuelled by a recovery in nonbuilding constr

The ongoing Highways Agency A66 Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner project involves upgrading the original single carriageway to address safety concerns, particularly at junctions and crossings. Where differential settlement is threatening a remodelled junction, Tensar International's new TriAx geogrid provides an additional dimension of stability, saving design and build contractors Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering Limited (BBRCEL) the heavy time and costs inherent in conventional remedial solutions and