Features

A new highway is proving an economic lifeline for the tiny country of Kosovo – Mike Woof reports. Road projects in Europe rarely meet such widespread public approval and support as the new Route 7 highway being built in the new Balkan state of Kosovo. The first sections of the new road opened to traffic in November 2011, with locals turning out in large numbers to celebrate the event. The official opening was carried out by the country’s prime minister Hashim Thaçi, president Atifete Jahjaga, and members of

Investment in infrastructure is a key priority for the US. With a three-part growth strategy, business improving worldwide and improvements in order books, the Terex Group is looking to increase net sales to US$8 billion by 2013. Ron DeFeo, Terex’s chief operating officer, said the company has been seeing increased order and quotation activity across nearly all of its product categories.

Wirtgen brothers Jürgen and Stefan discussed growth opportunities. Jürgen Wirtgen and Stefan Wirtgen are joint presidents of the Wirtgen Group and see business levels continuing to improve. Stefan said, “Generally speaking we are surprised with the growth levels, especially in the BRIC countries. It is giving us quite a big boost and is allowing us to grow. We are more than happy with 2011 so far as the order books are full and we didn’t expect this.”

Sandvik’s Thomas Schulz talks to Claire Symes about market recovery in construction. In the three years since the last CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition, the construction industry has been through a tremendous change triggered by the global economic downturn. “At the time of the last exhibition in 2008, it was already clear that there was a levelling out occurring in the market,” said Sandvik president of construction Thomas Schulz. “But it was in October that year that the economy went into freefall after the col

Faster and safer utilities works are the benefit of innovative data sharing moves – Mike Woof writes. Utilities works in urban areas can cause major problems with regard to traffic congestion, as well as posing key safety issues for road users and site workers. Better planning of utilities operations can help tackle congestion and prevent jams, while also ensuring that on-site personnel have a safer working environment. To ensure that site workers know the exact location of buried utilities, comprehensive m

The US has seen a major reduction in deaths following accidents in its highway construction work zones, while Europe and other parts of the world are looking at new safety technology and systems to trigger a similar trend. Guy Woodford reports. Work in the US to reduce the likelihood of potentially fatal accidents at highway work zones is paying dividend.

In Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England, some residents are reported to be so fed-up of waiting for traffic lines to be painted on roads by the local county council that they are threatening to do it themselves. Staffordshire County Council highways bosses say they can only take on four new traffic measure projects a year and have a waiting list stretching to 2028. Media outlets in the county report that the local authority currently has more than 70 requests from all over Stafford borough

DELTA, which has introduced its brand new handheld RetroSign GR3 retroreflectometer for measuring the retroreflection of traffic signs, also offers a number of instruments for road markings. The Danish company points out that as the median age of the average driver grows the importance of night-time visibility of pavement markings for traffic safety becomes even greater.

Recent months have seen many major and vital road marking projects and products completed and tested in different parts of the world. Guy Woodford looks at some of them in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa. The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea now has one of the most dramatic streetscape designs in Europe. Exhibition Road’s striking chequered granite design, featuring a single surface running from South Kensington Station to Hyde Park and the full width of the road from building to b

Box International studies have proven that relatively more accidents and fatalities happen during night-time driving compared to day-time driving. At the end of 2008, Danish company DELTA launched its latest model, the LTL-XL, a fourth generation portable retrometer for measuring night and day-time visibility of all types of road markings. "Measures are traceable to PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt), Germany and NIST (National Institute of Standards), USA. LTL-XL measures according to the internat

Road markings, along with laying and testing equipment, are all essential to make sure drivers get clear instructions. Patrick Smith reports Road markings are as important as signs, with longitudinal markings informing and warning road users of approaching situations that will require them to take some form of action.

Chinese firms are looking to develop overseas sales but are using very different strategies – Mike Woof reports. Aggressive expansion plans will see Chinese manufacturers boosting overseas sales in coming years. These companies are developing bigger sales profiles around the world, particularly in emergent markets such as Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. It is worth noting too that Chinese products continue to gain in terms of quality and performance. For LiuGong, Sany, Shantui, XCMG and Zoomlion

VSS Macropaver has scored sales for three of its slurry paving machines in Mexico. The first and second unit have already been delivered and the third will be supplied shortly. These recent deals reflect an increasing market for VSS right across Latin America. The company has now established a new dealer in Peru and the firm is well established in the road paving market, as it is already a dealer for Wirtgen, which the VSS team see as a complimentary product range.

The earthmoving machine market is seeing major innovations for 2012 - Mike Woof reports. The early part of 2012 is seeing a whole array of new earthmoving machines come to market from a vast range of manufacturers. Companies from China, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and the USA will all be unveiling new earthmoving equipment at the upcoming Intermat exhibition, with innovative emission compliant engine and cooling technology.

Several aspects factor into choosing the proper concrete dowel drill - Randy Stevens. The concrete paving industry has seen significant changes to dowel drilling equipment over the years. Many years ago only hand-held models existed and when the first hydraulic drills were launched over 30 years ago, these increased production and reduced labour needs. Since that time pneumatic drills, have come to market and these are driven by air compressors, which are common on many worksites while the units also have l