Features

With economies booming in the BRIC countries and other regions, spending on infrastructure is at a high - Patrick Smith reports As economic crisis grips much of the world, many countries are still spending billions on infrastructure to improve transportation. While the USA and Europe struggle with debt problems (and this has affected much of the rest of the world) the development of highways, airport, ports and other infrastructure is gathering pace in other regions to boost economic developments.

An array of innovative mix designs and special processes have been introduced to the paving market in recent years. These are now being used in many site applications and are offering contractors the benefits of fast application and high surface quality while providing safe, cost-effective and hard wearing solutions with long life for clients.

Oliver Carsten, Professor of Transport Safety at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at the University of Leeds, UK, discusses Intelligent Speed Adaptation, looking at its safety potential

Cleaning the crushed and screened products can boost quality and revenue. Aggregate Processing Solutions has developed a novel washing system aimed at the quarrying sector. The APS-100AT has been developed after almost five years of research and development and is said to be an innovative multi-component material washing system, featuring a highly efficient, heavy duty linear multi-deck screen.

The bridge over Auckland Harbour celebrates its half century this year, and it has been given a major upgrade to ensure that safety is maintained in New Zealand's largest city. Mary Searle reports. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, home to nearly a third of the entire country's population. It's a sprawling metropolis, and its 1.3 million people are spread over 637km² of city, suburbs and islands. The Auckland Harbour Bridge, which celebrates its 50th birthday in May, is a vital link in the city's road

Efficient crushing and screening processes help produce quality products, Mike Woof reports. Having an efficient crushing and screening operation is crucial to the cost-effectiveness of a quarry as well as providing the best quality product. The crushing circuit is a key component in any quarry with the right selection of equipment as well as effective maintenance important factors in optimising performance.

Road safety is a crucial issue worldwide and on the busy roads of the 27 EU nations, action is being taken to reduce the annual death toll. As a way forward the EU nations have agreed a new safety target to reduce road deaths by 50% by 2020. This follows on from the target set in 2001 of halving road deaths by 2010 and which saw progress being achieved in most countries.

China is at a turning point in many ways. The country's continuing economic growth is fuelling a massive increase in vehicle numbers, with no signs of slackening. This is most acute and most visible in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where traffic jams are now a frequent occurrence

Speed of erection, safety, cost-efficiency and flexibility are among the attributes of modern formwork systems. Modern formwork and scaffolding systems are attractive in particular for their speed of erection, safety, cost-efficiency and flexibility.

The potential for high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in congested US cities offers further room for development, according to US-based transport expert Bob Poole of the Reason Foundation. At present Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle all feature HOT lanes and Poole believes that the nation's capital, Washington DC, could benefit from a similar approach.

Most of the major manufacturers of extraction and crushing equipment worldwide will be present at the upcoming Hillhead show, either directly or through local distributors. Set in a working quarry, the Hillhead exhibition has set a lead for the quarrying sector. An industry only show, the event is being held this year at the Hillhead Quarry, Buxton in the UK on 22-24 June.

Leica Geosystems says that its new Viva TS12 performance robotic package offers a comprehensive package of surveying solutions.