Features

Russia new programme for developing high-speed roads
January 14, 2019
Russia has approved a new state programme for the development of its high-speed road network – Eugene Gerden reports The Russian government has officially approved a new state programme, which is aimed at developing the federal high-speed road network in the country. This programme will run until 2030, according to recent statements by the official state press-service. According to some leading Russian experts in the roadbuilding sector, the need to implement these plans is acute. At present the tota
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Piling for a road project in tough conditions
January 11, 2019
Machines from Liebherr have been brought in to carry out a piling job in Colombia in tough conditions. The road network between Mosquera and Balsillas is being upgraded at a cost of some US$199.15 million. Mosquera lies on the outskirts of the capital, Bogotá, while Balsillas is to the south-west and close to the borders with Ecuador and Peru. Work started on the project to improve the 230km route in January 2016 and is expected to take until December 2021 to complete. One of the contractors involved in th
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New chapter for bituminous slurry in Colombia
January 11, 2019
Colombia’s San Rafael road concessionaire is using its first VSB Macropaver 12B unit to maintain a road carrying heavy traffic volumes – Enrique Saez writes The use of bituminous slurry for road maintenance works in Colombia is taking a new step forward with the purchase of equipment from VSS Macropaver by road contractors in the country. Engineer Ezequiel Romero, manager of the concessionaire San Rafael, explained that the application of bituminous grout has delivered major benefits for the firm. The c
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New Argentina highway construction work
January 11, 2019
Construction is underway for Argentina’s new Mendoza-San Juan Highway – Mauro Nogarin reports The rehabilitation and maintenance works of more than 3,300km of routes is now underway in Argentina. This followed on after the takeover of six new road corridors under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, which took place in August 2018. The rehabilitation and maintenance works are being carried out prior to the start of the main projects, which will include the construction of highways. Building these
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David Barwell suggests six steps for closing the UK funding gap
January 11, 2019
Six steps for closing the UK funding gap Plenty of private money is seeking UK investment opportunities. The government and the infrastructure sector in general must make projects more attractive, writes David Barwell* It is widely acknowledged that the UK faces mounting economic, environmental and social problems if the nation's infrastructure fails to meet present and future demands. Government estimates propose that almost €561 billion is required to bridge the infrastructure funding gap. As part o
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IRF Opens Innovation-Centric Global R2T Conference in Las Vegas
January 11, 2019
A global summit of road mobility thought-leaders and innovators was convened in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 7th-9th at the invitation of the IRF Nevada DOT director Rudy Malfabon, ASCE president 2018 Kristina Swallow, AASHTO executive director Bud Wright, Dubai Traffic & Roads Agency CEO Eng Maitha bin Adai, Bechtel engineering operations manager Steven Curtis and Jacobs Highway/Bridge director Susan Martinovich were all present. They figured among 200 leading international specialists who shared best
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Set the ALARM for repairs in England and Wales
January 10, 2019
More than 3,900km of roads in England and Wales will need essential maintenance within the next year, according to the annual ALARM survey* Cash-strapped local governments are reporting that the gap between the funds they received and the amount they needed for repairs and maintenance was almost €639 million. This equated to an average shortfall of €3.75 million for every authority. It would take 14 years to get local roads back into a reasonable steady state, but only if adequate funds and resources wer
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Kronprinsesse Marys Bro bridges Roskilde Fjord
January 10, 2019
A BESIX joint venture is giving the royal treatment to the new Kronprinsesse Marys Bro across Roskilde Fjord, writes David Arminas It was announced in September 2016 that Belgian group BESIX, in a joint venture (RBAI) with Italian firm Rizzani de Eccher and Spanish company Acciona Infraestructuras, had been chosen for the €133 million project. The award, by client Vejdirektoratet (Danish Road Directorate), marked the entry of BESIX into the Scandinavian market. Vejdirektoratet praised the winning bid as
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China plans important construction machinery show in Changsa for May 2019
January 8, 2019
An important construction machinery exhibition for the global equipment market is being planned for the Chinese city of Changsha in May 2019.
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Euromarket stable until 2020, predicts Euroconstruct
December 13, 2018
Analysts predict strong growth in road building up to 2020 as public finances improve. Graham Anderson reports from Helsinki European civil engineering markets – including road building and maintenance - are predicted to grow strongly between now and 2020 thanks to the increasing strength of EU members states’ national economies. The increasingly optimistic forecasts are contained in the latest construction industry research from construction market analyst Euroconstruct, based in the Finnish capital Hel
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Advanced driving simulator developed by TRL
December 13, 2018
In the UK, TRL is introducing a sophisticated driving simulator that will help with developing transport infrastructure as well as research into driving. This advanced system is intended to assist in driving future transport policy, customer safety and road network performance The new simulator can be used for behavioural research into driving and can be used as a validation tool. The complete simulator package features three main systems as it consists of the new full-size DigiCar, a portable version (M
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All roads lead to Dubrovnik: Corridors for Shared Prosperity
December 13, 2018
The European Union Road Federation is organising, in cooperation with the International Road Federation (IRF), the Croatian Roads Company (Hrvatske Ceste), the Croatian Road Association (Via Vita) and the University of Zagreb, the European Road Conference under the theme Corridors for Shared Prosperity in the iconic city of Dubrovnik, from 22 to 24 October 2018 Due to its privileged geographical position, Croatia represents a key crossroads in the connectivity of the South East Europe region, securing a
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Supporting road safety data collection in EuroMed Region
December 13, 2018
Dr Cristian Gonzalez, director IRF World Road Statistics, was in Athens to share IRF’s expertise in data collection at a three-day regional workshop organised by the EuroMed Transport Support Project. The event offered a novel opportunity to share national, European and international experiences and best practices with road safety data and allow a regional exchange on setting up a road map for the follow-up actions. The Workshop hosted 40 experts, of which 25 from EuroMed Partner countries. The “EuroMed T
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Smarter paving for Berlin ring road
December 13, 2018
Germany’s capital Berlin is now benefiting from a newly widened ring road, which will help reduce peak time congestion Much of the work has been carried out by local contractor Johann Bunte Bauunternehmung, which has helped to widen the Berlin ring road from six to eight lanes. The firm has made extensive use of sophisticated paving controls also on its Vögele machines, the AutoSet Plus automatic functions. And the firm claims that these tools have made the work easier for the paving team to move between t
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Automated testing is safer, cheaper and more thorough
December 12, 2018
Automated testing is improving safety during paving and saving on testing costs. But it could also help reduce long-term maintenance costs too - Kristina Smith writes Testing pavements as they are laid can be a hazardous activity. The technician may be on their hands and knees, far behind the main gang, or reaching inside the hopper to measure the temperature of the hot mix or dodging rollers to take density readings.
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