Features

The first stage of a controversial Russian bridge project is now complete, with the link having been opened to use by cars and buses. The Kerch Strait bridge spans the Black Sea, connecting Russia’s Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar with Crimea, the latter having been controversially annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014. The official opening of the 19km-long bridge was carried out by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, who drove across the link in a Russian-manufactured Kamaz truck to reach the city of Kerch.

Russia is spending US$10 billion on building a 2,000km section of road connecting China with the EU – Eugene Gerden reports Russia has now started building a 2,000km section of a new transcontinental route, which will connect China and the EU. According to senior officials from the Russian Ministry of Transport, which is implementing the project, the new road, will be known as the Meridian and will stretch through the Russian territory that borders with Kazakhstan and Belarus. This route forms the Russian

Driver comfort, more power and improved environmental credentials highlight some of the latest earthmoving equipment Doosan Construction Equipment has launched a new version of the company’s DA30 30tonne class articulated dump truck (ADT), now in a new colour scheme. Most of the changes are for better operator comfort and controllability of the machine. But there are also changes in the driveline and electrical systems. The most important development is an upgrade of the suspension to a hydro-gas self-lev

A heavy-lift operation by Roll-iT using Enerpac equipment delivered a bridge deck - with a poem engraved on the underside - to Antwerp’s old harbour Only when the deck of the new Londenbrug Bridge is raised do travellers see the poem by Antwerp poet Stijn Vranken. It is written large on the underside of the 300tonne prefabricated steel deck. People waiting for a ship to pass the raised bridge now contemplate the poem’s message about ships transporting goods and people to and from the four corners of the

A new report suggests that the global bitumen market will hit US$110 billion/year by 2024. This new report has been compiled by the market research and strategy consulting firm, Global Market Insights, Inc. The report includes key industry contributions from Chevron Texaco, British Petroleum, Total SA, Indian Oil Corporation, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation and Shell. It also includes JX Nippon Oil & Energy, NuStar Energy, Petroleos Mexicanos, Villas Austria GmbH, Bouygues SA, Marathon Oil, Exxon M

Striping Service and Supply is the first US contractor certified by the Texas Department of Transportation to operate the RetroTek-MU road striping Retroreflectometer. The Texas A&M Transportation Institute stringent certification programme provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the ability of a contractor to operate the RetroTek-MU retroreflectometer. The vehicle-mounted RetroTek-MU - manufactured by Reflective Measurement Systems, based in Dublin, Ireland - measures the retroreflectivity of lo

Yotta has signed an agreement with Australian engineering consultancy Pavement Management Services for PMS to incorporate Yotta’s Horizons asset management software into its existing programs. Yotta software will be offered under PMS branding to the consultancy’s clients and prospective customers across Australia, most of them local authorities and state governments. PMS, set up in 1981, specialising in pavement testing, design, evaluation and management of roads, airports and ports.

Specifiers must do more than just scratch the surface of asphalt specification, urges Keith Harvey* Improving the UK’s road network is a serious business. Amid an escalating population, 2016 saw a colossal 916,000 new vehicles registered in the country. The was a leap of 5% on the year before, bringing the total number of vehicles on our roads to 36.7 million, according to UK government figures. What is perhaps even more concerning, however, is the surge in commercial vehicle use of the network. As he

A Wirtgen KMA 220 produces hydraulically bound base using a mix-in-plant process for recycling at Cologne/Bonn Airport. With the mobile KMA 220 mobile cold recycling mixing plant from Wirtgen, road construction materials can be recycled or upgraded in just about any location. This avoids countless transport trips and is also sustainable and environmentally friendly. Finally, it is extremely economical, according to Wirtgen. This became clear from a job at Cologne/Bonn airport at the end of 2017. The plan

A series of major new advances are being seen in the crushing and screening equipment market – Mike Woof writes New developments are coming for the aggregate production sector, with a host of new technologies for the crushing and screening segment. These new machines are said to be more versatile, more productive, more efficient and offer a lower cost/tonne than any equipment available previously. CDE claims that its new AggMax 163-SR scrubbing and attrition system features an efficient new RotoMax logw

Two new technologies for non-destructive testing offer key benefits, one suiting road surfaces, the other suiting concrete structures - Kristina Smith reports Dynatest has developed a new way to measure and record the state of pavements, using a machine that travels at the same speed as traffic. The Rapid Pavement Tester (Raptor) has been seven years in the making and offers road owners the chance to have comprehensive surveys without the need to disrupt traffic. “People have been wanting to do this for

Caribbean Leaders Chart Course Towards Safe & Resilient Roads Now in its seventh edition, IRF’s flagship event in the Caribbean confirmed its status as an essential gathering point for the region’s top transportation decision-makers and professionals, combining regional case studies and international insights. Close to 150 delegates from 10 countries, including senior policy makers from Jamaica, Belize, Guyana, Cayman, attended the 4-day event.

A contractor in the Netherlands has found that using Topcon’s latest machine control technology can deliver higher quality work at higher productivity The firm, Van Gelder, was looking for a solution to survey, mill and resurface a 7km length of the N518 to the island of Marken more quickly, more safely and more accurately. Together with Infra-Techniek, the company opted to use the latest package developed by Topcon for automatic milling. The N518 from Monnickendam is the only connecting road to the form

A contractor in the Netherlands has found that using Topcon’s latest machine control technology can deliver higher quality work at higher productivity The firm, Van Gelder, was looking for a solution to survey, mill and resurface a 7km length of the N518 to the island of Marken more quickly, more safely and more accurately. Together with Infra-Techniek, the company opted to use the latest package developed by Topcon for automatic milling. The N518 from Monnickendam is the only connecting road to the form

Trimble is offering new advances in machine control technology – Mike Woof writes An important technology advance from Trimble is now coming from its expanding range of EarthWorks machine control systems. These systems can help deliver more efficient earthmoving operations, increasing productivity while maintaining accuracy. The first EarthWorks system was developed for use with excavators and this latest system is designed to be used with dozers, utilising much of the same hardware. Meanwhile, other Ea