Features

Equipment from Wirtgen has played a key role in the rehabilitation of a major route in Cape Town. The scenic Camps Bay Drive provides access to Camps Bay and Hout Bay Based on the project brief and geometric analysis, Camps Bay Drive required widening to cope with high volumes of tourist traffic and MyCiti buses. In order to minimise the impact on traffic, the design brief targeted construction outside the summer peak tourist season and also required investigation into shortened construction periods. The

A highway widening project in the US state of New Hampshire is being assisted by the use of a gravity-fed asphalt paver. The widening work is being carried out as part of an upgrade for a 32km stretch of I-93, which was started eight years ago. The work is being carried out for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) on a section of the highway between Exits 1 and 5 from the Massachusetts Stateline to Manchester, NH. According to NHDOT, the project involves widening I-93 from two lanes in

Formwork specialist Meva is helping replace the longest motorway bridge, the Neckar River viaduct in Germany’s south-west state Baden-Wuerttemberg Work on the 1.3km Neckar viaduct, part of the A6 motorway at Heilbronn, should be finished by 2022. It is part of the A6 expansion project between the Weinberger junction and Wiesloch/Rauenberg. The project is officially the new Neckar viaduct BAB 6 at Heilbronn. Federal Motorway 6, the A6, is also known as the BAB 6. The 477km motorway starts at the French b

A major new road tunnel project is being constructed in Switzerland – Mike Woof writes Construction work is now underway in Switzerland for the new Belchen Tunnel bore, a project that has resulted from the country’s long-term infrastructure planning. The building of this latest tunnel is important for Switzerland economically as it will deliver an upgraded link for a major transport infrastructure connection. When it is complete, the tunnel will form part of the vital A2 route between Basel, in the north

Europe’s political patchwork is getting a low-emission zone overlap, according to Malcolm Kent* By now, pretty much everybody in the industry will be aware of the Low Emission Zone in London, UK. But awareness of similar European zones about to start or expand might be more patchy. The background to all of these schemes is the problem of air quality, particularly European Union rules setting limits on acceptable pollution levels. It was found some years ago that several member states’ cities, including

There are now calls from right across Europe to increase education, enforcement and penalties for distracted driving. Mike Woof reports Surveys across Europe have revealed worrying attitudes to the use of mobile devices while driving, according to a report by the European Transport and Safety Commission (ETSC). Campaigners are calling for better enforcement, higher penalties, technological solutions and education to raise awareness of the risks. A survey in the Czech Republic found that 36% of drivers a

Wheeled loaders from XCMG are working hard in two extremely tough applications, in Russia and Mongolia Both of these extraction operations require the equipment to work long hours and often in extremes of climate. In the Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia, the XCMG wheeled loaders are working at a surface extraction operation. The site has been extremely productive, achieving a production capacity of over 22 million tonnes in the 10 years since it started. The operation has always opted to use XCMG loa

Partha Pratim Basistha took a look at the major exhibition showcasing solutions on safety, sustainable road construction and rehabilitation at the 18th IRF event Micro surfacing solutions was one of the major exhibits at the IRF exhibition among other products. Sharing details with World Highways on the utility of micro surfacing solutions, Debatosh Roy, director, Innovative Infratech from India said, “The solution is technically more competitive than hot-mix as it is almost 30% cheaper than the latter.

The IRF World Road Meeting 2017 was held recently – World Highways’ India correspondent Partha Pratim Basistha reports The 18th World Road Meeting of the International Road Federation took place between 14-17 November 2017 in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at Greater Noida near India’s capital New Delhi. Close to 1500 delegates and visitors across the world - including India - from the road infrastructure fraternity participated at the global event. The Cross Roads meeting, coinciding with an ex

NCC Industry in Södra Sandby, Sweden has been using Sandvik’s latest screening media technology, the WX6500, for over a year The company reports that the first fine screening test panels are still in place and performing reliably. NCC Industry's Stone Materials division said that it has long chosen rubber screening media over wire mesh. The choice is crucial in Södra Sandby, where abrasive quartzite produces excessive wear on metal components. Yet despite its preference, the company said that it had stru

A new super-modifier is born from waste plastic in Italy and a soybean-based rejuvenator from the US spreads from its home market. By Kristina Smith The two bitumen technologies featured this month come from almost opposing sources. One emerges from the human-created plastic waste plaguing our planet, the other from a plant. However, both technologies have been created with the same aims: to increase the life of roads, saving cost and ultimately reducing the impact of road building on the planet. A coll

Trimble is building on proven technology with its latest advances for the machine control segment - Mike Woof writes With new systems coming to market, Trimble is keen to retain its strong position in the machine control segment. The firm is now introducing advanced technology for the bulldozer segment, which utilises similar systems to the Earthworks package unveiled for excavators at the CONEXPO show in early 2017. Eric Crim is product manager for machine control systems in Trimble's heavy & highway

Two major airport projects around the world are being constructed on poor ground and have required extensive compaction - Mike Woof writes With air travel continuing to increase around the world, airport capacity is being upgraded in many major cities. Two of the world’s largest mega cities, Beijing and Istanbul, are constructing new airports to cope with growing demand. This is because the existing facilities are simply unable to cope with projected growth for aviation and some of the airports are alrea

The competitive market for compact loaders is seeing new additions Kubota, SDLG and Volvo CE are now offering compact wheeled loaders that deliver more power and performance than earlier generation models. These compact wheeled loaders are intended to carry out a wide range of tasks and can be used for truck loading or stocking purposes, as well as an array of other duties. Tight turning circles mean that the machines are able to operate on small sites, while the units have long wheelbases for their ove