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Turkey’s important new tunnel will improve transport links
May 18, 2016
Major advances in tunnelling will allow cars to travel underneath the Bosphorus sea channel in Turkey's Istanbul next year when its third road link is opened, writes Adrian Greeman. The Bosphorus is redolent with history and strategic significance. As one of the world's most significant sea connections, linking the landlocked Black Sea to the Marmara Sea and the Mediterranean beyond, it has been vitally important for trade and crucial for military access. It is also one of the biggest obstacles for land tra
Advanced method for South Africa bridge construction
May 16, 2016
A sophisticated construction method has been used for the first time in South Africa for a suspended bridge project This novel method of bridge construction was used on a major road upgrade project for the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL). Main contractor Lonerock Construction, and subcontractor Tzandeboo Construction, used RMD Kwikform’s Megatruss system to construct a 60m-long bridge while suspended mid-air over the live N4 highway. Lonerock Construction’s US$8.5 million (R132
Smart asphalt paving technology in Morocco
May 16, 2016
SEFIANI Enterprises is staying competitive against rivals firms in the asphalt and paving construction market in Morocco. Construction Company SEFIANI Enterprises fitted one of its pavers with the Leica PaveSmart 3D machine control system at the end of October 2015. The aim of this was to improve project quality and to reduce operating costs for the 224km project for the LGV Ligne à Grande Vitesse Tanger–Kénitra. “It is the first system we sold for an asphalt paving application in Morocco,” explained
Indonesia toll road completed on schedule
May 16, 2016
The construction of the Cipali Toll Road in Indonesia has been completed on time, despite numerous challenges during its construction. The Cipali Toll Road forms part of a larger network, the Trans-Java Toll Road that connects key freeways in Jakarta and beyond. The Trans-Java Toll Road is of enormous importance to Indonesia as it runs for 653km and reduces the existing route by 40km.
New aggregate plant for Sinoma Cement in China
May 16, 2016
Sinoma Cement is one of the largest cement manufacturers in the Peoples Republic of China. In 2012 the company decided to boost its aggregate production, both for its own use in cement production, and to supply aggregates to the local construction market. In order to do this Sinoma Cement invested in two aggregate plants supplied by Sandvik Construction, consisting of feeders, screens, jaw and impact crushers. The firm’s extensive production of clinker cement is facilitated through three production lines
Upgrading Bolivia’s important Uyuni – Condo K Highway
May 16, 2016
Upgrading Bolivia’s Uyuni – Condo K route will help boost the country’s economy - Mauro Nogarin writes. The area of influence along the new Uyuni - Huarancani - Condo K road in Bolivia is of major importance to the country’s economy as it has great agricultural potential for quinoa. The highway is located in south-western Potosi and it has a cultivated area of 55,000ha, with an annual output of 13,154tonnes of quinoa. South-western Potosi is also one of the areas with the highest population of camelid lives
Driving recycling, unlocking the value of UK roads
May 16, 2016
Concerned about the risk of material failure, many local authorities and network operators have been reluctant to incorporate high recycled content asphalt into the surface course of UK roads. David Smith, development director at FM Conway, explained why asphalt recycling is crucial to maximising the value of Britain’s largely untapped road asset.
New bitumen technologies and developments around the world
May 16, 2016
From expanding bitumen operations in India to groundbreaking mixes in Italy, stronger roads in South Africa to high RAP content in Germany, this month we bring you stories of advancing technology from around the world - Kristina Smith reports Technology from Austrian engineering company Pörner will soon be responsible for almost two-thirds of India’s bitumen production. In December last year Pörner signed the deal with HPCL-Mittal Energy, a joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Mittal Energy
Cutting to the chase – with milling tools
May 16, 2016
Powerscreen is celebrating 50 years in business this year, and it will launch celebrations at the Hillhead (28-30 June, Buxton, England). Colin Clements, global product line director said: “Powerscreen have been providing the crushing and screening industry with high quality, innovative products for 50 years and we are excited to celebrate that success with those who matter - our distributors and customers. By kicking off the celebrations at Hillhead, we will be able to showcase new and revamped equipmen
A breakthrough in the horizontal reuse of PA (porous asphalt)
May 12, 2016
An ambitious objective has led to significant steps in the reuse of PA (porous asphalt). While the market incidentally produces PA with a maximum of 30% of recovered raw materials, BAM has introduced its own innovations, enabling more than 90% of raw materials to be reused. And this year, subsidies from the European Commission will enable the LE2AP demonstration project to be constructed: one kilometre of sustainable PA. Large-scale production is also being developed.
Solar roads such as Colas’s Wattway could be the right way
May 10, 2016
Peter Harrop, chairman of independent research and consultancy IDTechEx, considers arguments in favour of solar roads. Nowadays a major trend is the move to off-grid clean energy created by “energy harvesting” to produce electricity where it is needed. This is more controllable and increasingly at lower cost than grid power or diesel gensets, cleaner and often less subject to interruption. It is taking new forms as revealed in the IDTechEx Research report, “High Power Energy Harvesting 2016-2026”.
Italian manufacturer AMS provides safety by using honeycomb panels
May 6, 2016
Italian road safety firm Industry AMS has developed and patented high efficiency energy absorption systems provided with special metallic honeycomb panels. The SMA Crash Cushion was certified to the European Standard EN1317. It also tested successively against the US standard NCHRP in a frontal impact with a pickup truck provided with an anthropomorphic traffic device - and obtained the best Euro NCAP score.
Solar roads such as Colas’s Wattway could be the right way
April 26, 2016
Peter Harrop, chairman of independent research and consultancy IDTechEx, considers arguments in favour of solar roads Nowadays a major trend is the move to off-grid clean energy created by “energy harvesting” to produce electricity where it is needed. This is more controllable and increasingly at lower cost than grid power or diesel gensets, cleaner, and often less subject to interruption. It is taking new forms as revealed in the IDTechEx Research report, “High Power Energy Harvesting 2016-2026”.
Solar roads such as Colas’s Wattway could be the right way
April 26, 2016
Peter Harrop, chairman of independent research and consultancy IDTechEx, considers arguments in favour of solar roads Nowadays a major trend is the move to off-grid clean energy created by “energy harvesting” to produce electricity where it is needed. This is more controllable and increasingly at lower cost than grid power or diesel gensets, cleaner, and often less subject to interruption. It is taking new forms as revealed in the IDTechEx Research report, “High Power Energy Harvesting 2016-2026”.
Hot Bitumen Safety – Still an Issue, Eleven Years On
April 22, 2016
Despite clear industry guidelines published over a decade ago and revised in 2015, level measurement experts Hycontrol still regularly encounter asphalt plants with insufficient safety protocols for preventing spills of hot bitumen. Introduction – Bitumen Storage in the UK Recently-issued information from Eurobitume UK has reinforced the need for stringent safety precautions on sites with bitumen storage facilities; key amongst them being the implementation of a robust level monitoring and alarm system (‘Si