Features

Upgrading a key route through Florida – novel construction techniques are helping widen a road in difficult geological conditions – Lucio Garofalo reports. A major road widening project underway in Florida is due for completion soon. The work will improve an important section of road, reducing congestion at peak period and cutting travel times for drivers. The US 331/SR83 highway runs for some 79km and provides an important link in Florida’s Panhandle area, as it connects with Route 98.

The world’s best road infrastructure project can also have the world’s worst traffic noise problem. But where to start defeating this noise pollution? Road traffic noise is one of the most obvious aspects affecting the quality of life in urban areas. To combat this, local, national and international authorities have developed initiatives to avoid, prevent or reduce exposure to noise. One of these initiatives – Life DYNAMAP – is underway by a group of researchers in Germany, Spain and Italy. The project is f

Using a linear road crusher can rebuild gravel roads using material onsite at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods. Gravel roads are common in many rural areas in the US to provide access to temporary work sites and are also used widely in developing countries. Maintaining and repairing these roads can pose challenges and new methods may offer improvements in efficiency.

Moscow’s ring road is due for rebuilding – Eugene Gerden writes. The Moscow city authorities have finalised the project of the reconstruction of the Moscow Ring Road. The ring road encircles the City of Moscow and the plan was announced by Marat Khusnullin, deputy mayor of the city. Khusnullin said that, to date, the Moscow city government has completed 90% of the design documentation of the project.

A special customised cold planer has saved costs and time for a US contractor. In the US, New York State Highway 243 has benefited from an innovative use of novel milling technology. This 17.75km east–west state highway is located in the Southern Tier of New York and has been carrying traffic since the 1930 renumbering of state highways in the state. The NY 243 has been a utilitarian divided highway that begins at an intersection with NY 98 in the town of Freedom and proceeds south-eastward across mostly ru

Innovation in earthmoving machines will help users reduce running costs while boosting productivity - Mike Woof writes. The earthmoving equipment market is hotly contested and is one in which manufacturers compete hard to introduce machines with working advantages over rival models. This has fuelled strong competition in terms of machine performance and quality over the years, resulting in the development of high-performance equipment that is also reliable and long lasting. This is particularly true of the

The evolution of the diesel engine continues as ever more sophisticated technologies come into use - Mike Woof writes A major focus for diesel engine suppliers is for the development of low emission technologies. Tough regulations are in force in North America and Europe with regard to emissions, a programme introduced to help reduce pollution from off-highway machines. These technologies are also being introduced in stages in other territories, with China now rolling out tougher regulations.

A new automated levelling tool from MOBA is available that can help improve paving quality. The system is designed to deliver a smooth and even asphalt surface, by ensuring that the height and slope of the screed on the paver is accurately maintained. This is particularly important when the machine is moving in the vertical plane due to uneven ground or sub base conditions. Achieving smoothness is important to the paving contractor. In many countries, highways authorities will pay more for smoother roads

Despite the proven importance of identifying metal targets and electrical lines before cutting into concrete, every day there are stories about mishaps that happen when the necessary reconnaissance is not done. In this article, a few firms that provide concrete scanning services weigh in on the critical importance of locating embedded and or buried obstructions by scanning for these features using ground penetrating radar (GPR). Also offered are tips for selecting the best GPR equipment and best practices f

Europe is a global leader in road safety. It has an average of 50 traffic fatalities/million population, half that of the equivalent figure for the USA While there is no magical formula for improving road safety, it is possible to observe a positive correlation between the advent of performance-based standards for essential road equipment and the impressive reduction in road fatalities that Europe has seen since 2001, a drop of 50%.

Ecuador’s Buenavista – Zaruma Highway will provide a key route that will help boost economic activity – Mauro Nogarin writes Ecuador hopes to boost economic activity with the construction of new highway links. Most economic activity in the Piñas canton currently relies on agriculture, forestry and fishing. These sectors employ over 50% of the economically active population of the region. Meanwhile, most of the working population of the Portovelo canton is dedicated to mining and quarrying, with this area

Brazil’s Ayrton Senna Highway has been rebuilt using cold recycling. Brazil’s SP-070 is also known as the Ayrton Senna Highway and is a major highway in the country, carrying heavy traffic volumes. For its rebuild, the time-saving, cost-efficient and eco-friendly benefits of the cold recycling process have been put to the test. The SP-070 provides a key transport link between São Paulo and Campos do Jordão, Vale do Paraíba and Rio de Janeiro, as well as being the main access route to Guarulhos Interna

New developments for the milling machine sector should help optimise performance, as well as increase health and safety standards for site personnel Advances in the milling machine market generally focus on new models being available or developments to drums and cutters. However some rather different developments are taking place that could well deliver long-term improvements for health and safety as well as the quality of work carried out, optimising milling operations. Earlier this year, new guideli

Achieving a smooth road surface has helped a US contractor gain a bonus payment of US$605,000 on a paving job in Montana. A recently renovated 16km section of I-90, starting in Alberton, Mont., which is located on the Western part of the state near the Idaho border, and stretching East, received sterling commendations, beat target IRI scores, and earned the general contractor quality bonuses. The project also won the 2014 MCA Excellence Award for Best Paving Smoothness from the Montana Contractors Associat