Highway & Network Management

Chile needs new roads and other infrastructure, says CChC chief

May 28, 2014

With a deficit of US$58 billion in infrastructure, ranging from highways to ports and airports, Chile's priority should be urbanisation, according to Javier Hurtado, head of studies at national construction chamber CChC. "Today, over 80% of Chileans live in cities. Urban areas are where a significant part of the economy and life happens. So if you want to make real improvements to quality of life, focus on urban areas," Hurtado said in an interview with BNamericas. In the same interview, Hurtado cited a n

Malaysia earmarks six new toll roads worth a combined US$6.24bn

May 28, 2014

Malaysia is set to get six new toll roads worth a combined US$6.24 billion (MYR 20 billion) within the next 18 months. Further planned projects include the extension of Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (Duke) worth $269.69 million (MYR 1.18bn), West Coast Expressway (WCE) worth $1.14 billion (MYR 5.04bn), Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidek) worth $571.39 million (MYR 2.5bn), East Klang Valley Expressway, Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang elevated expressway (Suke) worth $955.36 million (MYR 4.18bn) and Damansara-Shah Ala

IAM’s FOI reveals England and Wales’ worst speeding offenders

May 28, 2014

A motorist travelling at 149mph (239.8kph) on the M25 at Swanley, Kent, south-east England, holds the record for the highest speed clocked by a speed camera in England and Wales between April 2013 and May 2014. The astonishing figure was revealed following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 39 police authorities by the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists). Other shocking figures from the 85% of police authorities that responded to the FOI request revealed that the highest speed recorded on a 30mph

Toll-tale market strength for leading tolling manufacturers

May 22, 2014

New major highway tolling solution supply contracts and the launch of cutting-edge tolling products have invigorated the global tolling technology market in the first half of 2014, as Guy Woodford reports Kapsch TrafficCom has been selected by North Tarrant Express (NTE) Mobility Partners LLC to provide the toll collection, intelligent transport and network communication systems for the NTE extension project in the US state of Texas. The NTE extension is approximately 16km long, and runs along I-35W north o

Milan wins prestigious ITF transport award for its urban road pricing scheme

May 20, 2014

The Italian city of Milan has won the 2014 Transport Achievement Award (TAA) for its ‘Area C’ urban road pricing scheme. The TAA is awarded annually by the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation for the transport sector with 54 member countries. The award will be presented tomorrow in the presence of ministers from around the world during the opening plenary of their global transport summit organised by the ITF. Milan, said by the ITF to be one of the most c

PATeye awareness aids icy-road motoring

May 19, 2014

Solar Bright, the New Zealand manufacturer of PATeye, a new ice-road warning technology, has selected Montana firm Angry Minnow Marketing to represent the innovative device in the United States. PATeye is a real-time visual warning system that alerts motorists to ice-road conditions.

Wanco’s ‘revolutionary’ Long-Run Light Tower

May 14, 2014

Wanco, a US manufacturer of traffic safety equipment, has teamed with McKinley Services & Equipment to develop and manufacture a revolutionary light tower that is so efficient, it is said to provide more light than traditional metal halide light towers, while using just a fraction of the fuel. The new Wanco Long-Run Light Tower uses high-efficiency LED lights that require comparatively little power. The use of LED lights paired with exclusive engine innovations results in far less fuel consumption durin

UK’s Humber Bridge Board to deploy automatic tolling system

May 13, 2014

The Humber Bridge Board in the UK is set to deploy an automatic tolling system at the famous structure near Kingston upon Hull in northern England from the autumn of 2014 to the spring of 2015. The number of manual payment toll booths is being reduced to three from six to accommodate two free-flow lanes and automatic tolling infrastructure. The updated booths are anticipated to be operational in June 2014 or early July 2014. Until the installation of the automated system is complete, the toll booths will co

Swiss pressure groups attack NAF road funding plan

May 13, 2014

Road transport pressure groups in Switzerland have criticised the Government's draft report on NAF, a national-road and agglomeration fund. While they are in favour of the general idea of the fund and its purpose, they reject details, like the plan for raising the mineral oil tax by either CHF 0.12 (€0.10) or CHF 0.15. They pointed to their initiative for making all funds generated with the mineral oil tax available to transport projects. The groups say that parliament and the people should decide on NAF an

German state should invest in road maintenance before new roads

May 13, 2014

The German state should prioritise road maintenance over the construction of new roads, according to Christian Ahrendt, vice president of the German audit office. Ahrendt said that the government should distribute its funding for road works ‘correctly’ before it considers creating additional income for infrastructure.