Tunisia is benefiting from key highway expansion

Work is underway in Tunisia on the westbound Highway from capital Tunis towards the Algerian border. This 60km link will run from the town of Oued Zarga to Boussalem and the work is being carried out by Italian contractor Todini and local company Soroubat. The bidding process for the 100km highway from Gabes to Medenine is now being opened, while bidding for the 92km road from Medenine to the Libyan border outpost of Ras Jedir opened in October 2012. Bids for the construction of the 61km of peripheral roads
November 28, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
Work is now complete on a key section of highway in Tunisia shown here, while work is underway or in planning for other important routes

Work is underway in Tunisia on the westbound Highway from capital Tunis towards the Algerian border.

This 60km link will run from the town of Oued Zarga to Boussalem and the work is being carried out by Italian contractor 5482 Todini and local company 6943 Soroubat. The bidding process for the 100km highway from Gabes to Medenine is now being opened, while bidding for the 92km road from Medenine to the Libyan border outpost of Ras Jedir opened in October 2012. Bids for the construction of the 61km of peripheral roads around Tunis to link the south (A1), west (A3) and north (A2) highways will be launched in 2013. This new road will allow traffic crossing the country to avoid having to enter Tunis as at present. This will help reduce journey times for goods transport and also cut congestion in the city. Plans are also being drawn up for the construction of a 370km highway running from Tunis to the city of Tozeur, which will run in diagonal from the North East of Tunisia to the South West.

Work has yet to commence on the planned 50km highway project from the town of Boussalem to the Algerian border. This would link Algeria’s highway network with that of Tunisia. The country’s new government has prioritised development of roads and highways towards the south and southwest of Tunisia. And work on the 150km southbound highway from Sfax (Tunisia’s second city) to Gabes is encountering numerous challenges at present. The new government is facing issues including displaced persons, land confiscations carried out by the previous regime and a number of local social issues.

A 60km section of the North African Highway running through Tunisia was completed in April 2011, despite the problems faced since the country’s revolution. It is 11.75m wide and has shoulders of 1.5m on each side. Some 906,000m3 of earthmoving was carried out and there was also 483,000m² of cold milling. Constructing the asphalt base and asphalt concrete involved laying 110,000m3 of material using a new 1194 Vögele 2100-2 paver. The project also included construction of 40,000m of drainage, the installation of 63km of slipformed concrete barriers, using a new 2395 Wirtgen SP250 and the use of 15,000 plastic road separators.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Peru’s Oyón -Ambo Highway presents challenges
    August 30, 2022
    Peru’s Oyón-Ambo highway project represents a landmark in construction for the country, while facing significant technical challenges – Paula Chapple, editor of Carreteras Pan-Americana (CPA), writes
    Read More
  • World Bank part funding new Ethiopian road connections
    October 21, 2014
    In Ethiopia the construction of two new road links will be carried out by Chinese and Spanish contractors. The Ethiopia Roads Authority (ERA) awarded a contract worth close to US$48 million to Hunan Huanda Road and Bridge Corporation of China to build a 48.3km road in the south of the country. The work will take 29 months to complete. Two Spanish firms meanwhile will work together to carry out a $60.6 million contract in Ethiopia’s Oromia State. This project is for a 63km road connecting Ambo with Walliso.
    Read More
  • LafargeHolcim delivers Algeria concrete road solution
    May 14, 2018
    In Algeria, LafargeHolcim has introduced roller compacted concrete (RCC) for the first time in the country to renovate the RN45 road, with reduced costs, construction time and increased durability - *Nicolas Miravalls. Heavy traffic on a road stretch in northern Algeria has resulted in the need for rebuilding of the link, making it better able to cope with demand. In Algeria’s Msila region, the RN 45 road carries over 700 heavy load trucks/day, 365 days/year and required a major re-construction. In 2017, La
    Read More
  • Nicaragua building new coastal highway
    January 26, 2017
    Nicaragua is planning to build a new coastal highway that will improve transport connections between capital Managua and Rivas in the south of the country. Work on the design of the first section of the new highway is now commencing. The route will run close to Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast and is intended to boost trade and transport. The contractor that will carry out the construction work has yet to be finalised although initial plans had suggested that the firm Inocsa-Edicro would be responsible. A 131km hi
    Read More

Highlighted Content