News

Driver distraction is an increasing concern for the road safety sector. According to the FIA Region 2 (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), a distraction time of just two seconds is sufficient to cause a crash. The FIA’s data suggests that to 25% of road crashes are due to distraction, with 25-30% of total driving time spent on distracting activities. Commissioner Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport, recently warned against distraction caused by the use of mobile phone. She said, “Distraction

Doosan Bobcat has opened its first manufacturing facility in India. The factory is located in Tamil Nadu state, on the outskirts of Chennai. Representing an investment of US$26 million, the 10.5ha site has an annual production capacity of 8000 units. It is an integrated facility with fabrication, warehouse, assembly and paint shop all under one roof and will initially be manufacturing Bobcat backhoe loaders completely designed and developed by the Engineering team based in Chennai. This is a new addition t

Funding has been secured to help pay for an important road project connecting Hungary with neighbouring Slovakia. The EU is supplying €552.6 million, which will be used to improve the motorway that connects Hungary’s industrial city Miskolc with Tornyosnémeti, lying on the border with Slovakia. The work will include widening a 60km stretch of the existing route and constructing 48 new bridges. Construction is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2022. The project is being financed through the EU’

A new highway project is being planned to improve transport links to and from Russia’s capital, Moscow. The 16km route will connect Vinogradovo, Boltino and Tarasovka featuring two lanes in either direction. The link will feature six bridges and overpasses and is expected to carry from 24,600-33,800 vehicles/day. The route will be managed by the Fourth Concession Company following an agreement with the Gazprom Bank. Construction should be complete by 2022, with the project worth over US$375 million and the

A new highway measuring 75km is planned for China’s Hebei Province. An 8km stretch of the route will be built by Shandong Luqiao Construction. The project for the Xiong'an New Area-Beijing highway is complex due to the terrain. Shandong Luqiao Construction will build the SG4 stretch of the route. This section of the route has a contract value close to US$208 million and involves building six bridge sections within a two year period.

Financing is being provided to pay for works to 700km of the important Route 7 road in Argentina.

India’s highway construction programme will require nearly US$257 billion in financing over the next five years. That is the key statement from a report published by KPMG, titled Roads and Highways Sector - Current Trends and Future Road Map. India has set targets for building some 60,000km of new highways over the next five years. KPMG’s estimate for financing is the figure it believes India will require to achieve its road building target. Various different financing methods will be required however, with

Design issues were the cause of problems with Chile’s Cau Cau bridge, not construction.

Route reviews are being carried out for a key Polish project. Poland’s highways authority, GDDKiA, is analysing the four potential routes for the S10 road, which will connect with Warsaw’s outer ring road, itself still to be completed. The different routes have estimated costs ranging from €5.34 billion to €5.99 billion and all connect with the A1, though at different intersections. Financing for the work should be secured by 2020, with tendering expected in 2025 and construction due to commence in 2026.

Mexico has a serious problem with regard to the condition of thousands of bridges in the country. According to Mexico’s general road maintenance authority (DGCC), 2014 bridges in the country are in a very poor condition. A further 3,673 bridges require attention and just 38% of the nation’s vehicle bridges are considered in suitable condition. More worryingly still, local authorities have generally only carried out visual inspection work of existing bridges to assess their condition. Proper structural stu

Puerto Rico’s road rebuilding and upgrading programme is falling short of the funding it requires.

Further technical issues are bringing a further delay to the opening of New Zealand’s Transmission Gully Motorway. Costing US$547.3 million (NZ$850 million), the new route lies to the north of the city of Wellington. The work for the project was delayed first by an earthquake, which struck the area in November 2016. However this new delay is due to a combination of poor weather, which has resulted in delays onsite, as well as a greater than expected volume of earthmoving work being required. The route had p

Key bridge links are benefiting from major upgrade works in Romania’s capital, Bucharest. Work on the Ciurel Bridge is now coming close to completion. The work is costing €470 million. This work has taken 12 years to complete. The work forms part of a wider plan to upgrade bridges in Bucharest. Other bridges being upgraded are the Eroilor, Opera and Timpuri Noi, spanning the Dambovita River. The bridge improvements should be completed during 2020.

Tendering is due to start for the new bridge that will connect Paraguay and Brazil. The bridge will span the Paraguay River, connecting Carmelo Peralta in Paraguay with Porto Murtinho in Brazil. Financing for the project has been secured and the work is expected to cost US$73.7 million. Once it opens to traffic, the new bridge will link Brazil’s Route 267 with Paraguay. However the road links in Paraguay will have to be improved to connect the bridge to the country’s highway network. At present Carmelo Pera

PNC Infratech is to build a 32new highway connection in Uttar Pradesh in India. The project is expected to cost close to US$143.5 million and includes the construction of a 32km bypass, featuring two lanes in either direction. The contract was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and is expected to take 36 months to complete.