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Optimism about the future of highways worldwide abounded at the inaugural European Road Infrastructure Conference (ERIC) in Leeds, UK Around 500 delegates passed through the varied sessions during the three-day event at the Royal Armouries Museum in the northern English city of Leeds. They came away with many visions of what a motorway and road could look like. But what speakers at the event - co-organised by the Brussels-based European Union Road Federation (ERF) and the UK’s Road Safety Markings Ass

New tyre technology will increase productivity and cut downtime - Mike Woof writes Key advances in tyre technology will offer extended life for customers, as well as substantial gains in productivity and durability. Meanwhile, some major developments are also being seen in the market, with a number of smaller players now accounting for a substantial portion of sales. Important developments for tyre users include new strategies intended to improve tyre life and cut costs for consumers. One of the majo

Sri Lanka’s of Central Expressway project is well underway, with Phase II now being planned, Funding worth close to US$154.4 million is being delivered jointly by the People's Bank and the National Savings Bank in the shape of loans. The Section II of the project will measure nearly 40km in length and will run between Meerigama and Kurunegala. As much of this section of the route is on comparatively flat terrain, the work is expected to be less challenging from a technical viewpoint than other stretches pla

The tender process is due to commence in Poland for a major new tunnel project in the north of the country. The link will provide an improved road connection for the city of Swinoujscie, running between the islands of Uznam and Wolin. When complete in late 2021 or early 2022, this will be the longest road tunnel ever constructed in Poland. A number of consortia and companies have been preselected by the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) to tender for the project. The plans

Proposals have been put forward in the Philippines for two major two tollroad projects. One of the proposed tollroad projects will be a 102km expressway that will run from capital Manila to Quezon. This has been envisaged as a design, build finance, operate and maintain contract. The proposed route would run from Candelaria to Pasig City and cross Laguna de Bay. The other project is for a 17.7km expressway connecting Manila with Taguig. The Manila to Taguig Expressway has been proposed jointly by CLGP Phili

Three toll road projects are being planned in Indonesia. Financing for the projects is being provided through the Indonesia Infrastructure Guarantee. In all, the three projects are worth a total of US$2.17 billion. The toll roads are from Tebing Tinggi to Parapat, from Cileunyi-Sumedang to Dawuan and from Serang to Panimbang. The contracts are expected to be signed in March 2017.

When the Queensferry Crossing over the Forth Estuary opens at the end of 2016, it will be the third landmark bridge to be built spanning this short stretch of water. This 2.7km structure is lying alongside the existing road bridge and the historic rail bridge and is the centrepiece of the upgrade to Scotland’s key cross-Forth transport corridor. Responsible for the construction is Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors – FCBC, a consortium of companies from Germany, Spain, the US and the UK. Construction

Cleveland Bridge UK has delivered a significant upgrade project on the A1 in North Yorkshire, England, with the fabrication and installation of eight bridges. Using British-made steel, the 20-month project was completed with the installation of the 53m Fort Overbridge. The work was carried out on behalf of Highways England’s principal contractor on the A1 scheme, a Carillion and Morgan Sindall joint venture. The A1 Leeming to Barton upgrade is replacing the dual carriageway with a three-lane motorw

Michael Baker International completed a US$7 million project for the US state of Pennsylvania collecting nearly 20 million data fields from over 8,600 traffic signals During the year-long project, the engineering, planning and consulting business worked with PennDOT’s Traffic Signal Asset Management System. It collected nearly 20 million data fields for each of the 8,623 traffic signals analysed. The data has populated a centralised database to support PennDOT’s planning, design, maintenance and oper

South Korean company Daewoo E&C will carry out upgrading and widening of a major expressway in Qatar. The US$590 million contract is focussing on widening a 4.5km stretch of the E-Ring expressway, as well as building 4km of connecting roads and three large intersections. The work on the intersections will be particularly complex as these will feature multiple levels. Improving the expressway will help boost connectivity for Qatar and is intended to improve traffic flow at peak periods. The construction work

The Ugandan Government has unveiled plans to improve its road connections with its northern neighbour South Sudan. To fund the construction project, the Ugandan Government has been seeking a loan worth US$210 million from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The terms of the loan arrangements have yet to be revealed however. The aim of the project is to improve the road link running through Rwekunye, Apac, Lira and Acholibur. Better transport links form part of a much wider programme of integration between E

India is setting its sights on a huge programme of works to upgrade its transport network. The Indian Government has plans to allocate a massive US$58.17 billion to develop transport systems within the country. Road and highways will be amongst the transport systems benefiting from the investment. Some 2,000km of coastal highways will be developed under the plans, along with a series of other highway projects commencing. $2.2 billion is being invested in upgrading 1,253km of roads in Assam. These roads will

India is setting its sights on a huge programme of works to upgrade its transport network. The Indian Government has plans to allocate a massive US$58.17 billion to develop transport systems within the country. Road and highways will be amongst the transport systems benefiting from the investment. Some 2,000km of coastal highways will be developed under the plans, along with a series of other highway projects commencing. $2.2 billion is being invested in upgrading 1,253km of roads in Assam. These roads will

The US state of Arizona is using 1Spatial’s technology to send a yearly update of its entire road network to the Federal Highway Administration. As required by law, all state governments must do this and many have created a data set of their road network. But much of this is held at county level. The challenge, now that data has been collected, is how to keep this information up-to-date and accurate. 1Spatial software will automate the data validation process and also the change process. The technology w

The first prototype of an innovative new sensor device and its data acquisition system has now been developed. This move has come during the first 18 months of the 42-month Horizon 2020 SENSKIN (SENsing SKIN) project, a research partnership being implemented by 13 partners from 7 countries. A key objective of the SENSKIN project is the development of a skin-like sensor that offers spatial sensing and can monitor large strains, for use in monitoring-based maintenance of transport infrastructure. The syste