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Bangkok congestion costs business for Thailand
September 15, 2016
A new study from Bangkok’s Kasikorn Research Centre reveals the extent to which the notorious traffic congestion of Thailand’s capital city costs the country’s economy. And the problem is getting worse. Research reveals that drivers in Bangkok spend 35 minutes longer in in traffic jams during 2016 than they did in 2015. According to the research, vehicle commuters saw an increase in costs of some US$172 million due to additional fuel use while stalled in congestion. This has a negative impact on business of
Slovakia concerned over tenders for D1 Presov and D3 Cadca bypasses
September 14, 2016
The Slovakian government is examining bids for two tenders for motorway stretches D1 because of their higher-than-expected costs. The deal involves the Presov West - Presov South stretch and the D3 Cadca, Bukov - Svrcinovec section, according to a report in Pravda. Both projects are bypasses of Cadca, near the border with Poland and the Czech Republic, and Presov in eastern Slovakia. The newly appointed transport minister, Arpad Ersek, review the tenders, the Pravda report said. The Slovak Insti
Hungary boosts road spend and budgets up to 2020
September 14, 2016
Hungary will spend €484.75 million on road construction projects in 2017. Around 1,350km of roads will be built. The Hungarian national road management firm Magyar Kozut Nonprofit will get access to a €1.28 billion for road maintenance purposes by 2020. Earlier this summer, the Colas Hungaria-Colas Ut consortium started work started on a new stretch of motorway in a contract worth around €54.74 million. The work involves building a new section of the M35 motorway connecting road number 481 with ro
Munich Autobahn widening now commencing
September 14, 2016
Preparation work is starting on a widening project for the A99 Autobahn, which runs around the city of Munich in the southern German state of Bavaria. The project will see the A99 being widened from its current six lanes to eight lanes on the north side of the city, between the junctions with the A9 and A92 Autobahn routes. This stretch of the A99 is close to the Allianz Arena as well as the city’s international airport and frequently suffers heavy congestion at peak periods of the day as well as from touri
Ohio Turnpike rebuild underway at present
September 14, 2016
Rebuilding work is underway on the Ohio Turnpike in the US at present. This 388.3km route is being upgraded in a project worth a total of US$1.4 billion. The work is being carried out in a series of sections, with bridges in Williams County being replaced or refurbished during 2016. Resurfacing work is being carried out on the route on stretches during 2016, including sections in Sandusky County, Erie County and Lorain County. Bridge deck joint repairs are also planned in Sandusky County. Built in the pe
Krakow cracks on with funding for bypass, including Trasa Lagiewnicka
September 13, 2016
The Polish government has secured around €345 million for construction of Krakow's 15km Northern Ring-Road. Work is expected to start in 2019 and completion is set for 2022, according to Polish media. Meanwhile, Trasa Lagiewnicka, the company in charge of constructing a section of Krakow’s third ring road – one of four concentric ring roads, is looking to secure European Union money for the project. The section – called Trasa Lagiewnicka, after the company that will build it, will be 3.7km long and inclu
New road link for Angola’s Luanda Airport
September 13, 2016
New road links will be constructed to Luanda’s International Airport in Angola, in a bid to improve traffic flow and cut congestion. This US$695 million package of works has been awarded by Angola’s Transport Ministry and will be carried out by Chinese contractor Tiesiju Engineering, which is part of the China Railway Engineering Corporation. The work includes upgrading various access roads around the airport, as well as widening the Via Express route, which runs around Angola’s capital city. The airport is
India’s poor road safety requires improvement
September 13, 2016
The Indian Government has revealed that 146,133 people died in crashes on the country’s roads during 2015. This figure is of concern as it is an increase of 4.6% over India’s road fatality rate of 139,671 for the previous year. Also of concern is the fact that over half of the people who died in crashes were aged from 15-34, revealing that there is a particularly high risk for the young on India’s roads. The data also shows that there were 501,423 reported crashes on India’s road network in 2015, an increas
Shell participating in Myanmar road trial
September 13, 2016
An innovative road trial project is now being carried out in Myanmar along Pyinmana Myo Shuang Road, close to Nay Pyi Taw International Airport. This trial section of road has been built in partnership between Shell and National Infrastructure Holdings Co (NIHC). In addition, the project is being supervised by Myanmar’s Ministry of Construction. The road trial is using Shell’s 60/70 penetration grade bitumen, which offers good heat tolerance and resistance to road deformation. This makes it suitable to cop
Growth in road machines business for Italy
September 12, 2016
Italy has seen growth in the market for road construction machines in 2015. According to data from the SaMoTer-Prometeia Outlook analysts, the country’s exports of road construction machines grew 27.5% while its imports of equipment for the market jumped 30.8%. The market for compaction equipment and bitumen mixers grew considerably, rising €113.2 million for exports and €22 million for imports. This general market resurgence comes after several years of stagnation for the Italian construction machinery ind
New Indonesia toll road project
September 12, 2016
Three firms are to carry out construction work on a 98.5km road upgrade project in Indonesia. The project is expected to cost around US$606 million and involves upgrading the north-south route connecting Parapat, Pematang Siantar and Tebing Tinggi in North Sumatra. The project will be headed by Hutama Karya, with Waskita Karya and Jasa Marga also being involved in the road construction work. The upgraded route will be tolled and the Indonesian Government has been keen to prioritise the upgrade of this road
Bolivia dual carriageway project stalled
September 12, 2016
Work remains at a halt on the 70km dual carriageway upgrade connecting Yapacani with Montero in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department. A disagreement between the Mexican construction company that was building the link, Tradeco, and Bolivia’s road administration department, ABC, resulted in the contract being cancelled. The route, Highway 4, runs from Yapacani through Santa Fe, San Carlo and Portachuelo to Montero and the project was intended to improve the road and boost its capacity by increasing the number of l
US: Federal Highway Administration redistributes cash to states
September 12, 2016
The US state of California received the largest slice of US$2.83 billion of federal money redistributed for highway investment. California will get just over $293 million, New York will pick up nearly $156 million while Florida will get $150 million. Hawaii was the only state to receive nothing from the pot of unused highway funds. The $2.83 billion falls far short of the nearly $5.16 billion that the states requested to be redistributed, according to a Federal Highway Administration document. But the mone
India highway project planned for Rajasthan
September 12, 2016
A new highway widening and upgrade project is planned for the Indian state of Rajasthan. The project is worth some US$123.2 million and is for the upgrading of the NH-11A route. This will be widened to four lanes and with shoulders also, along an 83km stretch. The highway passes through the historic city of Jaipur, as well as Tonk and Dausa. The project also includes constructing three bypass sections, one bridge passing over a railway, three large bridges and 12 small bridges. The work will take 30 months
UK’s young drivers diminishing in number
September 12, 2016
Data available from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) shows a continuing drop in the number of young people learning to drive. According to DfT research, fewer teenagers and young adults are now taking driving lessons or sitting driving tests than in previous decades. The cost of insurance is thought to be a major factor, since insurance firms have begun using more accurate calculations to determine the risk of young adults being involved in a crash. This has led to a massive jump in insurance premium