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An umbrella body of 370 local authorities in the UK wants towns and cities to charge utility companies for digging up roads and disrupting traffic. The Local Government Association, representing English and Welsh members says too many roads are blocked due to lane closures because of digging to repair pipes and communication lines. The LGA said it should be easier for local councils to introduce lane rental schemes if needed, without the requirement to get approval from the central government. A la

Indonesia is looking to finalise the financing of the Tebing Tinggi-Kisaran toll road that is likely to cost around US$661 million. The 60km road is part of the trans-Sumatra highway project, which is targeted for completion in 2019, according to a report in the Jakarta Post newspaper. The route – one of 30 priority infrastructure projects - will connect Kuala Namu International Airport and Kuala Tanjung Port with the nearby Sei Mangkei industrial complex. “Of the eight priority routes on the trans-Sumat

The US state of Illinois has issued a Request for Information to develop a plan with private investors for the US$425 million Interstate 55 Managed Lanes Project. The public-private partnership project could serve as a model for rebuilding state roads and bridges,” said Illinois transportation secretary Randy Blankenhorn. Responses from the RFI are due by September 8, ahead of one-on-one meetings with potential private partners on September 20-21. A written statement from the department of transpor

A consortium of investors led by Goldman Sachs has agreed to invest US$220 million in Essel Highways, part of the Essel Group. This is the US private investment firm’s first foray into India’s road infrastructure market, according to India’s financial media reports. Essel Highways, a subsidiary of Essel Infraprojects, constructs, develops and operates national and state highways. Essel Highways, set up in 2007, boasts road assets valued at around $2 billion. It has a road development portfolio of 1

Colombia has awarded the tender for the Bogotá-Girardot public-private partnership highway expansion, involving 145km of third lanes. The national infrastructure agency (ANI) announced the winner as a consortium of units of Colombia's Conconcreto group for US$545 million. The consortia consists of Estructura Plural Vías a Girardot, made up of Industrial Conconcreto (30%) and Constructora Conconcreto (70%). The winning group beat out four other consortia, according to ANI, to building the first six-lan

Some drivers never quite get the hang of parallel parking, even when the space is large. The Mercedes driver is shocked, but at what we don’t know – lack of parking ability, perhaps? Or the damage to the Ferrari, not to mention her own car. The real clincher is that the Merc is a convertible. Not many blind spots in that car. Mercs and Ferraris are often meeting on the roads, unexpectedly, that is. A recent mishap in the UK proved that old saying – ‘kids will be kids’. And kids with rich parents will

German engine manufacturer DEUTZ reported new orders in the group rose by 1% to €677.2 million (H1 2015: €670.7 million), despite tough market conditions. Orders in the second quarter of 2016 amounted to €349.9 million, which was 6.9 per cent higher than the figure of €327.3 million for the first quarter, and the same level as the second quarter of 2015 (€349.7 million). The number of engines sold fell to 69,705, down by almost 11% compared with the corresponding period of 2015 (H1 2015: 78,120 eng

Hungary is to spend around €96 million upgrading and putting in new bicycle paths in major tourist areas. Projects include developing a path connecting the capital Budapest to Lake Balaton in western Hungary and upgrading a path around lake. Also, an unfinished path around Lake Tisza in eastern Hungary, According to an English-language news service, Daily News Hungary. Other planned paths include the Rajka-Dömös, Szentendre-Budapest, Dunakeszi-Budapest and Budapest-Érd-Százhalombatta sections of the E

Albania’s Ministry of Transport has signed a contract with the Turkish company Vendeka Information Technologies for the rehabilitation of the Milot-Morin motorway. The 30-year deal is for the upgrading, operation and maintenance of the 180km route. Vendeka will invest initially around €51 million and then around €321 million for maintenance over the duration of the contract. The highway links the Adriatic port of Durres with the capital Tirana and eastwards to the border with Kosovo to connect with an

Russia is looking to spend upwards of US$106 billion to improve motorways in Siberia, the Ural Mountains and central Asia by 2030. A report by the Russian financial newspaper Kommersant said that the federal transport ministry and the Federal Road Transport Agency – Rosavtodor - have designed a strategy to build another 15,000km of toll motorways to add to the already 5,000km. However, some of the ‘new’ motorways could be upgrades of two-lane roads. Between 30-50% of the cost will be borne by the priv

Despite Europe being a global leader in road safety, around 25,000 road users (working, walking, driving or riding a bicycle) did not make it home in 2015 and more than 200,000 others sustained life-changing or serious injuries. Leading Safety Lawyer Paul Verrico, a Partner of European law firm Eversheds will present the ERICLeeds16 ROAD SAFETY DEBATE. He will argue that organisations in the UK face ever increasing sanctions through new sentencing guidelines for health and safety and corporate manslaugh

The number of people injured in traffic accidents in Vietnam fell by 1,360 from a year ago to 10,286 in the first seven months of 2016. However, around 2.5% of Vietnam’s GDP is lost each year because of traffic accidents, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee. An average of 60 people are injured and 24 people die daily due to road accidents. Also, The number of traffic accidents declined by 1,058 to 11,852 cases while the number of deaths decreased by 144 to 5,023. In May, the comm

Traffic and revenues on Croatian toll roads jumped 10% in the first seven months of the year, according to a report in the newspaper Novi List. To the end of July, 21 million vehicles were recorded on the highways under management of the Croatian Motorways-HAC public companies. That’s up 2 million vehicles, while revenue was almost US$129 million. The report noted that with a heavy debt load, it might be a new government, to be formed after Parliamentary elections on 11 September, could sell of shares