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A new approach to tunnel inspection technology in Japan could yield major benefits in determining quality and safety. A team comprising specialists from Japan’s Institute for Laser Technology and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency is having evaluating the use of lasers for upgrading tunnel inspection methods as part of a two year research programme. The new technique is said to allow inspectors to examine tunnel wall conditions at a higher frequency of 25 times/second. The technology also allows tunnel wall

The Indian Government is looking to upgrade its road links and also improve the condition of many road links right across the country, with a view to improving safety, as well as transportation. A series of infrastructure plans are being implemented, aimed at improving road conditions in the country. India’s Ministry for Road Transport and Highways is keen to improve road safety and reduce the fatality rate in the country. The Indian Government is establishing a Road Safety Authority that is being charged

Bidding is strong for the works to construct two bypasses in Slovakia. The road links are the 14.5km long northern Kosice bypass and the 8km Presov bypass. Both bypasses form part of the D1 motorway. The estimated value of both projects is nearly €580 million. Slovakia’s national motorway company NDS opened the bids for the Presov by-pass before the end of 2015. A consortium comprising local firm Duha and Salini Impregilo is amongst the bidders for the work.

Hexagon has acquired Paul MacArthur Limited, SCCS – a UK supplier of surveying equipment to the engineering and infrastructure market and a Leica Geosystems distributor for over 20 years. SCCS, based in Cambridge, England, provides surveying solutions across the country, offering customers rent, purchase and service options in the road, rail and construction projects. “As the UK continues to fund major infrastructure projects with more stringent processes related to Building Information Modelling (BIM

Two major road projects are proceeding in Romania. Work on the Pitesti-Sibiu Highway is due for completion in 2023. This follows on from a €1.6 billion investment provided through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (LIOP). Romania’s Ministry of Transport has said that work on the project should commence on 1st January 2017.

Construction work for three new highways will commence in Malaysia’s Penang State by June 2016. The work will help reduce congestion in Penang State. The first of the three highways to be built will be the Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass. This project is being carried out by Malaysia-based Consortium Zenith BUCG. Meanwhile plans are also in hand to construct the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway (SPE) in Malaysia. The project is expected to cost US$845.6 million. The SPE link should be open to t

Gabon is to benefit from loans that will help pay for two key infrastructure projects. One project is for a new highway that will improve transport connections between a number of towns and capital Libreville. The other project is for the construction of a new port facility at Owendo. The loan facility is worth US$125 million and is being provided by the Development Bank of Central African States. In all the projects will cost $200 million to carry out with the work on both planned for completion during 201

India is continuing with its progress in expanding its highway network. During the present fiscal year, the total length of new highway construction in India is anticipated to exceed 6,000km. This figure will compare well with the 2012-13 period, in which construction reached 5,700km. By 2019, the plan is to achieve a peak of 30km/day, compared with the previous peak of 16km/day. Meanwhile the average construction is expected to top 17km/day. In all total highway construction has increased from 2014, with a

Work to install a new bridge for the UK’s busiest rail freight line has been carried out over the A160 at the Port of Immingham. The project forms part of the Port of Immingham Improvement Scheme, a €118.15 million (£88.4 million) series of works being carried out on behalf of Highways England. The project involves upgrading 5km of the A160 from single carriageway to dual carriageway, and constructing a number of new structures. Because of the volume of rail traffic using the stretch of track, the new bridg

MOBA UK and Highway Data Systems (HDS) have formed a joint venture to provide road builders with sensing technology and HDS/MATest’s materials testing. MOBA’s hardware is used to capture data from a range of sensors on the paving machine. HDS delivers post-paving quality control testing using its vehicle mounted systems. MOBA is based in Limburg, Germany, and Highway Data Systems, has offices in Glasgow, Scotland, and in Hitchin, England.

Topcon Positioning Group has acquired a significant share of Finnish design software specialist Viasys VDC. The company offers a comprehensive suite of tools and services for building Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) models for infrastructure and site-work projects. This will add to Topcon’s portfolio of (BIM) technologies. The VDC models from Viasys can be used to optimise the construction process throughout a project lifecycle delivering better quality, higher efficiency and reduced costs.

A devaluing Canadian dollar has pushed up the cost for building a signature Windsor-Detroit bridge by around US$2.5 billion, according to Canadian media reports. The increase more than doubles what was believed needed by the Canadian government to construct the Gordie Howe Bridge, named after a Canadian ice hockey player who played most of his career for the Detroit Red Wings. The toll bridge, to be built under a public private partnership, will link the US city of Detroit, in the state of Michigan, w

The planned Penang project is postponed in Malaysia. This major road tunnel project will be delayed. The project is expected to cost US$1.42 billion and the work will be carried out by the Consortium Zenith BUCG (CZBUCG). For the first phase, three highways with a combined length of 21.2km will be constructed. They are the Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass, the Gurney Drive to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass and the Jalan Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired-road. The delay has been attr

A joint venture between Phuong Thanh Investment and Construction (Phuong Thanh) and Cong Thanh Investment and Construction (Cong Thanh) has received an investment licence from Quang Ninh province, Vietnam to upgrade the National Highway 18's Ha Long-Mong Duong section.

The governor of the US state New York, Andrew Cuomo, said he wants to spend US$22 billion over the next five year on maintaining aging roads and bridges. Cuomo also wants to give the agency responsible for maintaining the state’s major cross-state tolled freeway, the 920km Thruway, $1 billion so the agency – New York State Thruway Authority - can freeze tolls at their current rate until 2020. US media reported that his plan would also eliminate tolls for agricultural traffic. He would also offer a t