News

A loan from the World Bank (WB) will help fund repair work to a key road link in Bolivia. The US$225 million loan will be used to improve roads in Bolivia, with the most important project being for the repair and upgrade of the link connecting Trinidad with Santa Cruz. The funds will help pay for improvements to a 567km stretch of this road, which will be resurfaced and improved. The work is expected to cost around $215 million to complete

Brazil’s road death rate could be reduced with safer vehicles. This has been highlighted by a new research report from the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The report has revealed that 34,000 Brazilian lives could be saved and 350,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030, if UN vehicle safety regulations were adopted and car manufacturers sought to achieve higher ratings in the Latin NCAP crash test programme.

A new road safety strategy for powered two wheelers in Europe has been set out jointly following discussions. The results of analysis have been set out in a joint position statement by the bodies FEMA, FIM and FIM Europe. In the draft report FEMA and FIM have identified seven major areas of great importance that are in accordance with the positions of the riders’ organisations in Europe and elsewhere. Key recommendations and statements from the OECD-ITF draft report highlight issues for the safety of powe

London requires a radical new strategy to delivering the transportation development the city will need to cope with its fast growing population. Martin Tugwell, Transport Programme Director for England’s Economic Heartland Strategic Alliance said, “A road network fit for the world’s fifth largest economy cannot be planned from London: it is time for a revolution in approach, one that is focused on meeting our needs.”

The planning of strategic highways in England is locked into a two-tier mentality that is not good for the economy or for society. It is time to change. That is the message that David Quarmby, former chair of the RAC Foundation and head of RJRF’s Major Roads for the Future study, will be bringing to Highways UK, the landmark new roads conference at ExCel, London, 25th-26th November. In his keynote address Quarmby will argue that while welcome new funds, a new planning regime and a new arm’s length ro

Work is now underway on a new highway in Mexico’s Baja California State. The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has invested US$148.7 million in building the new Cabo San Lucas-San Jose del Cabo highway. The 38.7km project will include the construction of Caduano Bridge, the renovation and expansion of the Santa Rosa-Puerto Chale road and road surfacing at Todos Santos municipality.

Poland’s road authority GDDKiA has signed 13 road deals and has secured European financing worth a combined total of €1.91 billion. These works are being carried out from 2014-20. The available EU finance in the current perspective allocated to GDDKiA's projects stands at close to €10 billion. Poland’s road investment programme for 2014-23 includes building at least 3,900km of roads and 57km of ring roads.

Financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will help develop Tunisia’s road network. A 34 year loan worth nearly US$192 from the IBRD will help fund the work. The deal was agreed between the IBRD and the Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People. The road projects will enable an improved access to a number areas in the country.. A special office will be in charge of monitoring bridges from 2016 and drafting reports regarding their condition. Similarly, Tunis

God willing, two nuns in northern Slovakia caught on camera speeding managed to get home, or to the church, safely and on time. The sister, accompanied by another nun, was pushing her Skoda Fabia with religious conviction to around 160kph, or 100mph. However, they haven’t been the fastest nuns around Europe in recent years. In 2009, a nun in Italy, near Turin, was stopped by police for nudging upwards of 180kph – 110mph. The UK’s Daily Mail newspaper reported at the time that “demon driver Sister T

Italian global infrastructure group Salini Impregilo has agreed to buy 100% of Lane Industries, an American highways contractor and the “top private asphalt producer” in the US. Lane, a family-owned business based in Cheshire, Connecticut, was bought for US$406 million and has a turnover of around $1.5 billion. The company has three divisions: asphalt production, road projects and other infrastructure projects, in domestic and international markets. A statement from Salini said Lane is participating i

A wheelchair user was recently caught hitching a ride up a hill in the Brazilian city of Salvador. It’s slow progress, as the video shows, and care was taken by the driver to deliver his “passenger”. It is not known if the wheelchair owner had to pay for his external ride. His feat was not the first time he has picked up a lift, according to media reports that quote some of his neighbours. Media have also said the city is one of Brazil’s worst for getting around if you are in a wheelchair. The head

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will consider approval of seven Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, two of them highways, by the end of this month. The highways are the US$516 million Manila connector road and the $209 million Plaridel toll road. A report by the Manila-based Business World Online newspaper said the deals are worth around US$3.65 billion.

French construction group Vinci has been named preferred bidder for construction and operation of the previously canceled western motorway bypass in Strasbourg, northeastern France. Vinci will lead a consortium for the project estimated to need €475 million. The contract will be signed next year with construction to start in 2017, according to a report in the French newspaper Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace

A series of major highway and road projects have been proposed for Vietnam. Investors have submitted a proposal to build North-South road costing an estimated US$383.8 million. Another proposal has come from the Project Management Board 85 to develop Bien Hoa-Tan Thanh-Cai Mep Seaport expressway, with an estimated cost of $591.5 million.

Data from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) shows that motor vehicle traffic has increased, for the tenth quarter in succession. Motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain increased by 2.2% in the year ending September 2015 from the previous year. The provisional figure of 505.76 billion vehicle km is the highest rolling annual total ever and 0.6% higher than the pre-recessional peak in the year ending September 2007. The upward trend in traffic volumes is likely to reflect growth in the UK economy, wi