News

In a bid to boost safety in the US state of Oklahoma, new road/rail crossings are to be constructed. A budget of US$100 million has been set for the work to improve 300 of the crossings. There has been concern at the high number of crashes at these crossings, when drivers attempt to cross in front of a train and inevitably, with serious consequences for any vehicle occupants. At present many of the crossings are simply marked with signs. However the upgrades will include the installation of concrete crossin

In Australia plans are in hand with regard to constructing an asphalt-surfaced road connecting Adelaide in South Australia with Brisbane in Queensland. The state authorities in South Australia are working with Infrastructure Australia on a plan to construct an asphalt surface for the 426km section between Innamincka and Lyndhurst in South Australia. This section of the work is likely to cost in the order of US$317.3 million. Funding sources for the project are being considered at present although the work c

Researchers at Purdue University in the United States have developed a hydrophobic sealant that could prevent potentially damaging fluids from entering concrete pores. Paul Imbrock, founder and president of Environmental Concrete Products – the university’s spin-off company - said the firm’s Fluid iSoylator product can be used to protect new and existing concrete. "Our product is absorbed into dry concrete's pore network to create a hydrophobic barrier that prevents potentially damaging fluids from en

A study by Danish consultant Hans Schjær-Jacobsen has shown that the payback period for the proposed Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link tunnel project between Denmark and Germany will be close to 50 years. This is a decade longer than estimated by the developers of the project which focusses on a 17km immersed tunnel, the study noted. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link will connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland. The 17km tunnel, including two railway tunnels, two motorway tunnels and an

Billboards are used to advertise everything, from toothpaste to airplanes and also to get a message across, such as don’t litter the highway. But one wife in Sheffield, United Kingdom, decided to make it personal, and tell her cheating husband that it was all over.

Around 20 residents of St Albans, a town near London, were evacuated after a huge sinkhole appeared overnight. The hole, 20m in diameter and 10m deep, cut right across at the road and well into an adjoining garden, leaving one family’s car stranded on the driveway. Residents are said to have heard a crash before the huge crater appeared, according to a BBC report. The local fire service said it had been aware of a small hole that was due to be filled in, but a resident called the station at 1:30 in the mor

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has expressed an interest in funding construction of the Nis-Pristina highway. This link would provide a new link between Nis in Serbia and Kosovo’s capital, Pristina. The EIB may also fund various other regional construction projects. Details of the Nis-Pristina highway project have not been disclosed however. Currently, there are a total of five active EIB's loans for work in Serbia, worth €759 million, for the Corridor 10 motorway, and rail and road infrastructure proj

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are finalising plans for the US$3 billion second causeway project that will connect the countries. The project will be for a railway and road between both countries with the plans due to be complete by the end of 2015. Canadian company SNC Lavalin completed its feasibility study for the project in September 2015. The second causeway will measure 26km long and has been named King Hamad Causeway. SNC Lavalin suggested two routes while the project is scheduled to be completed in 2018.

The 38.8km improvement project for Taiwan’s Suhua Highway now looks to be delayed until 2019. The opening of the route is being delayed by a combination of factors including landslides and archeological discoveries. The improvement works include upgrades to a number of key bridges and mountain tunnels like sections from Suao to Dongao, Nanao to Heping and Heping to Daqingshui. The project is costing US$1.42 billion. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2017. The delays involve relocation

According to the UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), the biggest cause of crashes on UK roads is driver error. Figures from the Department of Transport show that in 2014 driver/rider error or reaction were cited as contributory factors in 74% of accidents, involving more than 117,000 casualties. Some 20,830 of these were in London alone.

Improving road safety is being seen in Malaysia. According to the Royal Malaysian Police, the number of fatalities from road crashes dropped to 4,940 during the first nine months of 2015 and ending on September 30th. The death rate for the same period in 2014 was 5,138. Road deaths involving motorcyclists reaching 3,098 across Malaysia during the nine month period. Selangor reported the highest number of crashes of all types during the first nine months of 2015, with 104,105 incidents. There were 26,928 cr

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has honoured key engineering innovators into its Hall of Fame. These include the pioneer of urban interchange design, the Pennsylvania pioneer of the welded bridge concept, a former congressional transportation investment champion and a top US transportation engineering researcher and educator. Launched in 2010, the Transportation Development Hall of Fame honours individuals or families from the public and private sectors who have made extra

In yet another reversal for a key Algerian road project, the Algerian Government has overturned its earlier decision to cancel Cojaal’s contract. The Algerian Government opted to change its 2014 decision to cancel a contract with Japanese construction company Cojaal. The project is for Algeria’s massive East-West highway, for which Cojaal was working on an eastern stretch. Talks are being carried to reach an agreement with Cojaal, which was initially awarded the contract to build a 399km stretch of motorway