News

Acrow Bridge, an international bridge engineering and supply company, announced that it will start by the end of the year on a 144-bridge infrastructure project in Zambia. The work will be carried out exclusively by Zambian engineers, technicians and contractors who will be trained in the field by Acrow technicians on the assembly and installation of the bridges. Acrow said it is working with the Road Development Agency of the Republic of Zambia.

Following the completion of the feasibility study commissioned by Highways England into dynamic wireless power transfer technologies, off road trials of the technology needed to power electric and hybrid vehicles on England’s major roads are due to take place later this year. The trials are the first of their kind and will test how the technology would work safely and effectively on the country’s motorways and major A roads, allowing drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles to travel long distances without

Turkey’s Ilgaz Tunnel will help boost transportation and cut traffic delays between the capital Ankara and Kastamonu. The new tunnel should be open to traffic in April 2016 and will connect the Ankara and Kastamonu motorways. Measuring some 5.4km long, the tunnel features a twin tube layout. In all the project involves the construction of some 26.7km of roadways. When the new link is open, this willor educe travel time between Ankara and Kastamonu to 1.5 hours. The project is costing around US$205.5 million

The UK is working on plans to develop contactless charging systems for electric vehicles. Trials of the technology will be carried out on test routes away from the public highway to test the systems. The technology will be able to recharge electric and hybrid vehicles. The aim of the project is to develop sound technologies that can then be installed on England’s major roads. These trials are the first of their kind and will investigate how the technology would work safely and effectively on the country’s m

The Russian city of St. Petersburg is interested in the LSR group's offer to construct a bypass road around the centre of town in exchange for development of paid parking lots. Construction cost of the bypass is likely to be nearly US$638 million, according to Russian media reports. The parking lot investment would be around $168 million. The pay-back period for LSR, a major Russian property development company, is expected to be 25 years. Apart from banks such as VTB, potential private sector partner

Highways England has today appointed six joint-venture companies to design and build 10 “smart motorways” as part of a €2.1 billion investment. Construction contractors appointed are the Balfour Beatty and VINCI joint venture, a Costain and Galliford Try joint venture, as well as a Carillion and Kier joint venture. Designers are a CHM2 and Hyder joint venture, an Amey and Arup joint venture, as well as a Jacobs and Atkins joint venture. The award is the second major procurement to be given under th

Innovia Technology, a UK research consultancy, has been chosen to evaluate an environmentally friendly road project in the US state of Georgia. Innovia, based in the city of Cambridge, will evaluate technologies and systems that the Mission Zero Corridor project has identified as useful for creating social, environmental and economic value from new roads. These include algae biodiesel gas stations, smart solar-powered roads, moon-cycle adjusting lights, wildlife bridges, driverless cars and electric-car ch

A Canadian subsidiary of Vinci Concessions, has signed a 30-year public-private partnership (P3) deal for a bypass around the Saskatchewan provincial capital city Regina. Regina Bypass Partners is a (37.5%) subsidiary of Vinci Concessions, in partnership with Parsons Enterprises (25%), Connor Clark & Lunn GVest fund (25%) and Gracorp Capital (12.5%). Parsons Enterprises - the Parsons division focused on the development, delivery, financing, and management of infrastructure under P3s - is an equity par

Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic to design sections of the R35 and R55 expressways. R35 connects the Bohemia and Moravia regions and runs parallel to the D1 motorway, the longest in the country. Mott MacDonald will design a 5.8km section of the expressway, including three bridges, two interchanges, two roundabouts, four overpasses and one railway viaduct. One watercourse will also be relocated as part of the scheme.

Leighton Holdings and DM Consunji have been chosen by Metro Pacific Investment to develop the Cavite-Laguna Expressway – Calax -- project in the Philippines. Work on the US$757 million is set to start in July next year and run to July 2020. Maintenance and operations on the 47km highway is under a 30-year contract running from 2020. The motorway will start at Cavitex and end at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange.

US demand for asphalt is forecast to increase 3.3% annually to 24.3 million tonness in 2019, the vast majority of which is refined petroleum asphalt, according to a new report. Demand will be spurred by a rebound in building construction, especially for asphalt shingles. But in the much larger market of asphalt paving, gains will be supported by the efforts of state and local governments to maintain the nation’s aging road and highway network. Paving accounted for three-quarters of asphalt use in 2014

Saudi Arabia has announced four projects connecting Jeddah and Makkah that will facilitate faster and smoother travel. The Makkah governorate said the projects include the Makkah-Jeddah Direct Roadway, the Breman-Hada Al-Sham-Makkah Road, the Old Makkah-Jeddah Road and the Makkah-Jeddah Highway.

Despite concerns from infrastructure groups, the Mexican government will not to extend the deadline for bids for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara motorway. Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transport said the deadline remains as August 24 for the contract which will be a 30-year public-private partnership estimated to worth around $364 million.

US-based contractor Flatiron has won a US$157 million design and build contract for an interchange in the Canadian city of Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba. The project, for owner Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, will replace the existing loop-ramp interchange for Provincial Trunk Highways 59 and 101. Work includes seven precast girder bridges between 40m and 100 meters in length, one cast-in-place box culvert through-pass, construction of 1.5 million cubic meters of interchange embank