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China’s northwest province of Shaanxi plans to increase its spending on highways by 22% to nearly US$8.9 billion, according to an official statement. World Highways reported last year that Shaanxi was to spend nearly $5.8 billion in 2014. Of the total, nearly $5.8 billion has been allocated for five highway construction projects totalling 261km. Within 2015, there will be 600km of new highways in the province, raising the total highway length to over 5,000km by the end of 2015. Meanwhile, 11 new

The secretary general of the International Road Transport Union, Umberto de Pretto, has been awarded a distinction by the International Road Federation (IRF) in Washington. This is the IRF's highest and most prestigious individual distinction and is the Professional of the Year Award. This award was first established in 1951 and recognises eminent public, private and education sector professionals with an outstanding track record of leadership and commitment to the road transport industry. Throughout the ye

Austrian construction group Strabag will modernise the A10 Oswaldibergtunnel for Asfinag, Austria’s national motorway operator. Work on both tubes, each 4.3km long, will start this month and be finished in June 2017. The €34 million contract includes upgrading the road and tunnel surfaces as well as reinstalling all electrical and mechanical equipment. Thomas Birtel, chief executive of the Strabag Group, said in a statement that the contract will be covered by the group’s construction, engineering and c

The Moroccan Government intends for the country’s first PPP construction projects to be launched in 2016. Morocco’s Ministry for Infrastructure, Transport and Logistics is currently carrying out studies on over 20 PPPs. The road projects built under PPPs include the Guercif-Nador West Med, Tanger-Tétouan, Safi-Marrakech, Béni Mellal-Fès-Meknès and Agadir-Guelmim motorways.

The contract for a major highway project in Algeria worth US$242.3 million has been awarded to a consortium. The work involves building a 31km urban highway connecting the port of Skikda to the country’s East-West highway. Portuguese contractor Teixeira Duarte-Engenharia e Construccoes forms part of a consortium with Algerian groups Sero EST Batna and Nardjess Travaux Publics. The new highway will have three lanes in each direction and has to be completed within 24 months.

Summertime, both north and south of the equator, brings more tourists onto the world’s roads that run through some of the planet’s most beautiful parks and nature reserves.

Brazil will spend at least US$1.63 billion in privately operated federal road infrastructure projects in 2015. This is down slightly, from $1.82 billion spent in 2014, according to estimates by the land transport agency NTT. Work this year includes a stretch of the BR-050 motorway operated by MGO, which already has seen around $104 million. Road operator Concer, which administers sections of the BR-060, BR-153 and BR-262, invested nearly $88 million between 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. Arter

A Danish newspaper has learned of a significant European Union funding gap for one of Europe’s most ambitious transportation road and rail projects. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link would connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland. A submersed tunnel will cross the 18km-wide Fehmarn Belt, or Fehmarn Strait, in the Baltic Sea. Last February news emerged that contractors had revamped their cost estimates, adding nearly €1.2 billion to the project. This put the final cost of the 18

How to avoid cars and animals meeting head-on has taxed road and highway designers for years. Many schemes exist but some road and overpass designs are more successful than others. Fencing off a roadway is one method of preventing animals, usually large ones such as bears and moose, from wandering into the paths of oncoming vehicles. Another way to keep animals, and people, safe is to build an animal-friendly overpass where the surface appears as a continuation of the nearby landscape – hopefully an e

A key link road in Vietnam has been given the go ahead. The plan is for a new road to run from the Noi Bai - Lao Cai Highway to Sapa District. The construction project has been authorised by the People's Committee of Lao Cai Province in Vietnam. The 27km link road will be challenging to construct however as it will run through some of the country’s mountainous areas. The project will include building five viaducts and four flyovers crossing streams. The project is expected to cost close to US$115 million. T

Construction of a new expressway connecting Hambantota with Matara is now underway in Sri Lanka. This new expressway will link with the existing southern expressway that runs between Matara and Colombo through the southern town of Galle. The new Hambantota-Matara expressway is cost US$180 million to construct. Funding for the project has been provided by the Exim Bank of China.

In the US state of Maryland, a joint venture of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT) and Parsons Brinckerhoff has won a contract to replace the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge. The Maryland Transportation Authority awarded the $1 billion contract to replace the bridge, also known as the Potomac River Bridge and which was opened in 1940. The tolled 2.7km two-lane continuous truss bridge on US 301 spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Maryland and Dahlgren in the state of Virginia. Construction of the

The World Bank will grant Uzbekistan a US$200 million loan for 25 years, including a grace period of five years. The funds will go towards the $240 million Regional Roads Development project that is scheduled to be completed by 2021, according to UzDaily.uz. Uzbekistan’s government also reported that around 117km roads were built in the first half of this year.

The Hungarian government has announced that it will restart work on a new section of the M4 dual carriageway between Albertirsa and Ullo in 2016. Hungarian media reported that the government will invest around €192 million and no funding will come from the European Union, of which the country is a member. The two towns are around 25.5km apart, with Albertirsa closest to the capital Budapest at around 60km. The project should be finished some time in 2019, according to Hungarian media. The announcem