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According to a new report by Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Centre, 15 of the major economies in Europe are investing over US$1.43 trillion in road and rail construction projects in the coming years. Russia leads with investment of $433 billion, followed by the UK and France with $263 billion and $167 billion, respectively. The railways sector has the highest value at $804 billion, followed by the roads sector at $301 billion. Tunnels and bridges is valued at $227 billion and the trams and metros se

Official data shows an improvement in road safety across Europe as well as many other key nations worldwide. Of the 36 nations worldwide contributing data on road safety, the consensus is that conditions are improving, albeit with greater effect in some countries. Some countries have been particularly effective in reducing road deaths in this period, most notably Iceland which has seen a drop of 71.9% in road deaths. Spain, Denmark, Portugal and Ireland have also seen huge improvements in road safety with

Swiss mechanical engineering company Ammann is increasing the frequency of its successful global paving campus training courses in the Czech Republic. These four-day-long expert knowledge sessions are run at the Ammann International Training Centre (AITC) in Nové Město nad Metují and, according to after sales projects manager and training centre boss Martin Sedláček, the idea is “to ensure that Ammann has a globally consistent (approach) to presenting, selling and servicing” the company’s fast-developing r

The international CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction industries exhibition captured the lead spot in the just-released “Top 250” trade show ranking of North American-based expositions. The Trade Show News Network (TSSN) compiles the annual list, based on net square feet of exhibit space. CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014 - held every three years in Las Vegas and lastly in 2014 - won the top ranking for its record show space of more than 2.35 million net square feet. “We are honoured to receive this recognition,” said Megan

Applications for this year’s 2015 IRF Global Achievement Awards are due May 2. The IRF's one-of-a-kind competition recognises innovative road projects across 12 categories. This year there is an updated entry category, Asset Preservation and Maintenance Management. This category has been expanded with the addition of asset preservation criteria. Innovate asset preservation solutions combined with effective maintenance management programmes are essential pillars of economic, fiduciary and environmen

A Dutch maker of valves, couplings and flow regulators claims it has developed what it calls a “sustainable 700-bar filling technique” for hydrogen cars. The company, Teesing, says its PusH project successfully filled cylinders fast and efficiently with hydrogen at 700 bar. The system runs at 700 bar because hydrogen has a lower energy content than natural gas, which means that the same volume contains three times less energy. Refuelling hydrogen at a higher pressure, 700 bar, supplies enough energ

Construction has started of a second bridge over the River Pungue as part of the project to upgrade Mozambique’s Beira-Zimbabwe road. The bridge will link the districts of Dondo and Nhamatanda in the central of Mozambican province of Sofala. Construction of the two-lane 250m-long bridge was awarded to Chinese contractor Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Corporation (AFECC), according to a report by the daily newspaper Notícias. Anhui will also upgrade 288km of road between the port of Beira and the tow

A consortium of Brazil's Mendes Junior and Spain's Isolux Corsán could lose its US$208 million contract to build part of the northern section of the Mario Covas beltway around the Brazilian city of São Paulo. The consortium, led by Mendes Junior, is falling behind schedule because of cash flow problems, according to São Paulo state highway company Dersa. The deal was signed in January 2013, local paper Folha de São Paulo reported.

Chinese construction equipment maker Zoomlion and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics have signed what they call a “global strategic cooperation framework agreement” to create a new company. Zoomlion and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, abbreviated as WWL, will increase cooperation between the two companies in distribution network construction, PDI testing, pier construction and warehouse management. The aim is to increase the competitiveness of Zoomlion products globally, a joint statement said.

A US construction sector group wants warning signs to be posted on bridges designated “structurally deficient" and in need of repair by state engineers. More than 61,000 structurally deficient bridges remain in need of significant repair, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), which analysed the US Department of Transport’s National Bridge Inventory database. However, by the end of 2014 there were more than 2,000 fewer structurally deficient structures than in 20

A survey of more than 200 major global cities shows that commuters in Istanbul experience the worst overall traffic congestion. The average 30-minute drive in Istanbul takes more than an hour during evening rush hour, leading to an extra 125 hours wasted stuck in traffic every year, according to the latest Traffic Index Survey from Tom Tom. However, in Los Angeles, a 30 minute commute in the evening rush hour will take 54 minutes, adding an extra 92 hours annually.

LiuGong Machinery, a major Chinese maker of heavy construction equipment, said it will invest around US$38 million in manufacturing in Brazil. The announcement was made during the opening ceremony of its first factory in Brazil, in the city of Mogi Guaçu, around 180km from São Paulo. LiuGong expects to produce 1,500 wheel loaders and excavators annually at the facility in the first three years of operation.

Swiss supermarket chain Coop and Swiss-based energy company Axpo plan to open Switzerland’s first public hydrogen filling station in 2016, according to a report by the newspaper Basler Zeitung. The two companies said more stations will be rolled out. Axpo will supply the hydrogen by splitting oxygen and hydrogen from water at its water power plant using a water electrolyser, an operation that is powered by the plant’s hydroelectric power station which makes the process carbon neutral. According to Axp