News

A bridge carrying one of Norway’s busiest motorways remains closed after a major earth slide severely damaged its supporting columns this week. The bridge closure comes as Norway’s Public Roads Administration said it is concerned about the condition of 104 bridges throughout the country, although they remain safe to use. Two of the foundation pillars of the bridge at Holmestrand, along the Highway E-18 through Vestfold County, were affected and dropped a span by up to 1.5m, creating a severe dip and crack

Samsung, Daewoo, Hyundai, Acciona, Ed Züblin, MT Højgaard and Per Aarsleff are among the bidders to build a bridge connecting the Danish islands of Zealand and Falstser. The Danish Road Directorate expects to choose five pre-qualified consortia for the Storstrom Bridge project in May and the bids for the project are scheduled to be submitted by April 2016. The new bridge, likely to cost around €565 million including the cost of demolishing the old bridge it will replace, is expected to open by 2021, a

In a landmark move, the European parliament has voted to approve Pan-European enforcement of traffic laws. This will allow police forces across Europe to share information on foreign motorists who break road traffic rules. No longer will offenders be able to dodge fines and other penalties for driving offences while committed abroad. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and TISPOL – the European Traffic Police Network have both welcomed this move Non-resident drivers account for approximately 5% of

Construction software specialist Bentley Systems continues to develop its portfolio of solutions with yet another acquisition. The company is growing both organically and through acquisition, this time buying up the French firm Acute3D, provider of Smart3DCapture software for reality modelling. Through reality modelling, observations of existing conditions can be processed into representations for contextual alignment within design modelling and construction modelling environments. According to Bentley, rap

The number of potholes will increase and roads in many of North America’s leading cities will continue to worsen if local authorities do not significantly increase their road maintenance spending, according to a US report. City authorities in the US state of Iowa need to spend US$10 million more per year just to maintain the existing road pavement, according to a report from the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organisation (MPO), a transportation planning agency made up of central Iowa cities and c

Patience is a virtue, as the old saying goes. But there are times when a person’s patience is stretched while driving the world’s highways and byways. We tend to blame other drivers for being too slow, for blocking the road or for dilly-dallying, no matter what their speed. Losing patience is not a good idea when driving and can lead to dangerous, even fatal, situations. But patience can also be lost at pedestrian crossings. Pedestrians might have the right of way, but there are limits to a waiting dr

The Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) and the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR) have pledged to increase cooperation on road research. A memorandum of understanding to cement the cooperation was signed during a one-day event that featured speakers from national members of FEHRL and CEDR. Stefan Strick, president of FEHRL and also of the German Federal Highway Research Institute, signed the memorandum alongside CEDR president Simon Grima, who is also chief office

In Colombia the tender process is underway for two major highway projects worth a total of US$1.257 billion. The Autopista Mar 1 and Autopista Mar 2 projects are located in the department of Antioquia and the details of the projects were published by Colombia’s national infrastructure agency ANI, reports Business News Americas. These projects number amongst the 10 concessions the Colombian Government is awarding for the second round of its $25 billion 4G national highway plan.

Interest is strong in the tender for Brazil’s proposed Rio-Niteroi bridge project. So far three groups have expressed an interest in tendering for the project, EcoRodovias, Arteris, and current contract holder CCR. The tender will commence on March 18th 2015. A number of other groups had shown interest but will duck out due to legal issues relating to the Lava-Jato case that is ongoing at present. Brazil’s national land transport agency ANTT has set a maximum tariff value for the bridge toll at US$1.89 (BRL

Nynas UK AB bitumen specialist is giving University of Derby students taking the Diploma in Road Surface Treatments the opportunity to be awarded the Nynas Bitumen prize for ‘Best Student’ in 2014-15. The winning diploma student will receive a £250 cash prize and be presented with a certificate by Nynas. The online, distance-learning course has been developed jointly by the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA) and the Institute of Asphalt Technology (IAT). This is the first university level academi

The Isle de France region, essentially the Paris area and extensive surrounding countryside, will spend around €365 million on road infrastructure as part of a five-year transportation plan from this year up to 2020. The overall plan calls for an investment of of €7.3 billion, of which €2.9 billion will come from the central government and €4.4 billion from the Isle de France region. Around EUR €4.5 billion will be used to finance public transport, according to a report by Le Moniteur des Travaux Publics

The recent partial collapse of the Skjeggestad Bridge in Norway is prompting investigations of other similar structures in the country. The problem happened due to ground slipping around the bridge's foundations. This highlighted a known geological issue with regard to the presence of particular types of clay. Bridges constructed on quick clay are not unusual in Norway according to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, NPRA (Vegdirektoratet). NPRA is now compiling a review of other bridges at risk of s

In Costa Rica plans are now moving forward with a project to widen the highway connecting capital San Jose with San Ramon. The project looks likely to cost in the order of US$440 million. The Costa Rican Government has given its approval for a trust fund financing system for the project. Plans to carry out the widening work were delayed earlier when Costa Rica’s Government cancelled a contract with construction company OAS, leading to compensation claims.