News

The Algerian Council of Ministers has approved two contracts for stretches of road on the Hauts Plateaux motorway. No details of the contractors were given for the work that is to link Lambidiri to Draa Lahmar via Ouled Fadhel. Construction is expected to take 18 months. Last March, World Highways reported that work on the 1,000km Hauts-Plateaux motorway project was to begin that month. Construction cost for motorway’s 10 sections was estimated to be around US$8.94 billion, according to Algerian Minis

Continued road safety improvements are being seen in Australia, following the implementation of a series of strategic moves. In New South Wales, the latest official data shows that road fatalities for 2014 were the lowest since 1923 and down some 40% compared with 10 years ago. Some cause for concern however has been seen with the 45% increase in deaths caused by the non-use of seat belts. There were 309 road deaths in New South Wales in 2014, compared with 333 in 2013. Across the other side of the count

Provisional data from Spain shows a continuing drop in fatal road crashes during 2014. Of note is the fact that the country has already achieved the 2020 target of reducing the death rate to 36/1,000,000 inhabitants. The drop in the death rate was slight, just 2%, but still of importance. The provisional data shows that there were 1,131 fatalities and 4,874 people seriously injured in 2014. And this last is of note as the number of people seriously injured in crashes dropped 8% during 2014 compared with the

A series of major works is planned for Mexico City in 2015. The Mexican capital will benefit from a series of transportation project intended to deal with the city’s chronic congestion and pollution issues, as well as to improve international access. A second 13.3km long level will be added to the Mexico-Puebla highway and this is due for completion in July 2016. A second 7.7km level will also be added to the highway to Cuernavaca and this is due for completion in 2018. Construction will begin on a new airp

The Lithuanian Government is setting out plans to rebuild one of the country’s main highway links. The Vilnius-Utena highway rebuilding project is set to commence towards the end of 2015 and has an estimated cost of some €175 million. The project plans call for the work to be carried out under the public-private partnership (PPP) model and will involve reconstructing a 72.1km stretch of the Vilnius-Utena highway. The project will be submitted to parliament for approval in March 2015. If the approval is then

Rwanda looks set to commence work on a major road revamp project. The project is for the construction of the 51km Base-Gicumbi-Rukomo road. Financing for the project is coming in the shape of a loan worth some US$74.7 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB). The Rwandan Government will also provide another $4.6 million for the road project later. The project is part of Base-Nyagatare road project that will connect the Northern and the Eastern provinces, with work likely to start in April 2015. The

For 10 days in October, more than 40 highway engineering professionals from 14 different countries congregated in Orlando, Florida, USA. With lecturers from The Netherlands, Finland, New Zealand, Canada and the US the group discussed the specifics about how to effectively write, implement and enforce performance-based contracts.

Uruguay requires more investment in roads, according to a report conducted by the economic studies centre for the construction industry, Centro de Estudios Economicos de la Industria de la Construccion (Ceeic). The report highlights a reported gap in road infrastructure investments in Uruguay in the period between 2000 and 2013. The country invested some 4.5% of GDP in roads, equivalent to around US$2.52 billion but adds that the government should invest around 7% of the GDP or almost $4 billion to repair a

In Western Australia plans are in hand for the new Perth freight link. This will run between Muchea and Fremantle, and it will start with the Roe 8 project and extend Roe Highway through to Stock Road. The route will remove some 500 trucks/day from the Leach Highway, helping cut congestion. The project will cost around US$1.3 billion (A$1.6 billion), with funding split between the Western Australia State Government and the Federal Government. The route should be complete in 2016. Also in Australia, work has

Alice, one of world's largest tunnel boring machines, has started its second tunnel drive for the Waterview Connection project in Auckland, New Zealand. The 90m-long, 3100tonne tunnel borer completed the first twin tunnel, at 2.4km, in September after 11 months of digging, as World Highways reported at the time. The machine has a boring diameter of 14.46m and its cutting wheel is driven by 24 electric motors with a total output of 8,400kW.

New Zealand will spend US$30 billion over the next decade on public transport, including road works not just in major urban areas but in the provinces. The announcement was made by Transport Minister Simon Bridges after the government approved the draft Government Policy Paper 2015. The approved document takes into consideration concerns by local government that their transport infrastructure needs would be ignored in favour of those for large urban areas, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

Europeans are in two minds about whether their road transport has improved in the past five years, according to the latest European Commission’ Eurobarometer survey and report. According to 38% of respondents, road transport quality had gone up, but 40% said it had dropped, while 18% said there had been no change. Whatever the opinion on quality, 60% of respondents to the report’s survey considered congestion to be the most serious issue facing Europe’s roads. The survey highlighted the dominance o

In Russia’s Novosibirsk Region, plans are underway for the South-Western Transit road. The project is of a 30km link road connecting the existing Northern and Eastern bypass roads. Funding worth in excess of US$127 million will be provided by the Russian Federal Road Agency, Rosavtodor. The remaining $273.3 million required for the project will come from private investors. The project is being carried out under the PPP model.

Pakistan’s Government has unveiled plans to upgrade the highway connecting Islamabad with Lahore. The M-2 highway is one of the most important road links in Pakistan and is seen as crucial for its national transportation network. The upgrade plan will include new service area as well as traffic control systems to optimise flow along the route. Pakistan’s National Highway Authority (NHA) agreed the deal for the project with Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). Under the terms of the deal, FWO is paying an init