News

The German Government has given the go-ahead for planning a new autobahn section in Bremen. The Ministry of Transport says that the work will be carried out to a section of the A281 autobahn that connects the A1 and the A27. The section lies between Bremen-Airport-Stadt and Bremen-Kattenturm. The work is expected to cost some €142 million. A representative of DEGES, the engineering company that is coordinating the project, has said that that work could start in January 2016.

Two new bridge projects planned for Ecuador will cost a total of US$116 million. Studies submitted to the local councils in Guayaquil, Daule and Samborondon determined the cost for building the two bridges to connect these areas. However, an additional $7 million might be needed if another structure is to be built over Samborondon Avenue. Enylic, CPR and Consultola worked on the design studies at a cost of $1.05 million.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has opened new lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike between Interchange 6 and 9.

A major programme of bridge replacement works on Pennsylvania will see the state replacing 558 highway bridges over a period of three years. The work is expected to cost in the region of US$899 million to carry out and was awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot) to a group of firms called Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners. The package of works includes construction of the bridges over three years as well as a 25 year maintenance deal. The Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners comprises Gr

The Kuwaiti Government has awarded a US$520 million bridge construction contract to South Korean construction firm GS E&C. The deal will see GS E&C building a 12.43km bridge that features eight lanes. The central 7.72km section of the bridge will be constructed over water, in Al Asimah Governorate. The Doha Link Bridge will connect Entertainment City with Shuwaikh Port and is due for completion 36 months from now.

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) reported 9% improvement in North American sales for the third quarter 2014. However, the manufactures said it was not enough to overcome uncertainty and negative growth elsewhere. Net sales in the three months July to September increased to US$1,735 million (SEK 12,582 million), up from $1,692 million (SEK12,278 million) for the same period last year. However, when adjusted for currency movements, net sales were down by 3% during the period. Volvo’s statement said “

A major programme of PPP road construction concession contracts is due for Colombia. This has been given the go ahead by Colombia's National Council for Economic and Social Policy (Conpes). The programme is for a second round of 4G highway concessions through PPPs, worth up to US$16.5 billion in all, with 10 highway projects to be built. These are: the Autopista Mar 1; Autopista Mar 2; Neiva-Girardot; Villavicencio-Yopal; Rumichaca-Pasto; Puerta de Hierro-Palmar de Varela-Cruz del Viso; Santana-Mocoa-Neiva/

Work on the Trans-Sahara highway is on track with its construction schedule.

The authorities in Uzbekistan have plans in hand to construct some 423km of roads in 2015. Funding for a considerable portion of the construction work will come in the shape of loans. The Asian Development Bank is one of the funding sources and is providing loans being sued for financing 85km of the work required. The country has budgeted around US$1.17 billion for purchasing of road building equipment, an increase of 35% from the previous year.

A delayed mine expansion project has pushed thousands of new and used equipment onto the market to be sold by global auctioneers Ritchie Brothers by the end of the year. Steve Simpson, chief sales officer for Ritchie Bros., based in Vancouver, western Canada, said the company aims to sell more than 30,000 items at over 50 unreserved auctions around the world. Highlights include more than 950 compactors, over 800 excavators, as well as several hundred wheel loaders, crawler tractors, loader backhoes an

A new 2.85km bridge is being built in Vietnam to span the Red River at Hung Ha. The Thai Ha Bridge will connect Thai Binh Province and Ha Nam Province with the Ninh Binh highway in Cau Gie Province. The link will be constructed under the build-operate-transfer model and the concession deal means that from 18th October 2016, investors will collect toll revenues from the bridge for 19 years and two months. The highway itself will feature four lanes with a maximum travel speed of 80km/h.

The Bulgarian and Romanian Governments have agreed over projects to build new bridges crossing the Danube River and linking the country. One of the two bridges will be constructed between Nikopol and Turnu Magurele while the other will connect Silistra and Calarasi. Funding for the projects will be provided by the Cross Border Cooperation Programme Bulgaria-Romania 2014-2020. The work to upgrade to the existing bridge at Ruse-Giurgiu will be included in the EU's operational transport programme for 2014-2020

Cat Financial Services, the finance arm of Caterpillar Inc., reported third-quarter 2014 revenues of US$743 million, an increase of $44 million, or 6%, compared with the third quarter of 2013.

Poland’s General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is planning to spend US$151.37 million (€118.3 million) on winter-specific road maintenance for 2014/15. Around 2,300 snowploughs and 1,300 salt trucks will be readied for winter work. GDDKiA also plans to install more than 1,400km snow-protection screens along roads. Meanwhile, the country is moving ahead with several key highway projects, one involving construction of three sections of the new southern ring road around the Polish c

Azerbaijan’s minister of transport, Ziya Mamedov, said construction and renovation of all trunk roads of international importance will be completed by 2017. Around US$2.86 billion (€2.25 billion) will be needed for development of Azerbaijan's transport sector in 2015 as a part of a state investment programme, he said. World Highways reported earlier this month that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supplying $350 million for road construction in the country for work between 2015 and 2017. Meanwhi