News

Engineering and consultancy group Parsons has revealed that its $12.4 million I-65/I-70 South Split project in downtown Indianapolis has been named one of America’s Top 10 Transportation Projects by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the American Automobile Association (AAA), and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The project, which has been designed by Parsons, will now go an online national vote the People’s Choice Awards.

Stroytransgaz has won US$124.7 million contract to reconstruct 4.4km of the A-104 Moscow - Dmitrov - Dubna highway. This development comes as the governor of the Orel region (Central FD) has increased the regional road fund . A further $75.33 million has been allocated for highways sector developments in the Magadan region (located in the far east of Russia) during the next two years.

The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Moroccan motorway authority ADM (Autoroutes du Maroc) have signed a US$103.67 million loan that will help finaance of the Safi-El Jadide motorway. The highway is planned to open to traffic during 2015. With this loan, financing is now complete for the 140km project, which will cost US$553 million in total.

Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) is inviting expressions of interest in the expansion and renovation of the current Roberts International Airport (RIA). The Liberian government wants to create a “state-of-the-art airport facility.” This will help the facility to handle at least 450, 000 per annum in the near future and become a key hub for air transport in West Africa region. The construction works will entail setting up of cargo handling facility, cargo storage and processing facilities. According to Afric

In the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, plans have been drawn up to construct 24 expressways with a total investment of US$49.76 billion. The expressways will have a total length of 3,467km. Construction has started on the 177km Hechi-Baise expressway while the 92km Hechi-Du'an expressway has started operation. The Hechi-Du'an expressway has been designed for vehicle speeds of up to 100km/h.

Work is progressing on the second phase of a new tolled highway in Indonesia, with a consortium carrying out the construction of the connection between Kualanamu and Tebing Tinggi. The consortium comprises three state-owned construction firms, Pembangunan Perumahan (PP); Hutama Karya; Waskita Karya and toll road operator, Jasa Marga. Construction of the second phase of the project, the connection between Kualanamu Airport and Tebing Tinggi, is underway. In all the construction of the first and second phases

Software specialist Bentley Systems continues to develop its portfolio of construction solutions with the acquisition of North Carolina-based BLUERIDGE Analytics. This new addition brings the proven SITEOPS software, used for site design optimization. The cloud-based computing techniques within SITEOPS are used by site development professionals to investigate engineering alternatives and their costs. This improves the options considered for any project development.

Making an emergency? Image courtesy of World Highways reader John Metcalf

Road safety lobby groups have criticised Britain for pushing down its annual road fatality rate by a further 2% in the past year, the lowest figure since records began in 1926. The Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2013 (RRCGB) Annual Report, published in September 2014, reveals that 1,713 people were killed in road accidents in the country during 2013, with the number of people seriously injured down by 6% to 21,657 versus 2012.

London’s transport authority, Transport for London (TfL) is considering orbital and cross-city road tunnels to help reduce pollution in the capital and create more pleasant environments for the residents of its various districts. “We believe we need to think more ambitiously,” TfL’s Michael Colella, currently lead sponsor for HS2, told the British Tunnelling Society conference in London on Wednesday. “We are looking at taking a significant part of our road traffic and in essence burying it and reusing the

Hungary’s huge highway programme will see close to €161 million being spent on upgrading some 500km of the country’s network. Hungary’s Ministry of National Development (NFM) plans for the work to commence in the first half of 2015 and completed by the second half of the same year. The cost of the work will be covered from EU funds in line with the country's Transportation Operative Programme (KOZOP). The work is needed as data from Hungary’s national road information source, Orszagos Kozuti Adatbank, revea

Construction is commencing on a new logistics corridor crossing Honduras that will connect the country’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Some US$271 million is being spent on the project so far. The highway will feature two lanes in either direction for all of its 391km length. The country aims to boost its economic presence in Central America through this project, which will also help stabilise its economy. The work will cut congestion in key urban areas along the route, as well as improving connections to th

In Romania plans are in hand for a new ring road around the city of Satu Mare. The 19.5km ring road will reduce congestion in the city, which lies in the north of the country. The tender process has been opened by the Romanian roads authority, CNADNR, with bids being received until the 10th November 2014. Including VAT, the project will cost in the region of €184.7 million to construct and is expected to take four years to complete, with financing being delivered by the Operational Programme for Transport.

In Bulgaria questions hang over the construction of a section of the Struma Highway. Greek construction company Aktor was originally awarded the contract for Lot 4 of the Struma Highway but work on the project slipped behind schedule. The delays seen so far with the project have not been well received within the Bulgarian Government. The work was supposed to have been completed around the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015 and the country’s transport ministry has said that work on the highway cannot be de