News

In the Polish district of Bydgoszcz and Torun, police operations employ motorcycle patrols for traffic duties. Police motorcycles are used as they provide mobility where there is a lot of traffic, as police cars are less able to respond quickly. Motorcycle patrols are used to monitor the traffic on the road and perform general security tasks.

Work is due to start on a new bridge connecting Botswana with neighbouring Zambia. The Kazungula Bridge is expected to cost some US$259 million. The new link will replace the ferry service operating at present between Botswana and Zambia. This project is being handled jointly by the authorities in both Botswana and Zambia. The bridge construction is being financed by Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Plans are in hand for a new bridge spanning the Ob River in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area. This area forms part of the Russian Federation within the Tyumen Region, and is a part of Ural Federal District. At this stage the project looks likely to be carried out under the PPP model, with construction due to be complete by 2017.

The latest official data from France and Germany reveals a worrying increase in road related fatalities for the first quarter of 2014. This follows a period of several years in which the casualty statistics have improved. The preliminary figures from Germany's Federal Statistics Office, Destatis, reveal that the number of people killed road traffic crashes in Germany rose by 4.2% to 640 in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period in the previous year.

Volvo Construction Equipment has now finalised its acquisition of the hauler business from Terex. The purchase consideration amounted to US$160 million on a cash and debt-free basis. The deal includes the main production facility in Motherwell, Scotland and two product ranges that offer both rigid and articulated haulers. It also includes the distribution of haulers in the US as well as a 25.2% holding in Inner Mongolia North Hauler Joint Stock Co (NHL), which manufactures and sells rigid haulers under the

The Secretary General of the World Road Association-PIARC has stressed the need for urgent unified action to maintain international road infrastructure. Jean-François Corté, whose association unites the road administrations of 120 governments and has members, individuals, companies, authorities and organisations in over 140 countries, spoke ahead of the keenly awaited PPRS Paris 2015 Congress 22-25 February 2015, which he is chairing. Emphasising the importance of quality road infrastructure and the need

‘How to become more agile in a fast changing environment?’ will be the core topic of this year’s CECE (Committee for European Construction Equipment) congress being held 16-17 October in Antwerp, Belgium. Despite what the CECE describe as good signs for 2014, the situation for the construction equipment industry in Europe remains challenging. Debt problems have not been solved by many countries, demand is only slightly picking up, labour costs are high, products are changing fast and competition from outs

A large number of road projects are planned as part of the US$16 billion (SAR 60 billion) Makkah Gate residential project in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Makkah Gate Company (MGC) has revealed that the huge project will cover an area of 90mn m² about 14km west of Makkah’s Grand Mosque. According to MCC, a non-profit company, it will comprise 45 model districts that include road projects, shopping malls, university, an amusement park, cultural facilities, a complex for government offices, museums and h

Police in Singapore are to trade in their old-school red light cameras for modern digital red light models. An order for 240 sets of digital cameras has been placed by the police with German firm Jenoptik. The order for the 11 megapixel cameras is said to be valued at a “few million [Singapore] dollars”. Around 240 new speed cameras and digital red light cameras will be installed in Singapore by mid-2015. Instead of having to process and retrieve the film, the new digital cameras will enable the authority t

In a bid to reduce Indonesia’s high death toll of motorcyclists in road accidents, the country’s government is looking into the feasibility of setting a speed limit for motorcycles. Government officials have sought advice from the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA), with the latest Indonesian National Police's statistics showing that motorcyclists accounted for 64% of the over 100,000 road accidents recorded in 2013. A feasibility study is expected to be launched by the end of 2014,

The Governor of Russia’s Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, wants to renovate the M10 Scandinavia highway under the public-private partnership scheme and introduce a toll for using several of its sections. A key 872km highway connecting Russia’s two biggest cities, Moscow and St Petersburg, and continuing to the border with Finland, the Scandinavia highway brings in 20-25% of Russia's overall import. Drozdenko said that a trip from St. Petersburg to Vyborg, near Russia’s Finnish border, may cost €8.57

The Mexican state of Guanajuato is to invest US$287.74 million (MXN 3.7 billion) in roads infrastructure projects. Announcing the investment, Guanajuato state governor Miguel Marquez Marquez said the funds would cover over 300 construction, refurbishment, connectivity and modernisation projects. It is part of Marquez's so-called ‘Impulso’ programme which covers several areas of his administration, such as economic development, infrastructure and social programmes. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Mexico, it has em

The CEO of Zambia's Road Development Agency, Bernard Chiwala, said work on the construction of a USD$259 million bridge between the country and Botswana will begin in June 2014. The project is funded by the governments of Botswana, Zambia, and Japan as well as the African Development Bank. According to Chiwala, the contract for building the Zambia-Botswana bridge will be awarded in Botswana in the near future. The structure is scheduled for completion in four years and will replace the ferry service betwee

India’s highways department is preparing a detailed project report for the country’s 138km US$2.29 billion corridor project. The corridor will connect Pooncheri with Kattupalli and Ennore ports, skirting Chennai to facilitate easy movement of container traffic. It wwill see over 900 hectares of land being acquired, and will involve widening of existing roads, flyovers, over-bridges, bridges and interchanges.