News

Work is starting in Paraguay on a programme to construct 100 reinforced concrete bridges. These will replace old wooden structures that have been deemed obsolete and the work is due for completion by the end of 2015. The programme of works is costing US$75 million, with the Paraguayan Government paying $25 million for the work and the remaining $50 million being provided by the Latin American Development Bank (CAF). The project forms part of a much wider $7.66 billion infrastructure investment programme by

Pre -feasibility studies are commencing for a new tunnel project in Colombia capital Bogota. The tunnel is set to link Bogota’s north side with La Calera and the studies should be completed by April 2014. The project is expected to cost in the region of US$198.76 million to construct and will be for a 4.5km tolled tunnel. The project will be challenging however and will take up to four years to complete. The route will run from Street 170 in northern Bogota, linking the Perimetral Oriental ring road that is

Parsons Brinckerhoff and Seymour Whyte are working on a joint venture partnership contract for the Smith Street Motorway and Olsen Avenue Interchange upgrade in Queensland. The design and construct contract relates to the upgrade of the critical link between the new Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct and the Pacific Motorway. The project is worth in excess of US$44 million (A$50 million) and was awarded by the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Smith Street Motorway links the Pacific Motorway (M

Tomorrow is the deadline for submitting abstracts to the European Transport Conference (ETC) 2014. The ETC connects the worlds of research, consultancy, policy and practice. Attendance at ETC allows different groups to pose questions to fellow professionals and to assess what is possible in terms of delivery. Researchers are challenged by policy-makers; practitioners need to deliver on the ground what the policy-makers want. The Association for European Transport has identified for the 2014 Conference so

Balfour Beatty this week began construction on a €23.05 million (£19 million) scheme to bypass two congested villages and link communities in Sefton along the west coast of Merseyside in Northwest England directly to the M57 and M58 motorways. The road will be 4.5km long and connect the A565 Southport Road to the motorway junction at Switch Island, avoiding the villages of Thornton and Netherton. The newly designated A5758 Broom’s Cross Road will relieve long-standing traffic issues in the area and provid

Preparations are well underway for the SMOPYC 2014 construction equipment show, being held at the Zaragoza Exhibition Center from 1st to 5th April. The main associations in the sector are to attend the show, completing the agenda of parallel activities, including the organization of reverse trade missions from international markets such as the United Arab Emirates, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Turkey and Iran.

EU support will help pay for work to the German A3 autobahn between the major cities of Frankfurt and Nürnberg. Co-financing worth just over €6 million will come from the TEN-T Programme a project to expand and upgrade the busy A3 autobahn. The initiative, which was selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Annual Call, involves the upgrade of nearly 8km of the A3 Frankfurt-Nürnberg autobahn to three lanes in each direction - from east of the Kauppen Bridge to west of junction 64 (at Rohrbrunn). Presently t

Work is underway on the Laohekou-Gucheng-Hanjiang Bridge in Hubei Province, China. When complete the bridge will measure some 11.7km long in all, including the 4.8km long central Laohekou-Gucheng section. The project includes a 1,453m long main bridge, which is costing some US$188 million to construct. The bridge route and runs from Wangjialou Village in Laohekou city linking Xiangyang section of the China National Highway 316 (G316) and ends at Wangjiawan Village in Gucheng county linking Gucheng section o

The legal wrangling over Italy’s stalled Straits of Messina bridge project continues.

UK road safety charity Brake has praised police for their greater efforts to catch drink and drug drivers over the festive period, and welcomed news that drink drive arrests were down while breath-tests were up. A total of 6,550 people were arrested in the month-long police enforcement campaign over Christmas and New Year, 573 less than during the same period last year, according to figures released by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). The drop in arrests comes despite an increase in enfor

Japan intends to offer financial aid worth some US$6.47 billion for infrastructure projects in Asean countries. This comes after the recent Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit and Japan-Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). A large portion of the financial aid will be for investment projects under the GMS regional cooperation. The money will be provided in loans and grants. A five-year infrastructure plan by the GMS has already been approved at a GMS ministerial meeting. The plan covers 55 projects worth some $44.4

The concession package for the US$1.06 billion Américo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) expressway in Santiago, Chile looks set to be awarded to a consortium headed by OHL Concesiones Chile. OHL's proposal of a subsidy close to 20% of the project's cost beat Spanish group Cintra's bid, according to a report from Business News Americas. Of 15 companies that prequalified for the project, only OHL in an alliance with Sacyr Concesiones Chile and Cintra had submitted technical offers for the 40-year concession. Constructi

In Colombia a big debate is in hand between producers of asphalt and concrete as to which is best for building roads. Colombia has a major programme for road construction with some US$23.54 billion planned to be invested over the next 10 years. Large producers such as Holcim, Cemex and Argos, which sell most of the 11 million tonnes/year of cement consumed in Colombia are involved actively in the debate. Cement firms have estimated that the 15 road projects that are most advanced will need some 8 million to