News

The Detroit Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has awarded a traffic research deal for the city's I-375 corridor in the US. Traffic and planning consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff won the deal, worth nearly US$373,000. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the DDA will decide whether to convert the corridor into a surface street to improve pedestrian access or to reconstruct it. The study will also include consultation with major downtown employers like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and G

The Russian government is allocating an extra US$1.56 billion (RUB 51bn) for the construction of new airports and roads in FIFA World Cup 2018 host regions. The Russian transport system development programme for 2010-2020 is reported to have been amended accordingly. Of the overall new funding pot, $936.34 million (RUB 30.7bn) will be spent on road construction. The government is looking to attract private investors to contribute to the new road and airport works through public-private partnerships.

Skanska has won a €144.01 million Highways Agency contract for improvements to the UK M1 motorway that will improve traffic flow at the intersections linking the M1, M6 and A14. Construction is set to begin in January 2014 and the project is scheduled for completion in late 2016 or early 2017.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry in India has approved the building of 6,418km out of a total of 10,141km of new roads under the Special Accelerated Road Development Project-North East (SARDP-NE) and the Arunachal Pradesh (AP) package of roads and highways. The major ‘Phase A’ SARDP-NE and AP works are due to be completed by March 2017. Phase B of the SARDP-NE and AP programme consists of the construction of the remaining 3,723km of highways. The ministry has approved a comprehensive project

The volume of global transport could double or even quadruple by 2050, according to a new study released by the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The ITF study says GDP growth, freight intensity of economic activity and demographic change are important drivers of the predicted huge transport volume growth. But the study titled ITF Transport Outlook 2013 – Funding Transport, a report containing long-running scenarios for global transport

In Colombia progress is being made with the the Autopistas de la Prosperidad road programme. The local authorities in Antioquia have approved funds worth US$268.66 million for this project. Overall the project has funding worth $716.65 million available. The project is for a 50km section of highway between Santa Fe (Antioquia) and Canasgordas. One of the most costly components will be for the construction of the Toyo tunnel along the route. This project will be opening for tenders in the first half of 2014.

Poland’s National Road Construction Programme has been amended for the 2011-15 period. One of the new projects being handled is for the southern section of the ring-road (POW) for capital Warsaw will benefit. The tender process is opening for the construction of an 18.5km section of the S2 dual carriageway from Pulawska junction to Lubelska junction. The General Direction of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is keen for the southern Warsaw ring road to be open to traffic by 2019. The Pulawska-Lubleska s

Major highway projects are being planned for Malaysia, to boost transport connectivity. A new toll road has been proposed in Negri Sembilan's Senawang, to connect the Kajang-Seremban Expressway (Lekas) with the North South Expressway (NSE). This has been put forward by the North South Expressway (NSE) operator, PLUS Expressway. The planned toll road would be shorter than the Lekas-NSE stretch by some 3-5km and would cut journey times by bypassing 11 traffic lights between Lekas and the NSE. The aim of the p

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has today launched a Position Paper that makes the case for a more widespread use of road markings on Europe’s roads as a means of increasing road safety and reducing the socio-economic impact of accidents. Entitled ‘Marking the way towards a safer future’, the ERF is calling on EU Member States to establish intervention and maintenance policies to guarantee that road markings on Europe’s road remain visible for road users and, at same time, optimise the interaction

The authorities in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don report strong interest in a project to construct a new tolled tunnel. German companies have reportedly shown interest in the Northern Tunnel toll road project, as have Israeli and Italian firms. The toll tunnel road will provide an alternative North-to-South route in the city. The project is expected to cost in the order of US$306 million to construct. The new tunnel would run underneath the Don River and help improve transportation links for the busy por

The authorities in Paraguay have agreed a funding package with the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) for a series of infrastructure projects in the country. The funding comes in the shape of a US$222 million loan and this is the first time that the CAF has approved funding of this size for the country. This will provide partial funding for the Programme for the Improvement of Integration Corridors and Road Reconstruction. Projects included in this include resurfacing of a 73km section of road in Neembuc

New road, bridge and tunnel links are planned for the Chinese city of Wuhan. The city’s authorities have been discussing a series of projects with China Communications Construction Company, which are intended to improve transport connections and cut congestion and travelling times. The focus will be on building new highways, improving urban roads and the construction of bridges, tunnels and other transportation infrastructure. Funding for part of the work will come from the city of Wuhan. The work is expect

In the Philippines a plan is taking shape for a major new connection between key tolled highways. The new road will link the South Luzon Expressway with the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). The route has been planned by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and the Philippine National Construction (PNCC). The new road connection will measure 13.4km long and will be a four-lane expressway. The project is expected to cost some US$521.5 million.

In Russia the construction firms Hanty-Mansiyskdorstroy and Volgomost are working on contracts to rebuild the important M5 highway. This route lies motorway in the Republic of Bashkortostan (Volga) and is managed by Samara-Ufa-Chelyabinsk. Hanty-Mansiyskdorstroy’s contract is to rebuild a 15km stretch of the highway and is worth US$128.16 million, with the work due for completion by October 2016. Volgomost is work on a contract worth $189.16 million to rebuild a 14km section of the M5 highway, with its work