News

The Mongolian government has pledged to invest US$407.87 million (MNT 570bn) in road projects in 2013. In May, work will begin on a $3.5 billion 1,000km long high speed road between Altanbulag-Ulaanbaatar-Zamyn-Uud. Due for completion in October 2015, the road will be built on a concession basis. The executor company will own the road from 2015 to 2040, when it will come under state ownership. Six aimags (first-level administrative subdivision) Umnugobi, Dornogobi, Khuvsgul, Dornod, Dundgobi and Bayankhongo

Motoring groups have criticised plans to launch Britain’s second toll motorway as part of a multi-billion euro road –building programme to kick-start the economy. The Treasury is expected to guarantee the €1.18 billion (£1bn) borrowing costs for the Welsh government to pay for the construction of the new 14-mile M4 relief road in South Wales. The money for the dual carriageway, which will run between junctions 23 and 29 of the M4 and aims to reduce bottlenecks at the Byrnglas Tunnels near Newport, is then l

SMEs developing innovative solutions to improve road infrastructure now have until 12 April, 2013, to apply to exhibit free-of-charge at the first Road Infrastructure Innovation Expo being held in Brussels, Belgium, 4-6 June 2013. Due to the involvement of additional countries and the final constitution of the scientific committee for the Infravation programme, organisers have extended the exhibitor registration deadline. All research fields are welcome addressing the theme of Advanced and Innovative Constr

Plans are in hand to carry out upgrades to a key stretch of highway in Peru. Work on the VII stretch of the Ayacucho-Abancay road will be carried out by the Kishuara III consortium. The contract is worth US$139 million. This consortium is headed by Spanish contractor firm, OHL, which has a 43% stake in the business. Its partners are Peruvian firm, Constructora TP, and Constructora Malaga Hnos.

Massive infrastructure industry interest is expected in Indonesia, following the announcement of an almost unprecedented number of contracts. The Indonesian Government is offering no less than 2,378 bridge and road construction projects in all. The total value of these projects is US$2.16 billion. Of these, 496 projects have now been opened to tender and with more due shortly. Actual construction work on these projects that are already open to tender will begin from second half of 2013 until end-2014. The 2

The Technical and Scientific Committee of the 17th IRF World Meeting & Exhibition is inviting surface transportation experts and researchers from all over the world to submit paper abstracts for evaluation. The abstracts should reflect original research or innovation in technical, institutional, economic, business and policy issues that are relevant, recent and significant. This global event, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 9-13, 2013, will provide a unique forum for sharing the latest industry

A new agreement has been established between Japanese firm Fujitsu and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research A*STAR. The agreement concerns research into long-term urban sustainability solutions to deliver high standards of living, work opportunities and economic growth. The work will focus on using data from various agencies in Singapore to derive an understanding of complex dynamics within the city. The research will use modelling and simulation to guide critical decisions and implementa

A report from the St Petersburg Administration suggests that up to 18% of the city’s roads are currently unfit for use. Plans were made in the third quarter of 2012 to repair about 33% of these damaged road links in the second quarter of 2013. The official data reveals that the city currently has 56,500km of roads. The planned budget is for US$161.63 million for repair works to 3,400km of the city’s roads in 2013.

A wide array of measures is being used around the world to encourage customers to buy electric vehicles. Customers are still proving reluctant in many markets to buy electric vehicles, with range concerns and purchase costs amongst the key. Nissan reports that sales of its sophisticated Leaf model (developed jointly with its partner Renault) have been sluggish in Europe, despite glowing reviews in various motoring magazines. In the UK one leading thinktank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), h

A new report from The Freedonia Group highlights growing US demand for geosynthetics. According to Freedonia’s report, this market is expected to grow 6.6%/year to 1.087 billion m2 in 2017. And this will have an expected trade value of some US$2.9 billion. This growth will be aided by gains in spending on the construction of structures and roads. The growth in demand for geosynthetics will also be helped by increased market penetration, as engineers become more aware of the long term cost and performance ad

A series of challenges are now facing the project to construct Serbia’s key Corridor 10 highway. The EU has asked the Serbian Government for details of the priority plan and deadlines for the completion of the Corridor 10 highway. At present three sections of Corridor 10 are at risk, due to delays and financing issues. These are the Ciflik-Pirot stretch, the Bancarevo tunnel and the Vladicin Han section. According to Serbian roads company Koridori Srbije, the construction schedule will be set by the end of

The European Union Road Federation and the Spanish Road Association have presented the results of their joint WhiteRoads Project, which highlights road links with good safety standards. This project has taken three years of research and is intended to create a positive approach to road safety and focus on zero fatality roads, as opposed to the traditional practice of focusing on black spots. A European White Spot (EUWS) is defined as a section of road 15km long or more where there have been no fatal acciden

A new study of bicycle accidents in Germany has revealed some interesting data, as this interview with chief traffic officer for the city of Munster, Udo Weiss, reveals. The interview highlights key risk patterns and also suggests some possible safety measures.