News

Spain’s General Traffic Office (DGT) reported a 20.4% drop in the number of deaths in traffic accidents during 2008. The number of people killed on the country’s roads fell to 2,180 in 2008 compared with 2,471 in 2007. On average around six people/day die on Spain’s roads and the government is keen to continue with its measures to reduce this figure further. Actions taken so far include the introduction of a new driving licence points system, more speed cameras, awareness campaigns and an increased police p

The Inzhtransstroj Building Corporation is reported as having delivered three modernised routes for regular use in Russia: two sections of the M-9 federal carriageway in Tversk district, a section of the Amur federal express line (from Chita to Khabarovsk) and the Kirov-Kotlas-Arkhangelsk route. The corporation’s contract portfolio contains around 20 road construction projects valued at E1.3 billion. In addition to construction of the Amur route, the company is currently working in Tversk, Lipec, Moscow and

The EBRD is investing in the largest infrastructure project in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) to date by lending €180 million to the state to construct key sections of the Trans-European Corridor Vc. A key transport artery linking BiH with the rest of Europe, Corridor Vc starts in Budapest, Hungary and ends in the Adriatic Port of Ploce in Croatia. It runs north to south through the centre of BiH, and is the most strategically important link for regional trade and economic development. The €180 million EBRD finan

The Hungarian national motorway company Nemzeti Infrastruktura Fejleszto (NIF) is planning to spend €3.02 billion on rail and road infrastructure projects during this year. Key highway projects include the construction works on 51 trunk road sections, 14 highway sections and there will also be six rail infrastructure projects. The total length of new rail and road infrastructure will extend for a total of 865km. Construction works will be carried out on the M0 ring road, on the M3, M6, M9 and M43 highways a

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is appraising an application for the financing of several highway sections that the Slovak government has decided to build under a public-private partnership (PPP) programme. A consortium of environmental and energy focused NGOs has been making its case about “the troubling implications of these projects.”

Measures are to be taken by Skanska to adapt to an anticipated decline in activities in the Nordic area. The measures are expected to affect 2,000 employees in Sweden and 1,400 in the remainder of the Nordic region at a cost of approximately €56 million, says the company. In Skanska’s nine-month report for 2008, the group announced that several construction and residential development markets are weakening. A review of the current order backlog and anticipated order bookings has indicated a volume decline o

On 5 December, 2008 Britain’s motorway network celebrated its 50th anniversary, and to mark the occasion the Road Users’ Alliance (RUA) published ‘50 Years of Motorways,’ which claims that from a slow and modest start (over 30 years behind its European neighbours) the UK network has never managed to catch up. According to the publication, in the 1960s and early 1970s motorways were viewed as a route to renewal and prosperity. The network made some headway and grew to 2,500km; it crawled a further 1,000km ov

The iconic Dunlop bridge at Donington Park motor racing circuit in the UK has been carefully dismantled as part of preparations to get the track ready for the 2010 British Formula 1 Grand Prix. The pedestrian bridge straddled the circuit in for more than 30 years, but now it is planned to re-erect the bridge elsewhere on the revamped circuit venue (the position has to be decided). Even with the work on the £100 million (€112 million) redevelopment taking place, Donington Park will still host 500,000 visitor

Spain's road maintenance deficit has now reached €8.6 billion in the period since 2005, according to road maintenance companies. The industry has now asked the authorities to invest 2.5% of the roads value on maintenance to take up the shortfall. The companies include Imesapi and Dragados (ACS); Grupisa (Ferrovial); Acciona Mantenimiento de Infraestructuras (Acciona); Martinsa (FCC); Valoriza (Sacyr), and Elsan (OHL). This group says that the value of all the roads the Spanish government is responsible for

Financing is being put in place for the new bridge planned for the Strait of Messina to link the Italian mainland with the island of Sicily.

The Scottish city of Aberdeen is to benefit from a new 45km bypass. The project is expected to cost €442.5 million and will provide a route around the city and tackle heavy traffic congestion on existing roads. Vehicles currently either have to use a series of small country roads or enter the congested city centre and these routes are unable to carry the volumes of traffic being handled at present. The new bypass will reduce congestion and improve safety but is likely to be completed well after 2012 as was

Sagem Sécurité (Safran group) has signed a contract with Russian company United Telecom to supply and install 110 MESTA automatic speed control radars in Belarus, along with an automated ticket processing center. United Telecom specialises in the integration of intelligent transport systems, and the radars will be deployed along the M1 expressway between Poland and Russia to improve road safety.

A TEAM of private companies led by Spanish toll road operator Cintra has secured its financing for the Texas, USbased mega-toll project, the North Tarrant Express. The project The US$2 billion (€1.4 billion) project will rebuild existing lanes along Interstate 820 and portions of SH 183, and add new managed lanes as well, with construction expected to begin in late 2010.