News

Messe München International is further expanding its international network of events to include a new trade show in India for the environmental technology sector. The first IFAT INDIA will take place from October 24 to 26, 2013 at the BCEC in Mumbai). Messe München and its subsidiary MMI India are expecting the event to attract around 100 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors, and to take up 6,000 square meters of exhibition space.

The road bypass of the Czech city of Kolin is expected to open by the end of 2012. Builders have recently stabilised subgrade in Staralka. The 8km road is worth about US$97.4million (CZK 2bn). The project was delayed by a slow progress in buying land which took four years. The city has been waiting for the bypass for more than 40 years.

More than 80km of roadways are to be renovated in the Buryat Republic, Siberia, in 2012 as a part of the regional targeted programme. The renovation works include 60.3km of regional roads and 20km of local significance roads. At the beginning of 2012 highway mileage in the republic amounted to approximately 8,300km.

A total of US$1.89billion (CNY 11.97bn) has been allocated to build 51.47km of highways across the city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province, China. The feasibility report for the plan was recently approved by provincial authorities.

Auction firm Ritchie Bros is handling two equipment sales simultaneously in St Aubin sur Gaillon and Avignon in France on June 26th. The sale includes selection of Wirtgen milling machines, excavators, dump trucks, asphalt pavers and rollers, as well as an array of other items. More than 1,100 heavy equipment items (and trucks) will go under the auctioneer’s hammer. The Avignon auction (currently featuring 270+ items) will be broadcasted live at the auction in St Aubin Sur Gaillon (currently featuring 850+

Construction work is proceeding on track with the erection of a new bridge over the Ohio River in the US. Building work on this US$81 million project began in March 2012 and is expected to be completed by 2015. Brayman Construction Corporation is building the new Ironton-Russell Bridge, which will replace an existing structure spanning the Ohio River. Finley Engineering Group is providing bridge construction engineering services to Brayman Construction Corporation for the project, which will provide a link

Electric car sales in many countries remain sluggish. In the US, Chevrolet’s Volt model sold 7.671 in 2011 while sales of Nissan’s Leaf model reached 9.674. Meanwhile sales of electric cars in the UK for example have topped around 2,100 units since 2006. Major barriers to public acceptance of pure electric cars remain the high prices, due in part to the costs of the batteries. Costing up to US$15,000, a lithium ion battery pack for a car is not a cheap option.

A road safety success is the benefit of strategic action in Hungary by the authorities. Official data shows that Hungary has reduced its number of road deaths by 49% since 2001. This has been achieved through tougher enforcement and a crackdown on speeding through the use of speed cameras. With road 64 deaths/million inhabitants, Hungary has made major achievements in tackling road safety, and further gains are expected.

The authorities in Moscow intend to invest in new roads, repairs and maintenance in a bid to tackle the city’s road connections and pothole problems. The repairs and maintenance will be carried out in and around the city. Some 180km of roads and 50km of highways will be either constructed or rebuilt during 2012. Some US$650 million has been budgeted for the work, some 2.5 times the sum spent during last year. Around 64km of highways will be built and repaired by 2015.

TTS Italia is now involved in the optimised CO-Modal PASSenger transport for reducing Carbon emissions (COMPASS) project that started in November 2011. The 25-month project is being coordinated by Edinburgh’s Napier University, which is a leader in industrial and transport research. The project forms part of the European Transport Policy (ETP) for the 21st Century and looks towards the new challenges. In particular, three topics must be addressed: challenges from the key socioeconomic trends, challenges fro

The European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) is calling on the European Governments to recognise the importance of investing in infrastructure. The FIEC says it recognises the challenging economic climate and the need for governments to cut unsustainable levels of public debt. But FIEC president Luisa Todini commented, “Austerity is however not a solution by itself.” Europe’s transport, energy and telecommunication networks are the backbone of the EU internal market, ensuring that goods and services

Amsterdam in the Netherlands is to benefit from €131 million aimed at improving roads. The funds will be invested in 50 measures including 9km of peak traffic lanes on the A7 and A8 highway between Purmerend, Zaandam and Oostzaan. This forms part of a €794 million programme of upgrades to the country’s transport infrastructure.

Concern has been expressed in Austria over the potential costs of upgrading the country’s road network to cope with 60tonne trucks measuring up to 25.5m long. The introduction of these massive ‘gigaliners’ has been proposed across the EC. But Austrian highway operator Asfinag has said that upgrading the country’s roads, highways, bridges and tunnels to make them suitable for gigaliners would cost some €5.4billion. Asfinag has also expressed its concern over the safety issues surrounding these vehicles due t

The partnership of national road research centres, FEHRL, is setting out two key strategy elements in a bid to develop an advanced and affordable transport infrastructure. FEHRL says that an effective transport system will provide the basis for economic opportunities. The major focus of FEHRL’s work is on roads, which is where its expertise lies and the most important part of Europe’s transport system, but the body is increasingly looking at the complementary aspects of infrastructure in bridges, earthwork