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The US Government is making progress with its new surface transportation bill, in a move that will be of good news to all contractors and construction firms in the country. This bill has been delayed now for two years, with a knock-on effect for the construction industry in that there have been few new works commencing. American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) president Pete Ruane has commented on the US Senate EPW Committee Mark-Up of MAP-21, the Surface Transportation Bill. Ruane said,

The latest research shows that emissions of many pollutants from transport fell in 2009. But this reduction may only be a temporary effect of the economic downturn, according to the latest annual report on transport emissions from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism (TERM) reveals the environmental impact of transport. For the first time, the report considers a comprehensive set of quantitative targets proposed by the European Commission’s 2011 roadmap on

Work on Indonesia's new 116km Palimanan-Cikampek highway is now commencing. The work is being managed by Malaysian firm PLUS Expressways (PLUS) and is the company's first Indonesian highway projects.

The latest data available shows that Europe’s construction market is still suffering turbulence from economic issues. The construction sectors in Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland have all been particularly hard hit, due to a combined effect of high public debt and speculation, built-up during the pre-2008 boom years. This has caused the construction markets of these countries to break apart. Figures from the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC) show that overall, European construction

Nissan Motor Company has released its next generation fuel cell stack (2011 Model) for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). The latest technology development is part of the company's continuing efforts towards the realisation of a zero emission society. Through improvements to the MEA (membrane electrode assembly) and the separator flow path, which make up the structure of fuel cells, Nissan says it has significantly improved the power density of its fuel cell stack to 2.5 times greater than its 2005 model a

Sensys Networks, a leading provider of wireless traffic detection and integrated traffic data systems, announces its debut at 35th position on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500, the annual ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology-focused companies in North America. The company says it experienced a 3,962 per cent revenue growth during this period, which CEO and co-founder Dr. Amine Haoui credits to the rapid adoption of its cost-effective wireless vehicle detection solutions for all transportation managem

China is now a full member of the International Transport Forum. This follows from an announcement made in May 2011 when vice-minister Gao Hongfeng said China's intended to join the Forum.

The outlook for the 2012 transportation construction market is mixed, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association's (ARTBA). The 2012 Transportation Construction Market forecast from ARTBA shows that the industry will face uncertain times during next year.

Iteris has introduced the iPerform information management solution that utilises all available data resources to provide effective performance analysis and prediction. The software can fuse information from a full spectrum of sources including roadway sensors as well as weather and other traffic related data. Moreover, Iteris says it provides this valuable information for not only freeways, but for arterials and multi-modal forms of transportation as well. "With the increased emphasis on accountability in t

Government-owned Russian Technologies and Spanish company Indra have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which expresses their commitment to promote joint technology projects. Both companies say they have identified numerous common sectors of activity where they can collaborate; for instance, transport and traffic management, healthcare, public administrations, finance, industry and homeland-security and defence.

Researchers at the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have released a technical report that could help improve the performance of electric vehicles (EVs) and the efficiency of the electric utility grids that power them.The report documents a series of test procedures designed to enable engineers, designers and utilities to evaluate the performance of various EVs and hybrids to optimise how they connect with electric utility grids today - and "smart grids" in the future.

Recent results from the state of Florida cities of Pembroke Pines and Miami Gardens police departments show considerable decreases in crashes at intersections with safety cameras. For instance, in Miami Gardens, since the inception of the red-light safety camera programme, crashes have been reduced by 83 per cent at the 12 monitored intersections. Crash data from 2008 through October 2011 was closely examined and the city says it has achieved a steady reduction in collisions creating safer roads for the com

ITS America president and CEO Scott Belcher issued a statement yesterday in response to the release of the text of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s surface transportation reauthorization bill, MAP-21. Similar to the Smart Technologies for Communities Act (H.R. 995), introduced in the House by ITS Caucus co-chairs Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Russ Carnahan (D-MO), the initiative would provide new levels of accountability by requiring grant recipients to measure and improve the performance

The Portuguese road operator Ascendi has awarded Q-Free a five-year service and maintenance contract, valued at over US$15 million, related to the tolling infrastructure deployed in Beiras Litoral e Alta and Interior Norte concessions."The Portuguese market continues to be important for the company, and service and maintenance contracts are forming an essential basis for a strong local presence and long term growth in this innovative market," said Dr. Øyvind Isaksen, Q-Free CEO