Road Structures

Colombia’s longest bridge is on track for completion shortly. The 4.7km-long bridge provides a connection over the Cienaga de la Virgen wetland area. The new bridge forms part of the dual carriageway road link between Cartagena and Barranquilla. When complete, it will also be the third longest bridge in Latin America. The project has been complex due to the environmentally sensitive nature of the area where it is being built. To minimise impact the builders have used pre-fabricated components and assembled

A new 8.76km expressway is being planned in Haryana, in India. This project will be built by Indian firm L&T. The project is costing US$161 million. The work will be carried out under the engineering, construction and procurement model and was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The route will feature four lanes in either direction and the work also includes building a bridge, five underpasses and facilities for buses.

Plans are being crawn up for a new bridge spanning the Paraguay River that will link Brazil with Paraguay. Final approvals for the project have still to be given. The bridge will connect Brazil’s Matto Grosso do Sul State with Paraguay’s Carmelo Peralta area. Once the 500m-long bridge is complete it will form part of a much wider transport link for a new highway connecting Brazil with Chilean ports and also running through Argentina and Paraguay. The bridge is costing US$61.4 million to build, with the fund

A massive programme for infrastructure development is being planned by Côte d'Ivoire in a bid to help continue the country’s steady economic progress. The plans call for US$7.04 billion to be spent on developing infrastructure, with a strong focus on new and improved transport connections. Rural roads, trunk roads and highways are all being planned as well as new bridges. The programme includes the construction of 330km of highways as well as an improved road link with Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou

Paraguay is making progress with key public works projects as key contracts are now being awarded. Of prime importance is the contract for a stretch of the Corredor Bioceanico highway that will run across the country, which has been awarded to a consortium, Consorcio Corredor Vial Bioceanico. This 227km stretch of the bi-oceanic highway runs from Carmelo Peralta to Loma Plata and the deal was awarded by Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC). The consortium is made up of the firms

Work is well underway on Colombia’s US$453.43 million Conexion Pacifico II highway project. The construction work for the 96.5km highway is around 33% complete at this stage. Work is also underway on the 2.5km-long twin tube Mulatos tunnel, with around 700m having been driven so far and this portion of the project is costing nearly $127 million. The new highway will reduce journey times between Colombia’s Antioquia Department and the country’s coffee producing regions, as well as to its port of Buenaventura

A series of road repair contracts are being carried out now in South Africa. Bakwena, a road construction and maintenance firm, is maintaining and upgrading road infrastructure along the 385km of the N1N4 in a deal worth US$84.6 million. Meanwhile the contractor Raubex Construction is working on a $49.22 million project for a new link between the M17 and R512 routes. In addition, Raubex Construction is carrying out $4.65 million of improvement works on the R511 interchange. Resurfacing of a stretch of the

Construction work is restarting on Melbourne’s West Gate tunnel project. Construction of the tolled tunnel link is costing US$5.2 billion (A$6.7 billion). The project is controversial and has met with considerable political opposition in Australia. Those against the link say that building a second river crossing is not necessary and that it will merely increase travel costs for drivers as it will be tolled. However those in favour of the link say that it is required due to the heavy traffic congestion. A

A new intelligent highway stretch is being constructed in China’s Zhejiang Province. The road will feature three lanes in either direction and will be 161km in length, with advanced features including mobile charging systems for Evs. The project is being planned by the Department of Transportation of Zhejiang Province and will connect Ningbo with Hangzhou, with construction starting in 2018 and due for completion in 2022. The EV charging systems will use a combination of technologies including solar power a

Work on sections of Moscow’s new Central Ring Road (CRR) project now looks to face delays. Construction of the first and fifth sections of the ring road is being held back due to the need to relocate a large number of gas pipes and electricity lines, as well as other utilities.