Road Structures

Argentina road contract awarded

October 20, 2017

Argentina’s Route 33 is set to benefit from a major upgrade with the award of a contract to a consortium comprising local construction companies. The firms, Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles and Supercemento Saic, won the tender for the work with a bid worth US$198.5 million. The consortium will carry out construction work on a 70km section of Route 33 between Rosario and Rufino. Work is now commencing and should take around 24 months to complete. In all this stretch of the road measures 230km and addi

Chinese mega tunnel project planned

October 20, 2017

Plans are being drawn up in China for a new mega tunnel project in Guangdong Province. Details of the project, to connect Shenzhen and Zhongshan, have been released by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. The 6.8km undersea stretch of tunnel will carry eight lanes, making it the world’s widest undersea road tunnel.

Chile-Argentina tunnel project progress

October 20, 2017

Further progress is being made with the landmark Agua Negra Tunnel project that will connect Argentina and Chile. The new tunnel will run through the Andes mountain range, providing an improved highway link between the two nations, boosting trade and transport. The consortia pre-qualified for the tender process will be announced during November 2017.

New China bay crossing tender process

October 20, 2017

The tender process is now complete for the Shantou Bay Crossing in China. This link will be 10km long and will connect the East Coast Expressway with the Haojiang Guangda Expressway. The project is expected to cost US$1.27 billion to construct. The new link will improve transport connections close to Shantou City in China’s Guangdong Province, reducing journey times for drivers using the existing routes.

Australia highway opening soon in Melbourne

October 19, 2017

Melbourne’s major tolled highway project is due to open to traffic shortly, some three months earlier than originally anticipated. The CityLink project has been a major one for Victoria State and has added new lanes for the route along a length of 30km. Carrying around 210,000 vehicles/day, the CityLink route handles the highest levels of any traffic route in Melbourne. The addition of the new lanes on the route has formed part of the major Tulla Widening Project by VicRoads to improve road connections in V

Tunnelling in Montenegro with XCMG equipment

October 19, 2017

Tunnelling equipment from Chinese firm XCMG has played an important role in a project in Montenegro. The work was carried out by contractor CCCC Tunnel Engineering Company and involved the excavation of the Jabuka Tunnel Works. This link forms part of the North-South Expressway of Montenegro and was completed on schedule recently. The link is of note as it is the first-ever expressway in Montenegro. Due to the country’s hills, a stretch of tunnel was a necessity.

China’s mega highway project planned

October 19, 2017

Plans have been unveiled in China for a new mega highway project. A 452km link will is envisaged that will run from Panzhihua to Yibin New City in Sichuan. Because of the complex geography of the area, the highway will feature a total of 132 tunnels, which will measure 238km in all. The predicted cost of the highway is US$13.44 billion. The tunnels are a major reason for the high price of the project as they will increase the complexity of the work.

Underground stability with new shotcrete technology

October 19, 2017

Blastcrete Equipment Company says that its novel Mine Mate machine can be used to mix and pump concrete for use in tunnel sealing and stabilisation, grouting and other shotcrete applications. The Mine Mate unit is said to boost safety in tunnelling and suits duties where and when ready-mix concrete is not an option. Featuring Blastcrete’s X-10 high-pressure swing tube pump, the Mine Mate is said to be productive, reliable, easy to operate and maintain.

Advances in tunneling technology offer efficiency

October 18, 2017

New developments in tunnelling technologies offer contractors greater efficiencies when constructing new bores. Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are widely being used in major projects such as the Brenner Base Tunnel in the Austrian Alps. Full face TBMs are highly sophisticated machines featuring a rotating drilling head, which removes the material, and, depending on the type of construction, secures the excavated tunnel with shotcrete, rock bolts and wire mesh or prefabricated segments of reinforced concrete.

Angola’s capital has road rebuilding due

October 16, 2017

Road rebuilding work will be carried out on major road links in Angola’s capital Luanda. The projects are worth US$125.46 million in all and have been approved by the Government of Angola. One contract worth $78.4 million will be handled by the Portuguese contractor Mota Engil and involves repairs and improvements to roads in and around the city.