Road Structures

The US state of Illinois is setting out plans for a US$4 billion project to widen the central Tri-State route. The project is being planned by Illinois Tollway and has received approval from an Illinois Tollway committee. The work would see the route being widened between Chicago’s 95th Street to Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont. The upgraded stretch of highway will feature SmartRoad technology. This will deliver real time traffic data in real time to drivers. The sophisticated technology will also allow Illinoi

The project to construct the Blanka Tunnel in Czech capital Prague is over budget and behind schedule. So far the project to construct the 6km link has cost Prague council €1.37 billion so far. When complete the final pricetag is expected to be €1.48 billion. The link was originally intended to open to traffic in September 2015. However a string of problems have delayed the project and a final completion date has still to be revealed.

The completion of work on Colombia’s troubled tunnel project is now finally in sight. A new contractor will be selected by Colombia's National Road Institute (Invias) to complete the last section of work required on the La Linea Tunnel. The winner of the tender process will be announced on 13th June 2017. An additional US$50 million is being budgeted by the Colombian authorities to complete the work. It is expected that in all, finishing the project will cost $86.6 million. Work still to be carried out incl

Construction work on the Americo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) highway in Chile should start soon. This will commence once the environmental impact assessment has been completed. There has been a delay as the environmental impact assessment into the first section of the highway was halted. Allegations were made concerning irregularities over this portion of the work.

The Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge has received a transportation award of merit. The structure was designed by Parsons and has been given the 2017 Transportation Award of Merit from the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO). As sole prime consultant, Parsons also provided project management and engineering services during construction. Located on the Avalon Peninsula in the town of Placentia, NL, the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge provides a connection while supporting the region’s commercial fishing industry.

A new road and viaduct project will be built in Myanmar. The plans call for the new viaduct to run parallel to the existing Gokteik viaduct. In addition the project will also include the construction of a new bypass road. The project is being overseen by the Myanmar Government and is worth US$120 million, with work due to start shortly. The project will be developed by Oriental Consultant and is envisaged as a build, operate and transfer agreement.

Ethiopia’s road development programme is continuing. Nearly 1,200km of roads have been built in the country in the nine months to the end of the fiscal year at the start of April 2017. Local firms accounted for nearly 610km of road construction according to the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA). Meanwhile the remaining 590km or so of road construction was carried out by foreign construction firms. The country’s road building programme is still underway with close to 130 projects being carried out. These proje

A loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) will fund work on a highway project in Nicaragua’s capital Managua. The US$136 million financing package was secured by the Nicaraguan Government. This will be used to improve and widen the Pista Juan Pablo II highway, boosting capacity and reducing congestion at peak periods, as well as improving safety for drivers. The work involves widening the route so that it has three lanes in either direction, as well as building five flyovers, installing drainage, cycli

Work on New Zealand’s State Highway 3 will see upgrades to improve capacity and s well as safety. The country’s Ministry of Transport has unveiled a government plan to spend US$94.46 million (NZ$135 million) on the project. The upgrades for State Highway 3 form part of New Zealand’s Accelerated Regional Roading Programme. Meanwhile further planning work has been required to the Mount Messenger bypass before a preferred option for the project can be confirmed. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is curre

Vietnam is setting out plans for a massive programme of infrastructure investment. International investment is being sought, with many of the projects being planned under the PPP model. Transport will be placed as a top priority, with a budget of US$400 billion having been discussed as Vietnam’s transport spending target for the next 10 years. One of the biggest projects will be for the construction of a new highway connecting Vietnam’s two main cities, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The two cities are some 1,