Road Structures

The authorities in Paraguay are devising plans to upgrade a 500km stretch of the important Rute 9 highway. The plans are being drawn up by the Paraguay Road Chamber (Cavialpa) and will be presented to the country’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC). Should the plans then be accepted, this will allow the improvement works for Ruta 9, also known as Transchaco, to go ahead. The entire upgrade project is expected to cost in the region of US$450 million and should take around three years to comp

Construction will commence in April 2017 on a new road tunnel link in Karlsruhe. Austrian contractor STRABAG has an 84% stake in the consortium, which also includes Schleith, building the link. Civil design is being handled by Ed Züblin meanwhile. The new Kriegsstraße vehicle tunnel in Karlsruhe will carry two lanes of road traffic underground, while providing a surface connection for trams, pedestrians and cyclists. The tunnel construction forms part of the wider Kombilösung public transport infrastructure

Work is commencing on a new road link that will connect the A89 and A6 Autoroutes in France’s Rhône Department. In addition, work is also underway on the construction of the new Semanet viaduct connecting Route Nationale 6 with Autoroute 6. The viaduct is being built with a steel deck sitting on concrete supports. The construction work is being managed by Autoroute operator APRR. Once the work is complete in 2018, it will help reduce journey times between Bordeaux and Geneva.

A new bridge is being built in Austria to span the Danube River. The project is expected to cost €60 million. The new link will be constructed in the city of Linz. Construction of the new Donaubrücke (Danube Bridge) will commence in late 2017. The link is expected to open to traffic in the third quarter of 2020. The state of Upper Austria will provided 40% of the financing required.

Workers in Slovakia have broken through the first of two passages in a tunnel near Zilina as part of an 11km D1 highway project. Breakthrough of the second passage of the tunnel on the section Hricovske Podhradie-Lietavska Lucka will likely be in January. Around 80m are still to be bored, according to a report in the Slovak Spectator on-line newspaper. Zilina is in northwestern Slovakia, around 200km from the capital Bratislava and close to the Czech and Polish borders. Juraj Valent, head of the Na

Construction work on a new elevated highway route through Vietnamese conurbation Ho Chi Minh City is commencing. The project involves building a 30.4km stretch of highway, Elevated Road No5, through the busy metropolis and is expected to cost US$785.25 million. The new four lane road will run above National Highway 1A, with the work forming part of a wider project intended to help reduce Ho Chi Minh City’s chronic congestion problems. In all the city’s road transport department plans to construct five of th

Kenya’s Lower Eastern Region is set to benefit from a major upgrade being carried out. The project is costing close to US$182 million and involves laying an asphalt surface on a 192km road connecting the towns of Kibwezi, Ikutha, Mutomo. Kitui, Kabati and Migwani. The project is of key economic importance to the region and will help trade and transport along the route. Rural road reconstruction is a key target for Kenya’s Government in its plan to develop the country economically. Redeveloping the road will

Plans are well underway in Myanmar for a new bridge connecting Thanlyin and Yangon. The project is expected to be complete by 2022 and is expected to cost US$302 million. The link will be tolled and will carry an estimated 5,000 vehicles/day when it opens to traffic. A loan facility from Japan is expected to pay for the majority of the project. An international contractor will carry out the main portion of the project, although sub-contracting will be carried out by local firms.