Road Structures

Major highway improvement works are being proposed for Queensland, Australia. The aim of the work will be to reduce congestion along a 4km stretch of highway that suffers long delays during peak periods at present. Some US$129.5 million (A$168 million) of federal funding will has been proposed to widen the highway connecting the Gold Coast with Queensland capital Brisbane, with work possibly starting in 2017. However the project hangs in the balance and depends on the results of an upcoming election process

A highly innovative bridge project is planned for Indonesia. A specialist firm from the Netherlands, Tidal Bridge, has been contracted to construct the new Pancasila Palmerah Bridge in East Nusa Tenggara. The project involves constructing a 1.3km suspension bridge that will span the Larantuka Strait and connect Flores with Adonara Island. The project is expected to cost US$400 million and construction work is due to commence in December 2016. Of the bridge's 1.3km total length, around 800m will span Larantu

Three major projects have been approved in Pakistan. The projects have a total value of US$1.42 billion and were approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.

Plans are now in hand in New Zealand for a series of road projects in Tauranga. The New Zealand Government of has plans to spend some US$356.36 million (NZ$520 million) on a number of high priority road projects in Tauranga.

Work is now proceeding as planned on a key motorway project in Montenegro, according to the country’s Ministry of Transport and Sea. The project for the new Bar-Boljare motorway is being carried out by the China Road and Bridges Corporation (CRBC), and the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

A second movable scaffold system (MSS) is on its way from China to the UK town of Halton, as part of the Mersey Gateway Project, a toll bridge over the Mersey River in England. The machine will be used to build the south elevated approach viaduct that will connect the main road network in the town of Runcorn to the Mersey Gateway Bridge, now under construction.

The last section of the 3km İzmit Bay Bridge – now officially the Osman Gazi Bridge - was lifted into place on April 21, according to Turkish media. When open later this summer, the bridge will cut the 70-minute drive around İzmit Gulf, on the Sea of Marmara, to just six minutes.

A major Autobahn widening project is planned in Germany for the busy A59 link near Duisburg. This Autobahn currently has four lanes but suffers heavy congestion at peak periods, with frequent delays and jams occurring. As a result, the stretch of the route will be widened to six lanes. The existing Berliner Bridge will also have to be demolished and rebuilt as it will be too narrow for the much wider Autobahn.

Bidding for Paraguay’s route II and route VII Ypacarai-Pastoreo road expansion project has been postponed. Instead Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) says that the bidding will commence on 29th June 2016. This delay follows requests by some participants in this process. However, this is the fourth time that the opening of the bidding for the project has been delayed.