Road Structures

Mexico is on track to complete works on 20 new motorways and 26 additional roads by the end of 2016. The Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has further plans to develop 52 new motorways and 90 roads under its infrastructure programme during the current administration, which concludes in 2018. These infrastructure projects are intended to turn Mexico into a global logistics hub. The Mexico-Toluca, Mexico-Cuernavaca and Mexico-Puebla motorways are amongst the projects due to see major progress

Plans are being drawn up for a major programme of road paving work in Brazil’s mato Grosso State. The plans are being made the by the state authorities and involve paving around 10,000km of roads by 2018. The work is expected to cost in the region of US$2.48 billion. Because of the scale of the work, this exceeds state funds. Some 530km of roads in the state were paved in 2015, with a plan to pave 930km in 2016. The financing sources for the paving works have yet to be finalised. In addition a number of o

A major landmark bridge in Bahrain will be designed by Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners). The contract was awarded to design the Dilmunia Gateway Bridge to Dilmunia Island by Ithmaar Development Company (IDC). The new structure will be designed to a high standard to meet traffic as well as aesthetic requirements. The new link will connect with the US$1.6 billion artificial island project off Muharraq.

The Peruvian investment promotion agency ProInversion says that it will not award contracts for all of the projects programmed for 2016. These are worth a total of US$1.29 billion and focus on transport and communications. Peru’s Association for the Promotion of National Infrastructure (AFIN) says that a reason for the delay to the works may be attributed to the impending end of term for Peru’s present administration. An incoming government may then opt to launch tenders for projects on the list for 2016 as

A key bridge link is due for completion in Colombia shortly. The new Moravia bridge forms part of the Santa Madre Laura road project and should be complete in April 2016. The bridge is over 500m long and has cost some US$46.8 million to build. The work is being carried out by construction consortium Bermejal. Once open to traffic the bridge will help to reduce traffic on the existing Barranquilla and Mico bridges by providing an alternative route to west Medellin.

The Czech Republic is looking to cut construction costs for a 32km stretch of the D4 Pribram-Pisek highway between Milin and Mirotice. As a result the route will be constructed under public-private partnership (PPP) model. The total investment in the project is some €919.92 million. The construction work is expected to commence in the second half of 2016. The 32km stretch will take five years to complete. The road will be built under a concession model with the concession lasting for 25 years. The Czech Tra

Work is now underway on the Lo Te-Rach Soi Highway in Vietnam. The new link runs for 53.34km and connects Kien Giang with Can Tho. The first stage of this project is costing in the order of US$298.62 million. Work on the project will take 30 months to complete.

A new approach to tunnel inspection technology in Japan could yield major benefits in determining quality and safety. A team comprising specialists from Japan’s Institute for Laser Technology and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency is having evaluating the use of lasers for upgrading tunnel inspection methods as part of a two year research programme. The new technique is said to allow inspectors to examine tunnel wall conditions at a higher frequency of 25 times/second. The technology also allows tunnel wall

Two major road projects are proceeding in Romania. Work on the Pitesti-Sibiu Highway is due for completion in 2023. This follows on from a €1.6 billion investment provided through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (LIOP). Romania’s Ministry of Transport has said that work on the project should commence on 1st January 2017.

Construction work for three new highways will commence in Malaysia’s Penang State by June 2016. The work will help reduce congestion in Penang State. The first of the three highways to be built will be the Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass. This project is being carried out by Malaysia-based Consortium Zenith BUCG. Meanwhile plans are also in hand to construct the Setiawangsa-Pantai Expressway (SPE) in Malaysia. The project is expected to cost US$845.6 million. The SPE link should be open to t