Road Structures

A new highway project is being planned that will help boost the economy of Mali. The landlocked country is one of the most impoverished nations in Africa and this new highway will provide a direct link from its capital Bamako to the port of San Pedro in Côte d'Ivoire. Much of the financing for the project is being provided through a loan worth US$ 187.61 million from the African Development Bank. The new highway link will also help develop the port of San Pedro, which is currently the second largest in Côte

Uzbekistan is setting out a major plan for road repairing, rebuilding and upgrading. The Uzbek Road Fund is allocating a budget of US$1.02 billion that will be used for the construction and repair of the country’s roads during 2016. Of this budget the largest slice, $544 million, will be used to construct key national routes and improve the country’s links with its neighbours. A further $306 million will be used for important trunk roads, while the country has set a budget of $34 million for upgrading its r

The tunnelling portion of India’s Chenani-Nashri tunnel project has now been completed. This 9.2km tunnel is of major importance for India as it will improve the transport connection between the Kashmir Valley and Jammu, reducing the distance by 30km. The tunnel is expected to open for traffic in May 2016 and will feature modern safety systems, setting a precedent for India. Advanced technology will be installed to handle ventilation, communications and traffic management, as well as safety systems such as

Work is now underway on a series of projects in Algeria, including the East West Highway and a key highway bypass. The 67km Khémis Miliana-Berrouaghia bypass is expected to cost around US$836 million, with work due for completion at the end of 2016. The project is being handled by an Algerian/Italian team.

Construction of the Russian stretch of the highway connecting Europe with China should be complete by 2018. This section of the project is costing close to US$22.6 billion. The international transit corridor from Europe to Western China is of key economic significance. The first sections of the Russian portion of the route form part of the new high-speed federal highway M-11 from Moscow to St Petersburg. About 40% of the highway will run through the Volga federal district. The 8,400km long international tra

Construction of the 392km highway running across Honduras is currently underway. The Canal Seco project will link the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the country. Discussions regarding the bypass around the city of San Pedro Sula as well as other municipalities in Valle de Sula are being held. The bypass will prevent traffic congestion. The bypass is costing an estimated US$120 million and a consortium has looked at six possible routes. Funding for the route has still to be sourced.

A novel move in India by the government will see waste materials being used in road construction. The new legislation requires plastic waste to be used in asphalt by road construction firms. The aim of this new legislation is to overcome the problem of plastic waste disposal in India’s major urban areas. Road construction firms will be required to incorporate waste plastic within hot mix when building bitumen roads within 50km of any city with a population of 500,000 or more. The contractor is now required

Balfour Beatty has been awarded a €147.72 million (£104 million) road scheme by Norfolk County Council to complete works on the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NNDR). The new road will serve Broadland, Norfolk, and improve access to North Norfolk and Norwich International Airport, with better links to Great Yarmouth and the south of the region. It will also bring relief on congested and unsuitable roads around the north and east of Norwich and improve capacity for future growth in jobs and housing.

Stretches of a major new highway project in Slovakia are opening for traffic. Two sections of the D1 highway are opening by the end of 2015. Slovakian National Motorway Company has said that the second section of the 9.5km D1 highway stretch from Janovce-Jablonov, near the town of Levoca, will open by the end of 2015. The other section set to open will be the D1 stretch from Fricovce – Svinia and located near Presov. During 2015 NDS planned to open five new motorway stretches, of which three are already in