Road Structures

Lighting columns and other roadside structures such as overhead gantries play an essential role in road safety, by improving night time visibility or giving information to drivers. However old generation units themselves pose a potential hazard as they can be impacted by vehicles departing the roadway and potentially with fatal results in the event of a high speed crash. This is why newer passively safe columns have been developed, which are designed to collapse in a controlled fashion when impacted, reduci

A loan from the World Bank (WB) will help fund repair work to a key road link in Bolivia. The US$225 million loan will be used to improve roads in Bolivia, with the most important project being for the repair and upgrade of the link connecting Trinidad with Santa Cruz. The funds will help pay for improvements to a 567km stretch of this road, which will be resurfaced and improved. The work is expected to cost around $215 million to complete

Work is now underway on a new highway in Mexico’s Baja California State. The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has invested US$148.7 million in building the new Cabo San Lucas-San Jose del Cabo highway. The 38.7km project will include the construction of Caduano Bridge, the renovation and expansion of the Santa Rosa-Puerto Chale road and road surfacing at Todos Santos municipality.

Financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will help develop Tunisia’s road network. A 34 year loan worth nearly US$192 from the IBRD will help fund the work. The deal was agreed between the IBRD and the Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People. The road projects will enable an improved access to a number areas in the country.. A special office will be in charge of monitoring bridges from 2016 and drafting reports regarding their condition. Similarly, Tunis

A series of major highway and road projects have been proposed for Vietnam. Investors have submitted a proposal to build North-South road costing an estimated US$383.8 million. Another proposal has come from the Project Management Board 85 to develop Bien Hoa-Tan Thanh-Cai Mep Seaport expressway, with an estimated cost of $591.5 million.

A US$110 million contract to upgrade the UAE’s Airport Road connection has been awarded by the Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The project includes the construction of tunnels at Rashidiya, bridges and Airport Road Interchange with each of Nad Al Hamar Street, Marrakech Street and Casablanca Street. In addition, the project will include the construction of a service road featuring three lanes and improvements to a number of intersections. The upgrades to the route will boost capacity and cut co

Work on Indonesia’s massive Trans Kalimantan road link will commence in 2016. The planned route stretches for some 7,600km and the project will be started by the Indonesian Government. The budget for the project is still unclear. The cost of the project was estimated in 2014 at US$496.74 million. More roads will be upgraded in 2016 because many of the country’s provincial and district roads will now feature national road status and will be managed by the central government. Another important project is for

In the Netherlands plans are in hand to improve the transport connections to the Port of Rotterdam. The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment has reached an agreement with the province of Gelderland about connecting the A15 highway to the A12 highway. This will boost the highway links between the port and Germany, a key issue for improving international transportation connections. The total cost of the project will be around €840 million of some €400 million will come from the province of Gelderl

Work will commence shortly on Uruguay’s first PPP highway project. The construction and concession is being handled by a consortium comprising key contractors. The Uruguayan Ministry of Transport and Public Works awarded the project to a consortium made up of Sacyr Concesiones (43%), Sacyr Construcción (8%) and Grinor (49%). The project involves the building, restoration and management of a 179km corridor connecting the cities of Nueva Palmira and Mercedes.