Road Structures

Engineering firm Siemens is part of the team constructing an electric road project in the Swedish town of Gävle. A section of the E16 road outside of Gävle is being fitted with overhead electrical wiring, which will be used to power trucks. The project means that Sweden is likely to be the first country with a public electric road. The first electric truck is expected to be taken into operation in April 2016. Gävleborg Region, truck manufacturer Scania and other industrial companies are also involved in the

A series of road projects in Uganda will benefit from funding supplied by Japan. Around US$168 million in loans from the Japanese Government will be used to improve the roads in and around Uganda’s capital Kampala. The Japanese Government has pledged to assist the Ugandan Government in developing its economy, with road infrastructure improvements seen as a major step along this path. The next Tokyo International Conference on African Development will be held in Kenya in 2016. The two countries have also agr

Strong interest is being shown in the tender process for a major highway project in Portugal. The Portuguese Road Agency, Infraestruturas de Portugal - IP, has so far received 11 bids for the construction of the first section of the Via dos Duques highway. This route will connect Coimbra between the junction of the main road A13 and the A25 highway in Mangualde and also through Viseu. The bids were well below the initial reference price and 72km of highway will cost an estimated €320 million.

Major highway projects are commencing in Indonesia at present. One of the most important is for the Trans-Papua Highway. Work on this is being carried out by the Papua and West Papua Highway Centre. The new highway will be able to link key urban areas including Wondama, Sorong, Manokwari and Enarotali in Pania, Elelim, Jayapura, Ilu, Sinak and Karubaga in Tolikara, Ilaga, Sugapa, Bioga, Nabire and Mulia in Pucak Jaya. Some 827km of the 4,325km highway will pass through jungle area. The construction team has

A series of major highway infrastructure projects are planned for the Philippines. Plans are in hand for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project, with MPCALA Holdings calling on the authorities to give final approval so that construction can commence before 2017. MPCALA Holdings is a subsidiary of conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments (MPIC) and won the 35-year contract to build, operate and maintain the CALAX in June 2015. The CALAX project is worth US$754.6 million. At present, the company is lookin

Overpass projects are being planned for Myanmar to help cut traffic congestion in key areas around the country’s commercial centre, Yangon. One project proposal has been submitted by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This will see the development of elevated roads on the Wai Zayandar Road. The cost of constructing the elevated roads has been estimated at some US$2 billion. The project looks likely to be carried out under build-operate-transfer model.

The US state of Missouri said it is fighting a losing battle to maintain its 641 bridges that are listed in critical condition - one-step away from being closed to traffic. Engineers in the southern state’s department of transportation said around US$820 million is needed to repair or replace the 641 bridges, three of which were closed to traffic last year. The critical list has expanded with the addition of 50 more bridges since last year. And the critical list is expected to grow to around 1,500 bri