Road Structures

Bertha, one of the world’s largest tunnelling machines will resume work underneath the US city of Seattle in November, nearly two years after breaking down. Bertha, at 17.4m diameter, began her journey in July 2013. She was boring a path to relocate a 3.2km stretch of the elevated State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct, built between 1949 and 1953 and which carries around 100,000 vehicles daily. The elevated section will be moved underground allowing the creation of public space along Seattle’s downtown w

The Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing is setting out development plans for East Indonesia. The infrastructure works will include building roads and bridges, with a projected budget of US$931.2 million. One of the main projects will be for the completion of the Trans Papua route, which should be ready for traffic by 2018. The 900km Trans Papua project will run through Merauke to Jayapura, Nabire, Manokwari and Sorong. Some $447 million will be spent developing infrastructure in Papua while a fu

In Paraguay the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) in Paraguay plans to spend US$750 million on road repairs and construction. The work will be carried out in Alto Parana. This includes the country’s Export Corridor (Corredor de Exportacion) between Natalio and Pdte. The work includes work to the second bridge with Brazil, expansion of Ruta 7 on the Tape Pora section, recovery of the motorway between Katute-Ciudad del Este and the rehabilitation of Ruta 6, amongst other schemes. Expansion of

Indonesian road firm Jasa Marga will fund work on a major toll road project using a loan from state lenders, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Sumatera Utara (Bank Sumut). The US$212 million loan will finance work on Jasa Marga's Medan-Kuala Namu-Tebing Tinggi toll road. The route is 61.7km long and will connect Kuala Namu International Airport to other key areas.

Work on a major road project in Taiwan is facing delays due to unforeseen circumstances. Construction work on the Suhua Highway Improvement Project is being delayed due to the discovery of archeological remains. Work will now be stopped until the site can be excavated by archeologists. The remains are thought to be some 2,000 years old. Work on the US$1.5 billion project commenced in 2011.

Austrian contract STRABAG has won the tender process to widen the A3 Autobahn in southern Germany. The contract will see the firm widening the A3 to six lanes in a deal worth €90 million. The A3 connects the cities of Frankfurt and Nuremburg. STRABAG has been awarded the EO 287 contract to widen a 5.7km section of the road using asphalt construction methods in the state of Bavaria. It has also won the EO 259 contract to widen an 8.5km section of road using asphalt construction methods in the state of in Bad

Morocco’s Transport Ministry says that by 2035, the country will have constructed 85% of its required transport infrastructure. To achieve the country’s ambitious transportation development programme, PPPs will increasingly be used to deliver projects due to the high levels of investment required. The country’s high speed rail project will be the first of its kind in Africa, while new ports will be built in Dakhla, Jorf Lasfar, Safi, Kénitra and Nador.

India plans to carry out the necessary feasibility study into the bridge and tunnel connection with Sri Lanka. India’s Transport Ministry has said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide the finance needed for the project, which is now expected to cost US$3.6 billion. According to India’s Transport Ministry the bridge and tunnel link with Sri Lanka forms part of a plan to boost the country’s connections with its neighbours. The new over sea crossing will provide an important connection to a count

Louis Berger is heading a consortium that will oversee a key road rebuilding project in Senegal. The package of works was awarded to the consortium by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The work is for the third phase of the Ziguinchor-Tanaff-Kolda-Velingara section of National Highway 6. Work associated with this project brings the total value of consultancy services delivered by the consortium over the three project phases to nearly US$9.4 million.