Road Structures

Ageing Liberty Tunnels in US refurbished with hydrodemolition

May 13, 2015

Hydrodemolition surface preparation keeps Liberty Tunnel rehabilitation project on schedule in Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania state Department of Transportation selected hydrodemolition surface preparation for the US$18.8 million rehabilitation of Pittsburgh’s Liberty Tunnels. Time was of the essence to complete the project on deadline without penalties and hydrodemolition was selected as it offered a fast and cost-effective method to prepare the tunnel walls for a new, shotcrete surface. This methods off

New tunnelling machines are coming to market

May 13, 2015

Major gains in tunnelling productivity and performance are claimed for a series of new machines now coming to market These new tools will help contractors boost productivity and versatility in an array of applications. The new equipment items are designed for a variety of tasks, including drilling and shotcreting duties. One of the leaders in the underground equipment sector, Atlas Copco, has a new line-up of single and twin boom drill rigs, which suit duties in smaller tunnelling applications. The fi

Ground penetrating radar used to investigate tunnel deterioration

May 13, 2015

Using ground penetrating radar to determine reason for serious pavement settling in Kentucky-Tennessee tunnel Just a few years after the opening of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, highway officials noticed moderate to severe settling of the continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The mountain tunnel provides an important link between Kentucky and Tennessee along US25E and the problem looked serious, with many voids discovered beneath the pavement surface. To investigate the problems, the Kentucky Transpor

New Vietnam beltway finds funding

May 11, 2015

Funding has been found for a new beltway project in Vietnam. The work will be financed jointly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). The two have signed agreements for loans worth close to US$160 million for the project. ADB will provide a $12.58 million loan to finance preparation works for Beltway No3 in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. In addition, ADB will provide an additional $147 millionn loan to complete the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway. The highway of 244km is part of the

Taiwan bridge design competition underway

May 11, 2015

In Taiwan six engineering teams have been selected for Danjiang Bridge design competition. The teams come from Asia, Europe and North America and have qualified into the next phase of competition for the design of the 12.06km Danjiang Bridge. This structure will connect Bali and Tamsui districts in New Taipei City of Taiwan. The bridge will incorporate a light-rail track, in addition to traffic lanes for motor vehicles. The structure will be 20m high and 44m wide, with a speed limit of 80km/h for motor vehi

Series of road and overpass projects for Myanmar

May 11, 2015

Two key projects will help boost road transportation in Myanmar. In Yangon, the regional government is to fund construction of an overpass located at Tamwe Junction. The move comes after the Japanese government declined to fund the works due to the high cost, expected to be in excess of US$120 million. In the 2015 to 2016 financial year, overpasses at Kokkaine Junction, Tamwe Junction and Eight-mile junction will be built. The Yangon regional government will fund the work with its budget of $20.66 million.

Support for underground tunneling work

May 11, 2015

The Brenner Base Tunnel is a key transport link and the use of the latest technology for support works has been played an important role. Work on the tubes of the Brenner Base Tunnel, one of the largest underground infrastructure projects underway at present, is seeing the use of sophisticated equipment. Excavation of the new Tulfes-Pfons section commenced in the third quarter of 2014 and the route will form part of the TEN Axis connection between Helsinki to Valletta. The new section, worth around €

Mexico: underwater tunnel in Latin America

May 8, 2015

Mexico will benefit from an important new underwater tunnel - Mauro Nogarin writes. The city of Coatzacoalcos is located at the mouth of the river of the same name, in the Gulf of Mexico, 302km from the city of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, in the east end of trans-isthmian corridor and at the southern end of Veracruz State. The city is seeing a key development as currently construction is 85% completed on the first immersed tube, underwater tunnel in Latin America. The reasons why experts chose this type of tunne

Colombia’s La Linea Tunnel completion in sight

May 7, 2015

The completion of Colombia’s long-running La Linea Tunnel project is now in sight, finally. Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, and vice president, German Vargas Lleras, made a joint announcement that the 8.65km long tunnel will be inaugurated in November 2016. The two tunnel drives (from Quindio and Tolima) have now met in the middle and only lining works are left to be completed. Once the tunnel is operational, it will enable trucks to complete the journey between Cajamarca (Tolima) and Calarca (Qui

Czech highway projects attracting Chinese contractors

May 6, 2015

Chinese contractors are interested in a series of highway projects in the Czech Republic. One of the Czech projects attracting the Chinese interest is for the R4 express road, which will cost in the region of €274 million to construct. The tender process for this project will open in early 2016. The Czech Transport Ministry says that several Chinese firms are interested in a number of the country’s PPP projects. Another project in focus will be for the R7 Prague-Chomutov road, which will be built after the