Road Structures

In Brazil financing issues have hit a number of transport projects in Minas Gerais state. The Banco do Brasil is holding back funds for planned work. As a result the state government of Minas Gerais has halted work on 32 construction projects. The Banco do Brasil has not provided the expected US$345.86 million for the work to be carried out. The finances were arranged by the central government through its funding programmes. The projects include a section of the MG-437 road between Sabara and Nova Lima. The

Brazil’s Transport Ministry is putting the concession contract to maintain the Rio-Niterói bridge in Rio de Janeiro out to tender. The present 20-year maintenance contract for the bridge held by Ponte will run out in May 31st 2015, reports Business News Americas. The new concession deal will involve maintaining the structure as well as building an underpass underneath Renascença square in Niterói. Construction of the 13.3km pre-stressed concrete structure commenced in 1968 and was completed in 1974, at whic

Changes to the third stage of the planned WestConnex motorway have been announced by Duncan Gay, Roads Minister of Australia’s New South Wales state. The motorway tunnel will be 8km, around 1km longer than initially announced under the US$9.7 billion WestConnex project of 33km of new roads around the city of Sydney. The changes are not likely to cost more, according to the NSW government. The third stage would cover the route between Haberfield and St. Peters and be constructed between 2018 and 2023.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is approving a loan worth US$105 million for Paraguay. The loan will cover work along San Juan Nepomuceno -route 6- road. The bank recently approved USD 150mn for Paraguay's national development agency AFD, as well as other loans to support small and medium size companies and improve roads across the country.

In Serbia construction work is on track for the Zemun-Borca road project. The new road link should be open to traffic by the end of 2014. The cost of the project has not been revealed however. Some stretches of the new link are already being used unofficially, by pedestrians.

Serbia is on schedule with its construction programme for highways and roads. The country looks set to have completed 64km of highways and 15km of parallel or link roads during 2014. This figure compares favourably with the average 50km/year construction rate across most European countries currently building highways. Meanwhile Serbian road company Koridori Srbije looks set to merge with the road company Putevi Srbije. Koridori Srbije has already built 51km of highways during 2014. The remainder should be c

The Polish town of Marki is to benefit from a new 15km ring road, which will be constructed by a consortium comprising the contractors Astaldi and Salini. The project has a total value of some €167.4 million. The first section will measure 8.1km and run from Kobylka and Marki junctions. Salini plans to complete this stretch in 32 months. Meanwhile, the second section will run between Radzymin Pld and Kobylka junctions and will be completed in 36 months. Meanwhile work on the final section of the S8 road has

In the Philippines a new road connection forms part of a wider plan to upgrade the key Subic Bay Port. The work is being planned by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the new road link will connect through to the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). The work is expected to cost US$245.3 million, with $156.09 million for the port expansion and $89.2 million for the new road. The new road connection is of key importance to the port project as it will help with the transport of goods to and from the si

The Mexican Government says it has managed to boost road investment in 2014, compared with 2013. According to the Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT), investment in road projects between January and October 2014 hit US$5.39 billion, some $56 million more than for the whole of 2013. Mexico’s National Infrastructure Project (PNI) includes 266 government pledges, of which the SCT is responsible for 105. By the end of 2014, there will be four new motorways n Mexico costing over MXN 4bn (the Mazatl