Road Structures

In Italy an MP1000 cutting system from Simex has been used to help resurface the walls of a highway tunnel. The SS51 State Road crosses through the Dolomites in the north-eastern Alpine Region of Italy. The SS51 starts in San Vendemiano in the province of Treviso and ends in Dobbiaco in the province of Bolzano and is a key road because it connects Cadore and the main towns in the area of Cortina d'Ampezzo. This 134.4 km road has expansion work and upgrades to improve safety and boost capacity.

In Russia an additional investment worth close to US$30 million is required to complete work on the new Kirovsky Bridge in Samara. However, the authorities in the Samara region have revealed that there is a problem with regard to financing the construction work. The funds from the 2015 regional budget are insufficient to pay for the remaining portion of the work. As a possible solution, the authorities in the Samara region are looking to the Russian Federal Government to provide the additional funds require

Amey will handle the contract to manage and maintain the existing Forth Road Bridge and the new Queensferry Crossing. The latter is currently under construction. The contract will commence on the 1st June 2015 and Amey will then take over responsibility for the Forth Road Bridge, which opened to traffic in 1964. The Queensferry Crossing is due to open to traffic in 2016.

Work on Algeria’s RN-43 route is due for completion in early 2015. The project involves widening the RN-43 between the provinces of Jijel and El Milia. Meanwhile a study has been carried out with regard to the benefits to be gained from widening the RN-27 between El Milia and the administrative boundaries of Mila. However work on a viaduct in Ghar El Baz situated to the west of Jijel has been delayed due to geotechnical issues. This has required a technical study to be carried out as well as a detailed geot

New routes in Mexico will help boost transport. In all four major motorway projects are due for completion by the end of 2014. These projects are: the Colima-Tonila road section, which is costing US$36.3 million, the 29km Salamanca- Irapuato section of the Salamanca-Leon motorway, the 42.3km Oriente de Chihuahua bypass and the 3 km Mazatlan bypass. Additionally, the two-lane 55km Xcan-Playa del Carmen road has recently been inaugurated.

Moroccan motorway operator Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM) has announced that by 2016, the country will have a motorway network extending some 1,800km. The motorway network will have cost around US$5.1 billion to construct. ADM will also celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2016. At present ADM operates 1,511km of motorway. This is the second longest network in Africa. Further plans are in hand, with the focus now on improving connections between the north and the south of the country. An additional 2,000km of roads

In Colombia plans are underway to try and revive the project to construct the La Linea tunnel. The project has been beset with problems since work commenced. Problems have included insufficient funding, unexpectedly poor ground conditions and some firms involved having the wrong kind of insurance. The Segundo Centenario consortium is building the La Linea tunnel and is keen for this to continue. The new plan involves the incorporation of local firm Construcciones e Inversiones Beta, which would acquire a 40