Road Structures

In Romania plans are in hand for a new ring road around the city of Satu Mare. The 19.5km ring road will reduce congestion in the city, which lies in the north of the country. The tender process has been opened by the Romanian roads authority, CNADNR, with bids being received until the 10th November 2014. Including VAT, the project will cost in the region of €184.7 million to construct and is expected to take four years to complete, with financing being delivered by the Operational Programme for Transport.

Urban road in Brazil are to benefit from additional funds for repairs and repaving. An increase of some US$1.35 billion in financing for the country’s accelerated growth programme (PAC) has been approved by the Brazilian Government. The increase in funding has been required as the budget set previously was insufficient for all the planned works.

Work on a new highway link is now underway in Algeria. The road will connect the port of Ghazaouet with the East-West highway, improving inter-modal transport. The new highway will boost truck movements to and from the port and help develop trade while also helping cut congestion in the town as existing links are not able to cope with the traffic volumes. The first 16km portion of the highway is being constructed by a Chinese contractor. Meanwhile construction of Algeria’s 58km coastal bypass connecting Gha

New highway links between Montenegro and Bosnia will make major improvements in transport links for the two countries. Bosnia Herzogovina plans to build its 110km stretch of the Adriatic-Ionic highway that will connect with Montenegro. Meanwhile in Montenegro, plans are in hand for the first stretch of the Bar-Boljare highway. The Bosnian Government is finalising the route for the Adriatic-Ionic highway, based on an earlier feasibility study. This route is of prime importance for the region as it will conne

Mexico is continuing with its plans for a series of major transportation projects aimed at boosting connectivity. The country’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) says that work is underway on 110 of the country’s 128 planned bridge projects. Construction of the remaining 18 bridges is commencing in due course. And 23 of the 110 bridges being built at present are being opened to traffic shortly, with a further 46 opening in November 2014 and 38 opening in December 2014. The project to wi

Pakistan is planning a project to construct a new northern highway connecting Havelian and Hassanabdal. The loans required to finance the project have been signed by both the government of Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Havelian-Hassanabdal (Burhan) Expressway (E-35) project is for a north-south access controlled highway. This new link will connect the existing highway network with north Pakistan and the associated construction contracts are worth some US$200 million in all.

A prominent PPP project is planned by The Portsmouth Gateway Group in Ohio. This will be the US state’s first ever PPP project as well as being the largest single construction job ever handled by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). According to the Portsmouth Gateway Group, the PPP project will cost in the region of US$429 million to construct. The 25.6km Portsmouth Bypass will feature four lanes in either direction and will be a limited access highway that will between US23 north of Lucasville to

In Bhutan work is now commencing on a new highway project worth some US$118.4 million. The work involves widening the existing Thimphu-Trashigang highway along its 546km route. The Indian Government has given its approval for Bhutan’s planned budget to widen the highway. A portion of the funding for the work is being provided by Indian sources.

Explosive demolition has been used to remove a Tennessee bridge that no longer met requirements. The bridge was on Tennessee Interstate 65 near Franklin in Williamson County and has been removed by a specialist contractor. The highway authorities decided to demolish the bridge following a crash involving a tanker truck in August of this year. The structure was pre-drilled with explosive charges and then demolished remotely, with the explosive demolition being carried out successfully and without any injurie

Financing has been found for road repairs and rebuilding in Paraguay. A series of planned projects will see roads and bridge being refurbished and rebuilt. The Latin American Development Bank (CAF) will provide loans worth US$272 million for road and bridge repairs. A $50 million loan will be used to pay for work in the country’s Oriental region. In all 110 bridges will be built across Paraguay. A loan will also pay for improvements to National Route 9 connecting Mariscal Estigarribia and La Patria and La P