Road Structures

Work is now being carried out on a new expressway around the Chinese city of Shenzhen. This new route will form part of the Pearl River Delta expressway network and will also connect with 12 other national highways and expressways. The 76km expressway is due to open to traffic in 2018. The project is complex as it will include 12 tunnels and 82 bridges, with the overall cost estimated at US$4.35 billion.

A major programme of highway development is being seen in China's Jiangxi Province. The rate of highway construction is being increased and the authorities are aiming to boost the network to a total of 5,000km by the end of 2015 and 6,000km by the end of 2016. At present there are six major highway projects underway in Jiangxi Province, with the total cost of these estimated at US$4.53 billion. The six major highway projects have a total length of 395km and include the Shangrao-Wannian, Xiushui-Pingjiang (J

Serbia’s Ministry of Construction has plans to rebuild and upgrade some 1,000km of roads between 2014 and 2018. The work is expected to cost €300 million. Serbia’s Government is looking to the EU for the ratification of a previously discussed loan worth €300 million. This loan has been approved by the World Bank, the EBRD and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The money will be used to fund road rebuilding work, with one of the first projects to tackle being the improvement of the Zrenjanin-Zabalj route.

The authorities in Tasmania are planning a major programme of road rebuilding work that will boost transport links. Worth some US$684.4 million (A$733 million) the budget includes the $184 million (A$197 million) required to carry out the planned upgrade to the Midland Highway. A further $3 million (A$3.2 million) will be used to establish an independent body called Infrastructure Tasmania that will provide expert advice on the infrastructure needs of the state such as ports and major roads.

Funding has been found to finance India’s infrastructure investment into National Highway 1 in Jammu & Kashmir. A deal by ICICI Bank and Srinagar Sonmarg Tunnelway is providing the necessary loans for the Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri road and tunnel link. The project involves building a 6km road and 6.5km tunnel and the concession deal also involves maintenance and operation of the link. Srinagar Sonmarg Tunnelway, is a 49:51 joint venture combined of IL&FS Transportation Networks and Soma Enterprises.

A consortium of contractors will carry out construction work on Arizona’s Red Mountain Highway project. The Pulice-Granite consortium includes Pulice, a subsidiary of Spanish firm ACS. The US$109.2 million contract involves the design and construction of a 30.4km stretch of the State Route 202, Red Mountain Highway. Two sections of the highway, which runs around the city of Phoenix, have been constructed and one remains to be built, having been subject to various delays.

The authorities in India have revealed that a series of major road projects are commencing. Plans are in hand for the new Biju Expressway project, which is costing close to US$528 million. The project will deliver a new corridor between Rourkela and Jagdalpur, connecting the four Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput districts of Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nawrangpur and Koraput with four districts of western Odisha; Sundergarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Bargarh. The first phase is for the upgrading of a 402km stretch of roa

The UK has major plans to invest in road infrastructure. In all some 1,440 lane km of road capacity will be added to the strategic highway network of England and Wales by 2021. This boost comes from an investment of €30.565 billion (£24 billion), the biggest since the 1970s – which will see annual funding for improvements to motorways and major A roads triple over the next 6 years.