Road Structures

Bechtel and Enka win highway contract for Kosovo

July 2, 2014

Bechtel and its joint-venture partner Enka have won a contract to build a 60km highway connecting Kosovo’s capital Pristina with neighbouring Macedonia. The new Route 6 highway will help improve Kosovo’s transport links, a highly important factor for the future economic development of this small, landlocked nation. Bechtel-Enka previously constructed Kosovo’s Route 7 highway, which was completed in November 2013, a whole year ahead of schedule. The Route 7 highway with Morina on the Albanian border through

Bridge formwork solutions complete big bridge picture

July 2, 2014

Advanced bridge formwork solutions are allowing contractors to complete vital major highway infrastructure projects covering Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Poland. Guy Woodford reports Building the Labbdalen bridges in Norway is a key feature of the E6 highway improvement programme. Main project contractor HÆHRE tasked RMD Kwikform and Teknikk with supplying a complete formwork and shoring solution that could tackle the challenging Norwegian terrain, whilst preserving the environment. Situated two hours

New Thames River bridge crossing proposed for UK capital London

July 2, 2014

Plans are once more being put forward for a new bridge spanning the River Thames in East London. The proposed structure is expected to cost in the region of €750 million (£600 million) to build and has been designed by Arup and HOK. The campaign for the new bridge is being led by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), which says that there is a desperate need for an additional crossing. The campaign group also has the support of City Airport, which lies on the north side of the Thames and would

Key Florida highway link wins major award

July 2, 2014

A major highway connection project located in Tampa, Florida has won a 2014 Outstanding Project Award from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers (FICE). The link was opened in January 2014 and was engineered by designer Atkins. The 1.6km-long I-4/Selmon Connector links I-4 with the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. The US$425 million Connector now carries over 24,000 vehicles/day, which includes some 2,000 heavy vehicles/day. With the construction of the

Major Europe-Asia bridge connection in Turkey

July 1, 2014

The 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway will improve transport links between Europe and Asia and cut chronic congestion in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city - Mike Woof reports Work is now well underway on the 3rd Bosporus Bridge and the Northern Marmara Motorway, providing a new link for Turkish city Istanbul and the region as a whole. This enormous bridge and highway project is breaking several records for Turkey in terms of scale, as well as setting a number of international records for e

Chinese firm wins Ethiopian road and bridge contracts

June 30, 2014

Chinese Construction Company (CCCC) has won contracts to build roads, a bridge and an interchange in Ethiopia. In all the deal is worth some US$132.5 million. The contract was awarded to CCCC by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA). A key portion of the contract is for the construction of a new bridge spanning the Omo River. The deal also includes designing the Omo Kuraz sugar factory, as well as building a new interchange that will link the plant to the road network.

Key Botswana road network gets an upgrade

June 30, 2014

Representing an investment of around US$113 million, Botswana’s A1 national road between Tonota and Francistown is undergoing a major upgrade This single-lane section is being progressively transformed into a north- and southbound dual carriageway, crossing four existing river bridges along the way. A strategically important transportation route for both Botswana and the southern African region, the A1 passes through Francistown, the nation’s second largest city, heading northwards to end at the Zimbabwe b

New highway and bridge projects for New Zealand

June 30, 2014

A series of new road and bridge projects worth some US$186 million will help connectivity in New Zealand. The plans include studies for three projects in Bays of Plenty, Hawkes Bany and Nelson. Other planned projects include the Nelson southern link, Rotorua eastern arterial and a Port of Napier access package. The programme includes work on the construction of five road projects as well as building a number of bridges. This programme of works is in addition to plans for work on regional roads.

Brisbane’s Airport: Innovative Management of One of the World’s Busiest Runways

June 26, 2014

When it comes to runways, there are few busier then Brisbane’s main runway. Servicing both domestic and international travel, with over 200,000 movements per year, operating without a curfew Brisbane’s main runway is the busiest in Australia. For maintenance, crews only have a limited period of time to determine the pavement condition, normally during the night, making the detection of pavement faults difficult. To resolve this issue, a new high speed pavement scanner was used to rapidly survey the pavem

Bay Bridge demolition underway in California

June 26, 2014

Demolition of the Bay Bridge in California is underway at present. A new cable stayed structure now carries traffic and the old steel cantilever bridge is being dismantled piece by piece. The work is being carried out in stages so as to maximise safety and also to meet the tough environmental legislation that forbids any waste material accidentally falling into the waterway. The dismantling process is taking three years in all to complete.