Road Structures

Duha and Salini Impregilo to build Slovakia D1 motorway stretch

April 23, 2014

Slovak national motorway company NDS has chosen the consortium consisting of fellow Slovak construction company Duha and Salini Impregilo of Italy as the winner of the public procurement tender to build a 13km stretch of the D1 motorway. The Lietavska Lucka-Visnove-Dubna Skala stretch of Slovakia’s D1 includes the 7.5km long Visnove tunnel and is a tender worth nearly €410 million. It is expected that Skanska and Doprastav, which were excluded from the competition, will appeal against NDS' tender award dec

Legal step for Czech tunnel project

April 23, 2014

The torturous legal case regarding the stalled Blanka Tunnel project in the Czech Republic has taken one step forward. An arbitration court in the country has ruled that the tunnel has to be completed within five months' time. The construction work was halted earlier due to a dispute between the contractor and the city authorities. The tunnel is required to help reduce traffic congestion in the Czech capital Prague with work having commenced in 2007. The project was originally supposed to be ready for traff

Turkish trans-continental tunnel to tie Asia and Europe

April 22, 2014

Excavation work is in hand for the Eurasia Tunnel in Turkey. South Korean contractor SK Engineering and Construction (SK E&C) is carrying out the excavation work as part of a BOT contract. The project is costing some US$1.24 billion and the 5.4km tunnel will provide a new trans-continental connection between the towns of Goztepe and Kazlicesme when it opens in 2017. Running below the Bosporus Strait, the tunnel is expected to reduce the travel time to 15 minutes from the current 100 minutes. The Eurasia Tun

New Malaysian highway to cut congestion

April 22, 2014

The new Kinrara-Damansara Skyway (Kidex) being planned for Malaysia is expected to help reduce traffic congestion. A study carried out by SKM-CB Colin Buchanan-Sinclair Knight Merz in 2011 indicated that the highway will be able to lower travelling time between Damansara and Kinrara by 25%. Meanwhile the volume of traffic in both directions from Puchong to Petaling Jaya will be lessened by 50%. From Taman Tun Dr Ismail, from Bandar Utama to Petaling Jaya and from the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), traf

Faroe Islands to have two new subsea tunnels by 2024

April 17, 2014

The Faroe Islands will have two new toll-financed subsea tunnels by 2024 after the Løgting parliament approved the Islands’ biggest ever public construction project. One of the tunnels, Eysturoyartunnelen, will connect the islands of Eysturoy and Streymoy, and the other, Sandoyartunnelen, will connect islands of Streymoy and Sandoy. The estimated cost of the tunnels are €140.63 million (DKK 1.05 billion) and €115.18 million (DKK 860 million) respectively.

Two consortia bid for US$924.84mn Colombia highway concession

April 17, 2014

Two consortia have bid for Colombia's US$924.84 million (COP 1.79 trillion) Conexión Pacífico 1 highway concession, the first project under the Autopistas para la Prosperidad program and part of the country's fourth generation (4G) of concessions. There were 10 prequalified consortia and the two to submit bids were Autopista Conexión Pacífico I, comprised of local firm Estudios y Proyectos del Sol (Episol) and Spain's Iridium, and Infraestructura Vial de Colombia, comprised of Colombian firms Carlos Albe

Vietnam needs over US$332mn for roads in 2014, says national funding body

April 17, 2014

The National Road Maintenance Fund of Vietnam requires over US$332 million (VND 7 trillion) to upgrade and fix roads in 2014, according to Le Hoang Minh, chief of the Fund’s Central Council. Of the total, almost $255.1 million (VND 5.4 trillion) will be used to upgrade and manage national highways, while the remainder will be allotted to cities and provinces to upgrade and maintain roads. Vehicle registrations are foreseen to contribute $217.31 million (VND 4.6 trillion) to the total amount required, with t

Cintra Infraestructuras wins major North Carolina, US highway contract

April 14, 2014

Spanish firm Cintra Infraestructuras, a subsidiary of Ferrovial, has been chosen by the Department of Transport in the US state of North Carolina (NCDOT) to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the expansion of the I-77 highway. Design and construction within the US$655 million contract will be carried out by Ferrovial Agroman in collaboration with W.C. English, a local construction firm. The concession period is 50 years from when the highway opens to traffic - scheduled for mid-2018. Financing

Spain needs €6.5bn road infrastructure investment, says SHA

April 14, 2014

Spain needs around €6.5 billion spent on its road infrastructure to bring it back up to ‘reasonable’ quality standard, according to a report drawn up by the Spanish Highways Association (SHA). The huge works’ bill is said by the SHA to be due to the deterioration of the roads since 1985. According to McKinsey, this investment could be reduced if tendering authorities made more effort when it came to project analysis. By improving the use of engineering services by 3% to 5% per investment, cost savings of

Uruguay government pledges US$550mn for four major national roads

April 14, 2014

Uruguay’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MOTP) has recently presented proposals to the private sector on the modernisation and maintenance of four major national roads (26, 14, 55 and 20) over a ten-year period. A US$550 million government fund, known as Fondo Vial, will pay for the works, which will make Uruguay a real communications hub in the region, especially in light of a future deep water port. The national budget will remain unaffected.