Road Structures

Upgrade work looks set to commence on the Scandinavia Highway at the end of 2014. The design work for three of the highway stretches has been completed and preparatory work has commenced on the first section. The design work for the fourth and fifth sections will commence once the upgrade work is underway on the first, second and third stretches. The project is due for completion in 2019 and will see the highway being improved and widened, with three lanes in either direction along its length. The work also

Spanish firm OHL is investing heavily in developing its business operations in Mexico. The firm’s Mexican subsidiary, OHL México, is looking to invest as much as US$1.5 billion in new concessions over the next two years, according to a report from Business News Americas. The firm is keen to win new toll road concessions in Mexico, such as the coming Atizapán-Atlacomulco highway tender. OHL México currently has a stake in the Supervía Poetas tollroad in Mexico City as well as a series of tollroad concessions

Drivers on a busy route in the US city of Fort Lauderdale had an unwelcome surprise when a building was demolished just a short distance away. The structure was brought crashing down just 23m from the busy A1A road link. The local authorities however had provided no warning that the demolition work would occur. A change in the work methods used resulted in the old Howard Johnson hotel being quickly demolished, generating a large cloud of dust that obscured visibility for drivers on the route. Both drivers a

The final phase of the Nebraska Bridge demolition has now been carried out successfully. The work went according to plan, despite low temperature conditions and a blizzard on the night before the planned blast. The poor weather did not prevent this last phase of the bridge demolition, located at Rulo in Nebraska. In spite of temperatures well below freezing, the charges placed in the final section of the bridge were detonated and the structure fell into the Missouri River.

Isolux has won a contract to construct and exploit a 34km stretch of highway between Bloomington and Martinsville on Interstate 69 (section 5), which crosses Indiana state in the US. The company becomes the fourth Spanish infrastructure group to have a presence in the US highway market. The exploitation of the highway will be for 35 years, under the terms of the deal, which will involve an investment of around US$325 million. Isolux had been competing against three offers from the infrastructure funds Meri

Leighton Asia, India and Offshore has secured a contract worth US$408.14 million to construct the tunnel buildings, systems and fitting out works associated with the Central - Wanchai Bypass (CWB) tunnel in Hong Kong. This is the third project to be awarded to Leighton on the Central - Wanchai Bypass (CWB) project by the HKSAR's Highways Department, following the award of the 2010 contract for the construction of the Central Interchange and the Central Reclamation Phase III in 2009.

Papua New Guinea will receive an extra US$126.5 million from the World Bank (WB) via its international development association to rehabilitate and maintain the nation’s roads, particularly in coastal provinces. Another $30.5 million is to be provided by the Papua New Guinea government to supplement the projects of the Works Department. The 50km East Coast road in Milne Bay will be upgraded first, with other roads to be identified later. The project covers paid employment for communities who are keen on roa

A total of €13 billion has been secured for investments in Serbian road and other infrastructure projects, according to Serbia’s president and minister of transport, Velimir Ilic. President Ilic said that the funding will be used for construction of the road Corridor 11, between Belgrade and Pozega, the continuation of works between Pozega to Boljare in Montenegro, and the connection of Valjevo with Corridor 11, including further works through Ljubovija and Bratunac. He also said that the multi-million eur

The provincial council for Vizcaya in the Basque Country, northern Spain, has, via the company Interbiak, tendered the construction of the Ermua bypass, aimed at easing traffic on the busy N-634. The tender budget is €89.35 million and work is scheduled to start in summer 2014, with a scheduled completion date in 2017. The new road stretch is expected to be used daily by 9,000-12,000 vehicles. Part of the road will be a tunnel and part will be overground, creating two contracts in the tender.