Road Structures

A new report highlights concern over bridge condition on Germany’s road network. Maintenance spending will have to be boosted considerably in the 2012-2016 period for the country’s road (and rail) bridges to be brought back up to the level required. Germany will have to spend some €2.75 billion on maintenance and repair of bridges around the country to ensure that condition is optimal. The survey was carried out by Joachim Naumann for the German industry association BDI and other groups and this revealed ho

Rebuilding work on Moscow’s Warshavsoye Shosse highway is due to commence shortly. The work looks set to be carried out by the ARKS Group, although final details of the contract have yet to be agreed. The work is expected to cost in the order of US$381 million to carry out. Work will include building a section of elevated road, a tunnel, seven pedestrian underpasses, and a two-level interchange. The project is due for completion by 2013.

Technical investigations have highlighted structural issues with a bridge on a key bridge link on a highway in Quebec, Canada. The bridge on the 20 East highway close to the Pierre-Laporte exit in Lévis requires repair work. The bridge was built in 1965 and will be completely rebuilt so that a third lane can be added to the 20 East highway as far as the Président-Kennedy exit in Lévis. A contract has been awarded to Cima+-Dessau for the work, which is expected to commence in 2013.

Plans for a €325million (US$423.76million) fixed transport link project in Estonia will be presented to the country’s Government in early 2012, according to a senior road planning official.

A majority of Americans believe new transportation projects should be paid for with user-fees instead of tax increases, according to a new national Reason-Rupe poll of 1,200 adults on cell phones and land lines.

The contractor driving the 2.1km tunnel on Bosnia’s Gacko-Foca highway has completed the necessary excavation work and is now starting on finishing the lining of the bore. This tunnel is due to open to traffic in late 2012 and some of the €37 million financing for this work has come from the government of the autonomous entity Republika Srpska. The tunnel is one of two on the route, which also features two bridges and a viaduct. Bosnian contractor Integral Inzinjering has been working on the tunnel.

The Chilean Government is planning to spend over US$2 billion on a series of large infrastructure projects. These are aimed at improving the country's links with its neighbours. The top priority projects are the Cristo Redentor pass; the Agua Negra bi-national tunnel; and the bi-oceanic rail corridor Paranagua-Antofagasta.

China's Ji'an city is investing an impressive US$11.88 billion in developing transportation during the 12th Five-Year Plan, while the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is offering a loan worth US$200 million to China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The new steel-truss bridge linking Simikot in Nepal’s Humla district headquarters has now been inaugurated. The road will link Nepal with Hilsa in China and the bridge will span the Karnali River. This bridge will be completed within a year and the Nepalese Government will award the road construction to the Nepalese Army to speed work. The road was started 10 years ago but progress was slow and could not be completed due to insufficient budget. Helicopters will have to be used to carry some of the construct

The US Department of Transportation has given the go-ahead for the I-5 Columbia River Crossing project, which will link Washington and Oregon states. The plans involve replacing the existing Interstate 5 Columbia River Crossing Bridges and building a new interstate transit link.