Road Structures

Geosynthetics for base reinforcement

April 10, 2012

Tensar is making some key moves internationally, as well as in terms of market segments. The company is now marketing the GlasGrid range in the US and expects to develop healthy sales, however it sees major growth potential with the Geogrid product range. Jim Penman, director for bi-axial products & applications said: "One area we're moving into is base reinforcement and in particular what we're looking at is mechanistic emirical (ME) technology." Tensar has worked with the University of Illinois on a new d

New Penang Bridge takes shape

April 10, 2012

Construction work on the longest bridge in Malaysia and South-East Asia is well underway. Malaysia and South-East Asia is well underway. When completed, the cable-stayed bridge will have a two-lane carriageway and a motorcycle lane in each direction, and will connect Batu Kawan on the mainland to Seberang Perai and Batu Maung on Penang Island. The main span will be 250m long with a length over water of 17km and a 30m height above the water. Costing an estimated US$1.5 billion the 24km long bridge is being b

Order for world's largest TBM

April 10, 2012

Russian operator company NCC (Nevskaya Concession Company) has placed an order with German manufacturer Herrenknecht for the world's largest tunnel boring machine (TBM). The Mixshield TBM, for construction of the Orlovski Tunnel, "will surpass all previous TBMs" with a diameter of 19.25m and it is designed to construct a mega-tunnel to link both halves of the centre of Russia's second city St Petersburg under the River Neva and speed up traffic.

Auckland Harbour bridge celebrates 50 years

April 5, 2012

The bridge over Auckland Harbour celebrates its half century this year, and it has been given a major upgrade to ensure that safety is maintained in New Zealand's largest city. Mary Searle reports. Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, home to nearly a third of the entire country's population. It's a sprawling metropolis, and its 1.3 million people are spread over 637km² of city, suburbs and islands. The Auckland Harbour Bridge, which celebrates its 50th birthday in May, is a vital link in the city's road

Compressor system reduces dust in tunnelling

April 5, 2012

Italian firm Indeco is now offering a novel compressor system that can be mounted on an excavator being used with a breaker in tunnelling operations.

Korean bridge construction poses challenges

April 5, 2012

On South Korea's southern coast, an innovative highway sea crossing is providing many engineering challenges The new Busan-Geoje crosses from South Korea's second city to its biggest island and is slightly shorter than the 12km of the country's famous Incheon project. In addition the main cable stay bridge for the Busan-Geoje project has a 475m span rather than the 800m of the Incheon central span. However the 8.2km Busan-Geoje project faces perhaps greater technical challenges and also includes a second b

Developing a new range of tunnelling machines

April 5, 2012

A new agreement between Volvo and Sweden's CeDe Group will see a new range of tunneling machines coming to the market.

Silk Road: 'viable alternative'

April 4, 2012

The final results of the International Road Transport Union's (IRU) New Eurasian Land Transport Initiative (NELTI)-Phase 2 have confirmed road trade links between Europe and Asia as an economically-attractive and viable alternative to traditional, saturated maritime trading routes. This was unveiled at the recent 6th IRU Euro-Asian Road Transport Conference and Ministerial Meeting held in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, which concluded that removing the remaining procedural impediments at borders and deve

Holding back

April 4, 2012

AN INNOVATIVE slurry wall solution has been used by Bachy Soletanche at the Alderley Edge By-Pass project in the UK. Bachy Soletanche provided assistance for the A34 Alderley Edge by-pass project in the UK being carried out by main contractor Birse Civils. This solution was required to tackle challenges posed by the water table at the Welsh Row section. Bachy Soletanche used its experience with slurry cut-off walls, a technique rarely used in Britain on road construction, to benefit a tricky section of the

Normet to invest over €7 million

April 4, 2012

Underground construction in the world is increasing, metal ores are mined deeper, and there is an ever-growing demand in emerging countries for metals, infrastructure and energy.