Road Structures

The speedy and safe removal of old or unwanted structures is made easier with modern, sophisticated equipment, Patrick Smith reports. The power and versatility of modern demolition tools and machines was demonstrated when a bridge was removed overnight as part of a motorway widening project.

FSP has bought the intellectual property rights for the Frangible Post System from 3M. It is now supplying the passive safety market with reinforced composite posts that will carry signs on motorways and other busy roads. The FSP product (as previously commercially developed and marketed by 3M) is designed to be strong enough to withstand turbulent weather conditions, but light and flexible enough to collapse on impact, protecting the driver and passengers and causing minimum damage to the vehicle.

Plans for a new highway connecting the African nations of Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi are gathering pace. The project is likely to cost up to US$600 million to complete and will provide a key trade route between the nations, with the economies of Malawi and Mozambique in particular need of development, while Zambia's copper mining industry will benefit from the link.Some $23 million will be required to construct the first section of the road forming the Nacala Corridor.

Major infrastructure projects worldwide are relying on innovative formwork solutions for speed and safety as Patrick Smith reports. The 970m long cable-stayed Golden Ears Bridge crossing the Fraser River in Vancouver, Canada, is the core element of a six-lane, highway project near the Canadian west coast.