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Work is due to start on an important highway project in Australia’s Queensland State in mid-2020. The second phase of the improvement works for the M1 Pacific Motorway will cost an estimated US$528.3 million (A$749 million). Although the work is only for an 8km stretch, the project is costly as this wide section of the route carries heavy traffic, around 150,000 vehicles/day on average. The improvement project will add facilities for buses. A stretch of motorway will be widened to five lanes in one directio

A 15km stretch of the Waikato Expressway project in New Zealand will open to traffic at the beginning of 2020. Building the expressway has taken five years and comes with a total pricetag of US$262.7 million (NZ$408 million). The final section of the route will be open in late 2021 and will bypass the city of Hamilton.

Norway is reconsidering its key transport plan aimed at removing the need for ferries along its coast. The programme was intended to build bridges and tunnels along the E39 route connecting Trondheim and Kristiansand. The route runs from Kristiansand in the south of the country, along the coastline. Norway’s scenic coast features many fjords, with ferries currently crossing many of these. However the plan had been to build a series of bridges and tunnels to speed transport. Faced with spiralling cost

The organisers of the upcoming Samoter construction machinery show are bullish about the 2020 event. According to the show organisers, registrations are up 39% and bookings up 66% from the previous event. Liebherr and Wacker Neuson return after the last attending the trade fair in 2011. Confirmations have also been received from Bobcat, Doosan, Eurocomach, Hidromek, Hyundai, Komatsu, Sany, Takeuchi, Venieri and Yanmar The event, the 31st Samoter exhibition, is benefiting from larger show areas in the hal

Rebuilding work is being planned for one of Ukraine’s major highway connections.

Plans are being drawn up in Indonesia for development work to the Route 1 road link connecting Demak to Tuban and Gresik on the island of Java. The road tolling company Waskita Toll Road is working on the plans for the 236km route and will carry out a pre-feasibility study. The project is likely to be handled in partnership between Waskita Toll Road and Jasa Marga.

A major motorway concession package has been awarded in Brazil to road company EcoRodovias.

Funding has been secured to carry out motorway construction and road rebuilding work in the Bosnian autonomous entity Republika Srpska. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide €351 million to build new motorway connections and improve existing roads in the territory. Of this funding package, €150 million will be used for the Corridor 5 project.

The FIEC, which represents Europe’s contracting firms, is calling for greater spending on developing the transportation network. According to the FIEC, a stronger EU budget for transport is of importance for the European economy. An official statement said, “On its own, completing the TEN-T network will create 10 million extra jobs by 2030. State-of-the art transport infrastructure is also an investment in long-term growth and jobs. Investing €750 billion could generate € 4,551 billion additional GDP.” The

Funding has been secured in the UK for 18 road improvement schemes intended to cut journey times. These works have been given the go ahead by the Department for Transport. The projects include the Preston western distributor scheme, which will provide a new dual carriageway to reduce congestion in the city, and the 3.5km Stubbington bypass. Seven other schemes will be awarded funding to develop their business cases. These include the A140 Long Stratton Bypass, which will divert traffic away from busier rou