Skip to main content

Search

Improving road safety worldwide
June 27, 2019
The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) says that road safety requires a major transformation to halve road fatalities by 2020. Data shows that road injuries present a significant public health concern worldwide. Road crashes are one of the top 10 causes of death globally. But despite roads in the EU becoming safer each year, the reduction of road fatalities since 2010 has reached a plateau. In 2018, there were 25,100 reported road fatalities across the 28 EU member states. The average road fatality
Montreal’s Champlain Bridge opens but late and over-budget
June 27, 2019
Montreal’s US$3.5-billion, 3.4km-long Samuel de Champlain Bridge has opened after four years of construction and months of delays, according to Canadian media reports. Work is continuing on the cycle and pedestrian paths and eventually a light-rail train will run down the middle of the six lane bridge over the St. Lawrence River. The new structure has a life-span of 125 years and runs alongside its namesake Champlain Bridge, a steel truss cantilever that opened in 1962 which will be demolished. Accord
Slovakia’s Budimir-Bidovce motorway stretch to open by December
June 25, 2019
Slovakia’s 14km stretch of the east-west motorway D1, from Bidovce to Budimir, will open in December, according to the government. Last year, Slovakia’s motorway company NDS and the transport ministry agreed a subsidy of nearly €204 million for the D1 section. The EU is covering 85% of the project cost, while the remaining 15% is covered by the government for construction the Budimir-to-Bidovce stretch, near the city of Kosice. The section, being built by Skanska for almost €237 million, is part of th
Mersey Gateway Bridge has won IABSE’s Outstanding Structure Award
June 25, 2019
The UK’s Mersey Gateway Bridge has picked up the Outstanding Structure Award 2019 from IABSE, the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering*. Judges described the bridge, designed by Cowi, as "an elegantly integrated solution for a multi-span concrete cable stay bridge in which form follows function". "Everyone involved with the design and construction the Mersey Gateway Bridge over the past six years knows that this is an incredibly special structure,” said Paul Sanders, Cowi’s
Norway tops European Traffic Safety Council safety table again
June 25, 2019
For the fourth consecutive year, Norway has topped traffic safety in the Europe Union as reported by the European Traffic Safety Council (ETSC). In 2018, the number of persons killed on Norwegian roads was 20 per million inhabitants. Next lowest was Switzerland with 27 per million inhabitants, followed by the UK with 30. Romania was the worst country with 96 killed per million inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria with 87 and Serbia with 78. The EU average was 49. Norway had 108 persons were killed in
Financing being secured for Colombian highway project
June 24, 2019
The finance package required for Colombia’s Popayan-Santander de Quilichao highway project is being secured. The highway forms part of Colombia’s fourth generation (4G) motorway plan. Costing US$692.5 million, the necessary financing should be in place by July 2019. The work includes building 78km of dual carriageway and no less than 31 bridges. It also includes improving 18km of single carriageway roads and also installing two new toll booths. The construction work is expected to take a further 36 months t
Brazil road financing solutions
June 24, 2019
Solutions have been found that will help finance key road projects in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro State. A combination of road concession packages and PPP agreements are expected to deliver the US$2.16 billion required to carry out the 142 projects needed for key infrastructure work in Rio de Janeiro State. Some of the infrastructure projects are for utilities or waste handling, but around 80% of the works needed for Rio de Janeiro’s southern region will be for road maintenance or upgrades. Key highways in need
Financing package to help build Nigerian road project
June 24, 2019
Financing worth US$70 million is being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a key road project in Nigeria. The 198km road project will help improve transport in Ebonyi State, as well as between Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon. The project is expected to cost close to $168 million. The route of the Ebonyi Ring Road intersects with the new highway being built to link Enugu in Nigeria with Bamenda in Cameroon at two interchanges. This new ring road will provide better transport flow for the k
Russian road contracts for Moscow and St Petersburg
June 24, 2019
Two major road projects are being planned for Russia’s first and second cities, Moscow and St Petersburg. Bidding is opening for the project to build a stretch of Moscow’s North-East Expressway. The work is expected to cost around US$780.6 million and includes building five viaducts and three bridges, as well as rebuilding the existing Novosavinovsky Bridge. Meanwhile in St Petersburg, construction work for the Eastern High-Speed Diameter (VSD) is now being held back until 2022 at the earliest. The work i
Innovative bridge design in the US wins key industy award
June 24, 2019
The HDR-designed Marc Basnight Bridge in North Carolina recently won the Deep Foundation Institute’s Outstanding Project Award.