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A series of major road improvement projects are to be carried out on key routes in Western Australia. In all US$1.07 billion (A$1.52 billion) is being budgeted for the work to eight important road sections in the state. The Tonking Highway will benefit from improvements to three sections. These include a widening project, a new link to connect with Mundijong, two new interchanges and a flyover. Meanwhile the Roe Highway will benefit from upgrades to two road sections., including new interchanges. Improvemen

Resurfacing work on a key road link in Madagascar is to go ahead. The work will be carried out to the 150km road section connecting Ambilobe City and Vohemar City. The resurfacing work will be paid for by a loan of US$155 million from China. Once the road improvement work is complete, journey times along the revistalised route will be reduced.

Widening work is planned for Route 2 and Route 7 in Paraguay. These highway stretches play important transport roles for the country, linking with capital Asuncion and also connecting the Eastern and Western borders of the country with neighbouring Argentina and Brazil. Construction work is due to commence in mid-2019, although the complete financing package for this PPP project has yet to be finalised. Funding of around US$500 million will be needed for the work, with the project being Paraguay’s first PPP

The tender process is opening for an important road project for Chile. The bidding process for the 142km road upgrade project is opening at the end of May 2019, with construction expected to start in 2021 once the necessary permissions process and financing package has been finalised. The work is for the improvement of the Camino de la Fruta road link, Chile’s Ruta 66. This road runs from San Antonio on the coast and connects with the country’s key north-south link, Ruta 5, at Pelequén to the north of San F

Malaysia’s Penang state has approved the PAN 1 Highway project but with conditions attached following an environmental impact study. Work could start next year on the 19.5km project – officially called the Pan Island Link 1 - that will likely cost around US$1.7 billion, according to a report in the newspaper Sundaily. The project will consist of 7.6km of viaducts, four tunnel sections totalling 10.1km in length and embankment sections totalling 1.8km. Penang Island, around 300km², is the main islan

The French excavator market rose by 1% in 2018 after a hike of 23% the year before, according to the French trade association CISMA. Wheel excavators increased by 31% while mini excavators decreased by 1%. Sales of crawler excavators were up 4% but the wheel excavator market increased by 9%. With 17,600 units sold last year - both wheel and crawler excavators - France remains the third biggest market in Europe with 16.5% of market share. It is the seventh largest market in the world. By category

A new bypass and bridge project for Tolyatti will commence in Russia’s Samara region. The bridge will span the Volga River and the work is costing US$462.4 million. The funds will be allocated in three stages. The first tranche will be received in 2019, while the second and third will be transferred in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The 97km road project includes the 3.75km bridge link, with opening due in 2024.

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is calling for a fundamental shift in how the US approaches road safety. ARTBA is emphasising the need to design and build a transportation network that better compensates for error so that drivers, passengers, workers and other road users do not pay for behavioural mistakes with their lives. The association submitted written testimony to a House Highway & Transit Subcommittee hearing, “Every Life Counts: Improving Safety of our Nation’s R

An increase in the budget has been made for the Ikot Ekpene-Aba-Owerri road widening project in South East Nigeria. This route is to be improved and widened so that it has two lanes in either direction, rather than just one at present. The route is a busy one as it provides a central link between the busy commercial city of Onitsha, Imo State capital Owerri and the state capital of Akwa Ibom State, Uyo. This route also connects Onitsha to Calabar, State capital of Cross River State, which lies close the bor