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Funding has been secured to pay for the Gympie bypass project in Queensland, Australia. The 26km project is expected to cost US$ 767.4 million (A$1 billion) in all. The Australian Government will provide 80% of the funding required, with the remaining 20% being provide by Queensland State’s budget. This section of road will extend the Bruce Highway and is intended to cut congestion in the area.

A new highway stretch measuring 28km long is opening in Macedonia. The work has been carried out by the Greek contractor Aktor. The project has cost €227 million. The new highway section runs from Demir Kapija to Smokvica. Financing has been provided jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), a number of funds and also by Macedonia’s own budget. The completion of this section of highway now completes the route connecting the north and south of

Funding has been secured to pay for rebuilding work on the Transchaco road in Paraguay. A series of loans worth a total of US$560 million is paying for the rebuilding work. The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) is providing the bulk of the funding in the shape of a loan worth $400 million. Meanwhile the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is providing a loan of $160 million for the work.

A US$452 million highway upgrade project will be carried out in India by the contractor, Ashoka Mallasandra Karadi Road. This firm is a subsidiary of Indian company Dilip Buildcon. The work involves upgrading a section of the existing NH206 route and widening it so that it features two lanes in either direction. The highway stretch being worked on is from Shivamogga to Tumkur. The contract was awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Topcon Positioning Group is expanding its portfolio with the acquisition of Viasys VDC, a Finnish infrastructure construction software development company. The purchase is intended to strengthen Topcon’s software development expertise. This will support delivery of advanced Topcon virtual design and construction solutions with BIM interoperability. Topcon has now acquired all the outstanding shares of Viasys VDC after having bought a significant percentage of its holdings in early 2016. Jason Hallett, VP of

Robert W Poole, director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation is publishing a new book, Rethinking America’s Highways, suggesting a new strategy for the sector. The book provides “A 21st-Century Vision for Better Infrastructure,” according to Poole, offering solutions for dealing with the country’s poor highway condition. His suggestion is for “a new model that treats highways like public utilities”, with drivers paying for their use. The books argues for highway spending to be directed by economic

Bentley Systems is acquiring Plaxis, a Netherlands-based provider of geotechnical software. In addition, Bentley also has an agreement to acquire soil engineering software provider SoilVision, based in Saskatchewan, Canada. The acquisitions develop Bentley’s capabilities in the geotechnical sector. These deals allow BIM advancements to be extended to subsurface engineering for infrastructure projects. Projects commence with geotechnical surveys and sampling, captured with Bentley’s gINT for versatile

New crash data from New Zealand points to a worrying trend for car occupants. In around 30% of fatal crashes, lack of seatbelt use is a primary factor in occupant deaths. An analysis of 200 fatal crashes in which occupants were not using seatbelts shows that 75% of those killed were male. Meanwhile 84% of the incidents occurred on rural roads. Many of those killed were young drivers while alcohol also played a role in many of the incidents. Research suggests that around 90% of vehicle occupants in New

A loan package from the World Bank will help pay for a major rural road programme in India. The US$210 million loan is being used for rural road development in Madhya Pradesh State. The upgrade work will see a total of 10,000km of gravels roads in Madhya Pradesh State being surfaced with asphalt, while a further 510km of new rural roads will be built in the state and will be surfaced with asphalt. This will be for the Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project.