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Growth in the first three-quarters of 2017 remained high for the Italian construction manufacturing sector, according to the umbrella organisation Unacea. Over the first nine months of the year, 7,964 units of construction equipment were sold in the Italian market, up 13% compared with the same period in 2016. This consisted of 7,551 earthmoving machines, up 13% year-on-year. Positive trends were also seen in the road equipment sector, which was up 11% on a similar basis, with 318 machines sold.

A series of road improvement projects will now go ahead in Sydney Australia, following funding from the New South Wales (NSW) state Government. Five road upgrade projects will be carried out, in a bid to improve traffic flow and cut congestion. The funding is worth US$91.6 million (A$115 million) in all. One road stretch due an upgrade will be Cambeltown Road. The improvements are being carried out to increase capacity in the north-west, south-west and west areas of the city

The much-needed Interstate 64 widening project in the US state of Virginia is now getting the go-ahead. The project will be handled jointly by Granite Construction, Parsons and Corman. The three firms are working in a partnership to deliver the project under the design-build model. The work will help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow at peak periods. Two lanes and high occupancy toll lanes will be added to the route, increasing capacity.

Funding worth US$1.2 billion will help pay for the stage two portion of the project to upgrade the Northwest Trade Corridor project in Bangladesh. The highway will improve transport connections to and from Dhaka, with stage two being for the 190km stretch between Elenga and Rangpur. This funding is being provided by the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), although further financing from the Bangladesh Government will pay for the remaining $472.6 million required for this highway section.

Wolffkran International has replaced its WOLFF 6015 clear with the WOLFF 6020 clear, the Swiss crane manufacturer has announced. A major improvement over its predecessor is an increased tip load capacity. Two versions are available. The new flat-top saddle jib is now available as the 6tonne WOLFF 6020.6 clear and the 8tonne version WOLFF 6020.8 clear, with three different tower connections per version. "Compared to its predecessor, the 6tonne version can lift 2tonnes instead of 1.5tonnes at the tip

An analysis of truck crashes in Australia has highlighted that speeding is the primary cause. The report has been compiled by National Transport Insurance (NTI). Speeding was a cause of 21.4% of major truck crashes in 2015, although this was lower than the 27% in 2013. Driving while tired accounted for 12.2% of truck crashes. Among multi-vehicle fatal incidents, the driver of a car or light vehicle was deemed responsible. The report highlights key problems with regard to changes in driver behaviour and in p

An innovative electric road concept has been developed in Sweden by researchers at Lund University.. The new system features a conductive rail on the road surface, which is inactive until an EV passes over the top. The EV can be charged with up to 160kW by the rail, with the system offering an efficiency claimed to be as high as 97%. The system could allow EVs to feature smaller, lower cost batteries as range extension would be delivered by the charging system instead.

The tender process is being restarted for the project to drive the Zheleznitsa Tunnel, which will form part of Bulgaria’s Struma Highway. The tunnel project is expected to cost €128 million in all to construct with the work being split into three separate lots. Two of the lots, I and III are smaller packages for the roads at either end of the project, with the most valuable tender, Lot II, being for the €99.2 million deal to construct the tunnel itself. The tender process is being managed by the Bulgarian R

There is strong resistance mounting in Bolivia against the construction of a road link through the country’s TIPNIS national park, a conservation area. The new road is intended to improve transport connections between Villa Tunari and San Ignacio de Moxos.