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Work is now underway on the Empalme Nejapa-Empalme Puerto Sandino highway in Nicaragua. The project is costing some US$40 million and the road forms part of the route connecting capital Managua with the country’s second largest city, Leon. Survey work is determining whether the road requires additional structural improvements and also to see if the budget is sufficient to widen the section to four lanes. The section of road will be constructed from concrete with a thickness of 180mm and it is expected to la

Thailand is targeting an annual 7% reduction in road accident deaths, according to the Public Health Ministry's Permanent Secretary Narong Sahametapat. The target has been revised after the previous ambitious target of slashing the death toll from road accidents by 50% from 2011-2020 was deemed unachievable based on statistics for 2011 and 2012. In 2012, 14,059 people were killed in road accidents in Thailand, up from 14,033 people recorded in 2011.

Indian company IL&FS Transportation Networks (IL&FS Transportation) will push ahead with vital major national road projects after securing loans worth more than US$480 million from lenders such as Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank and IL&FS Financial Services. Of the loaned amount, $211.84 million from Yes Bank will be used to help finance the expansion of the Khed-Sinnar Section of NH-50 in Maharashtra to four lanes, while another $272.43 million from IL&FS Financial Services and IndusInd Bank will be used to hel

A study carried out by a researcher in the University of Nottingham reveals improving safety on British roads. The study focussed on data from England and Wales and shows that fatality levels in 2009 were 41% lower than in 1960. The study highlighted several key factors as having improved safety and reduced the death toll including the mandatory use of child seats and seat belts and car design changes, as well as specialist trauma centres and more rigid enforcement of drink-drive laws and speed limits. One

A new road link for Armenia will help improve the country’s connections to its neighbours and provide a through-route for transport. Around US$967 million will be required to build the North-South motor road, with the work set to commence in 2014. The Armenian Government will contribute $100 million while funding will also be provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Once the road is complete it will run through Armenia from the country’s borders with Iran and Geor

A road construction contract worth US$1.07 billion has been awarded to China Railway Construction in Nigeria. The Ministry of Delta Affairs of Nigeria awarded the package of works for Section V of the A121 East-West highway to China Civil Engineering Construction, a division of China Railway Construction. The work is expected to take five years to complete and includes design as well as construction. When it is complete, the A121 will connect Nigeria’s two main North-South highways. Its route runs from the

Only one consortium has submitted a technical bid in the tender for a project to build the Chacao bridge in Chile. The bridge will link Chiloe island with Chile’s mainland Los Lagos region. The Chilean government has earmarked a maximum project budget of US$740 million. The consortium that has submitted the technical bid, which would see the construction of a four-lane bridge, is made up of Hyundai of South Korea, Systra of France, Brazilian company OAS and Aas-Jakobsen of Norway. The consortium has

Regional authorities in Slovakia have been pointing out poor condition of the roads across the country and the absence of the €700 million plus they say is required for their repair. Eight self-governing regions manage around 14,000km of roads, of which some 4,000km are said to be in critical condition. Between 2009 and 2013 regions invested around €283 million into the maintenance and repairs of roads. However, officials of the Presov self-governing region estimate that a further €298 million is needed

Astec Industries executive Richard Patek is to head the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) trade group in 2014. Patek, Group President Aggregate and Mining at Astec Industries, is among the AEM’s newly-elected officers and directors for 2014, following a vote at the North American-based association’s recent annual meeting. The full list of newly elected AEM officers for 2014 are Chair Richard Patek, Group President Aggregate and Mining of Astec Industries; Vice Chair Robert Kolb, Vice Presid

Parsons has won an award for its work on the Caldecott Fourth Bore Project. The award comes from Roads & Bridges magazine as the top (US) road project of 2013. Parsons worked as prime consultant on the US$417 million tunnel project, working with Jacobs Associates. The project involved constructing a fourth bore through the Berkeley Hills, near Oakland, California. Parsons was responsible for preliminary engineering and the final design of the tunnel, the operations building, and two associated roadway proje