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Tunnel construction benefits from improved visibility

November 14, 2012

Major new tunnel construction projects will, on completion, help secure more reliable journey times for hundreds of thousands of people across the world. Meanwhile, as Guy Woodford reports, leading ITS solution companies have been providing vital equipment for major road tunnels The Martina Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), a 4,500tonne Herrenknecht Earth Pressure Balance Shield said to have a world record diameter of 15.55m, has required just under a year to build the first of two tunnel tubes for the 2.5km lon

A key traffic exhibition and conference will be held in the US in early 2013

November 14, 2012

The 43rd annual convention and traffic exhibition will be held in San Diego, California in February 2013. The convention runs from February 22nd-26th while the TrafficExpo is from February 24th-26th. Run by the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) this event will feature a diverse array of conference topics as well as safety technology. ATSSA has now returned to running the event with its earlier format, opening with the conference sessions, and then running on with the exhibition.

Tender opening for crucial new Bulgarian highway

November 14, 2012

The authorities in Bulgaria are in the tender process for the new Sofia-Kalotina highway project. The tender is for a 31.5km section of highway that will connect Bulgarian capital Sofia with Kalotina on the border with Serbia. The deadline for submitting the tender offers is 7th January 2013. Meanwhile in Sofia itself, a €100 million project to improve key roads in the city is now due to commence. Some €50 million of the funding required for the project is being provided in loan form by the European Invest

Safety gains have been seen on Italy’s roads

November 14, 2012

The latest official data shows an improvement in Italy’s road safety statistics. During 2011 the statistics reveal a 2.7% drop in road accidents compared with the previous year. The data showed a 5.6% fall in fatalities in 2011 compared with the previous year, as well as a 3.5% drop in road crashes causing injuries. The total number of road accidents reported stood at 205,638, causing 292,019 injuries and 3,860 fatalities. However, a worrying trend revealed that the number of fatalities and serious injuries

A major new tunnel being built in Mexico

November 13, 2012

Plans are in hand in Mexico for a new road tunnel that will provide a key link. The 7km tunnel will be constructed at Acapulco port, in Guerrero state. The project is expected to cost in the order of US$214.75 million to complete. Work is due to commence in late January 2013 and should be completed within a two year time scale. The new tunnel will help improve logistics and communications for firm using the port. The project is being carried out by Mexican contractor ICA.

A new bridge building programme is planned for India

November 13, 2012

In India a major bridge building programme is being planned by the authorities. The country’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) intends to erect over 35,000m of bridges within the next five years. The road network in India at present features around 100,000 bridges, of which some 15,000 bridges are on National Highways. India's Road Transport and Highways Ministry is keen to use pre-fabricated bridges where possible, so as to reduce costs and speed erection. These may well be used in areas of the country feat

Police in Europe are getting tough on driving under the influence

November 13, 2012

Police in Europe are using tough enforcement to tackle the problem of drivers under the influence of drink and drugs. A series of measures have been employed to enforce drink driving and drug driving regulations across Europe. Police conducted more than 900,000 breath tests in a seven-day operation this summer. Of these, nearly 18,000 drivers tested positive for alcohol. Motorists were also checked for drugs in the operation. In total, 928,863 drivers were checked and there were 17,970 alcohol and 2,773 dru

Are road tolls the economic answer?

November 12, 2012

Tolling has been widely promoted as the answer to future road needs by many economists. The fundamental principle of a toll road is comparatively easy to understand: a driver wants to get from here to there and pays a small sum for the privilege. Drivers generally prefer to access roads without having to pay but the sums involved in toll roads tend to be comparatively low. For all but the most parsimonious, parting with a few coins to use a stretch of highway in good order is comparatively painless, made ev

Major highway connection for New Zealand

November 12, 2012

Work on a major new highway connection is now underway in New Zealand. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) says that preparatory work for a 4.5km stretch of highway is underway. Actual construction expected to commence in late December 2012. Completion of the project is due by 2016, with the highway costing some US$1.32 billion. The project will see the construction of a six lane link connecting State Highways 16 and 20 in Auckland.

A major highway in Belarus will be reconstructed

November 12, 2012

The Belarus Ministry of Transport is setting out a budget to rebuild the country’s most important highway links. The country’s Federal Highway will be reconstructed and the Ministry of Transport will publish the tender for the repair work in 2013. The project is expected to cost in the region of US$4.75 billion to carry out and is planned for completion by 2018.