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External funding will pay for maintenance and safety upgrades on Ukraine’s road network. A deal was struck between Ukraine’s state highway agency Ukravtodor and the World Bank for a loan to cover the necessary work. The US$450 million loan will provide the financing required for Ukraine’s Federal programme of road improvements. Surface quality and safety upgrades will be carried out on a series of major road links, with the Kiev - Kharkov highway section between Lubny and Poltava having been identified as a

The contract for maintenance of the St Petersburg Ring Road has been awarded to PO RosDorStroy. The deal is worth some US$183 million and will run until mid-2018 and the ring road (KAD) has been maintained by PO RosDorStroy since construction commenced. The deal was awarded by the Directorate of St Petersburg Transport Bypass Construction (DSTO).

A series of safety improvements have made major gains in reducing accident numbers and severity on roads in the UK with a bad record. The use of safety features such as high-friction surfaces, repainted white lines and road markings have reduced crashes on a number of the UK’s worst roads for accidents. The Road Safety Foundation’s 2012 Tracking Survey shows that for nine out of the UK’s 10 most improved roads lining, signing and safety surfaces delivered both safety and economic rewards. Safety engineering

UK-based driving group the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) is launching its new winter driving campaign. The IAM’s winter driving campaign is intended to help motorists prepare their cars and drive them safely this winter. The campaign includes a website, drivingadvice.org.uk, containing advice, traffic updates and weather forecasts. The IAM will also be publishing weekly news releases and driving tips in reaction to the winter weather as part of the campaign.

A new bridge link will be constructed between Botswana and Zambia in Southern Africa. Some of the funding for the bridge is being provided in the form of a US$113 million loan from the Japanese Government. The Kazungula bridge project is expected to cost $260 million in all. Close to $78.5 million is coming from the African Development Bank and Zambia is providing $1.6 million while the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will offer $42 millionn. The work will commence in 2014 and the bridge sh

China’s Liaoning Province is expanding its highway network with a programme of upgrades and new construction. By the end of 2015 Liaoning Province will have up to 4,500km of highways. The province is building some 2,600km of highways for the 2011-2015 period. In all there will be 20 new highways, with the work costing US$14.36 billion in all. The authorities in the province are also spending $17.5 billion on road development during the 2011-2015 period.

Vietnam's Quang Ninh province has backed a new design proposed by Japanese developer SE Group for the 4.3km Bach Dang Bridge. The new design will change the original prestressed concrete bridge design to a steel cable-stayed bridge. The modification will lower the girder height, reduce the bridge length and alter the main span length. The altered draft is awaiting final approval from the authorities. SE Group has also requested to cut the expenses for the project to US $ 386 million from $ 483 million. The

The length of highways in Henan Province, China will be increased by around 1,460km to 8,070km by 2020 under a highway network revision plan unveiled by the provincial government. The Henan government is considering three highways with a total length of about 512km and 10 that span a combined 948km. Henan already has the longest highways of all Chinese provinces.

Strong interest is being shown in the project to build the new Chacao Bridge in Chile. The country’s Ministry of Public Works has said that 41 companies have bought details of the terms and conditions for the tender to build the bridge. Around 70% of the firms interested come from outside Chile. The bridge will be located in Chiloe and is expected to cost in the region of US$740 million to construct. Chile’s Ministry of Public Works hopes that additional firms will purchase the tender details before the dea