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The US infrastructure network requires urgent attention - * T Peter Ruane. America's transportation infrastructure was once the "shining light on top of the hill." Major investments in a national highway, bridge, transit, airport, port and waterway system during the 20th century paid great dividends. The free and efficient flow of goods and people across the 50 states led to unparalleled economic expansion. The mobility and prosperity resulting from an interconnected infrastructure was a model for the world

XGMA has a long history of building construction equipment having commenced production in 1951. Wheeled loaders were the firm’s main output for many years though the range has widened considerably and now also includes excavators, soil compactors and backhoe loaders, for example. Outside of China the firm has strong export sales and sells well into Latin America, the Middle East and Russian and is looking to recruit staff in Brazil during 2012, according to Joaqim Zheng, sales director for Central and South

Shantui is moving steadily up the dozer size scale and its new SD52-5 bulldozer is the largest and most powerful the firm has ever made. This is also the biggest dozer made in China. Powered by a fuel-efficient diesel rated at 390kW, the SD5-5 is said to be both productive and economical to buy and run. The cab meets ROPS/FOPS requirements while also offering operator comfort and all-round visibility.

Sany is introducing several new machines with improved performance, including the SHG130 grader and SSR260 soil compactor. For earthmoving operations Sany has developed the SSR260 soil compactor and SHG190 grader. The 26.7tonne soil compactor is designed for low maintenance needs, with features including positive lubrication air-intake filtering and fuel filtering. Vibration damping makes the machine comfortable to operate for longer periods while an electronic diagnostics system ensures that the operator c

Last year's flooding in the Australian state of New South Wales left the roads in the Richmond Valley in a poor state with 400km in need of urgent repair. To quickly meet the aggregate demand for the work, Richmond Valley Council called on contract crushing specialist M&M Crushing to produce 100,000tonnes of 20mm road base and 7mm, 10mm and 14mm graded aggregates from Peterson's Quarry.

Egis has an innovative approach to addressing construction defects - *Martin O’Flaherty, Jean Pohu. Defects often become apparent after construction projects are handed over to the client and this is a common problem across most highway projects. The problem is shared by highway operators who have assumed the responsibility of managing such projects.