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French contractor DSD Démolition was one of three firms that worked on the recent demolition of the A55 highway flyover in Marseilles, France. The 20-year-old flyover stood near the harbour and formed part of a main route through Marseille leading to Lyon and Avignon. However, it was an ugly structure and spoiled the city's landscape so as part of the wider regeneration taking part in Marseille's harbour, the 1.3km bridge had to be demolished within three months. DSD Démolition had two operators for each of

Modern satellite technology is making life easier for everyone on the construction site and in the office. Most major equipment manufacturers are now integrating GPS machine control systems into the design of excavators, bulldozers, pavers, and motor graders. For stake-less work it is a major component for automatic grading, surveying, and excavating systems, with contractors and construction companies using GPS machine control systems to improve operations.

Atlas Copco says that its medium-size MB1500 hydraulic breaker is both versatile and productive. Robust and sturdy in design, this hammer can be used for demolition, trenching or quarrying work. Straightforward and reliable, the MB1500 is said to have low maintenance needs and is not fitted with a high-pressure accumulator, reducing the number of moving components it features. However the unit is equipped with Atlas Copco's StartSelect and AutoControl packages, which allow start-up and shutdown to match th

Huge investments are being made in major road construction projects for North Africa. The biggest is the 'Autoroute Transmaghrébine' highway, which is also Africa's largest ever road construction project. Once complete, the highway will connect the Maghreb states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya and will have a total length of 3,200km.

Elliott Equipment is offering a versatile and mobile, crawler-mounted off-road crane and excavating unit. Called the 30105DT, the machine features a maximum capacity of 27tonnes, a telescopic boom that extends to 32m and a 35m tip height.

Roadtec is offering a new cold recycling machine, the RT-500, aimed at duties in projects using the recycling train concept. Electrically powered by a Cat C9 generator set, the RT-500 can handle up to 600 tonnes/hour of material and is designed to crush and screen the recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) produced by an RX-900 cold planer. It has a JCI double deck screen that sorts milled material provided by the RX-900's conveyor. Any oversized material is fed back into the RT-500's Telsmith 3048 impact crusher

The University of Birmingham's internationally renowned Highways Group links with IRF to host this year's premier Forum for Advances in Sustainable Roads, from 12 to 24 April, 2010. For over 15 years, the Senior Road Executives Programme (SRE) has provided continuing professional development for road practitioners