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Financing worth over US$705 million (A$1 billion) has been secured for road projects in New South Wales, Australia. This budget is for the 2019-2020 period and will pay for over 40 separate road projects. One of the key road projects targeted in the programme of works is for the M4 Smart Motorway, connecting Parramattta and Penrith. The work to the M4 is expected to cost $75.75 million (A$107.4 million). Meanwhile in Adelaide, South Australia, plans are in hand for a $283.5 million (A$402 million) grade

Russia’s Sochi highway project will not now be completed by 2024. The original plan was to build a 119.km new route to replace the existing A147 route that connects Dzhubga with Sochi. Because of the challenging terrain, this project to build a new four lane highway without the twists and turns of the existing route would have been extremely costly, with a pricetag of as much as US$18 billion. However the project has now been downgraded as being of a lesser priority than other Russian road projects ongoing

A finance package worth US$63.4 million has been secured for upgrade work to the ring road around Ghana’s second city, Kumasi. This financing will help to pay for the first stage of the ring road improvement project, for a 100km stretch of the route. Funding for the second stage of the project, measuring 143km, has yet to be secured however.

Russia’s Federal Road Agency, Rosavtodor, has awarded the contract to upgrade the second stage of the Scandinavia highway. The US$130 million package of works will be carried out by the local firm VAD. The contract includes building an overpass, two road bridges and a pedestrian bridge. The work is due for completion in late 2021. In all, the widening of the Scandinavia Highway is expected to cost $1.35 billion. The work has been split into five main sections and this work is due for completion in 2030.

Poland’s General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) reports that that the three bids for the Czestochowa A1 motorway section exceed the agency’s budget. The least expensive bid was nearly €101 million, submitted by a consortium of Strabag Infrastruktura Poludnie, Budimex and Budpol. Lemar bid around €121 million while Intercor bid €159 million. GDDKiA said that the bids will not automatically be rejected. Earlier this year GDDKiA terminated its contract with Salini Polska, signed

Road widening work will be carried out in the Australian state of Queensland as part of the Gateway Motorway project. A budget of US$141 million (A$200 million) has been set for the work by the Queensland State Government. Meanwhile the Australian Federal Government will contribute from $564 million to $705 million (A$800 million to A$1 billion) for the project. This latest stage of the massive Gateway Motorway project involves widening the stretch of the route between Bracken Ridge and the Bruce State High

The latest research reveals that the use of hands-free phone systems is just as dangerous as driving drunk. The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has carried out extensive research into the use of cellphones by drivers. Moves to improve road safety in the UK have seen a reduction in the casualty rate, with a notable drop in the 2007-2012 period. However in the last five years, there has been minimal progress, with the UK’s road casualty figures remaining broadly static. There is particular concern

Romania’s transport ministry says it plans to build animal crossings over the A1 motorway between Lugoj and Deva in the west of the country. The crossings will be over a 9km section of the A1 and cost around €180 million, said Razvan Cuc, the transport minister. nTenders will be issued for both the design and construction with work to start by the end of the summer. When completed, likely by the end of this year, the A1 will be 576km long and run across Romania in a south-east to north-west direction.