Search

An extraction operation in China is benefiting from the use of construction machines supplied by XCMG. The site, in Xinjiang, has been using XCMG XE470D and XE700D excavators since 2016. The machines have now clocked in excess of 10,000 operating hours, with operators working in shifts allowing the excavators to operate 20 hours/day. The site is located at the northern edge of the Tianshan Mountains and the south-eastern edge of the Junggar Basin. It is affected by the Indosinian and Yanshan movements, w

Christmas follies Christmas congestion was caused in Cambridgeshire due to an errant Santa. Traffic was forced to halt on a busy stretch of road in the town of Wisbech after an inflatable Santa was blown from the house where it had been secured. The giant Santa inflatable came to rest on Cromwell road, lying on its side and appearing to wave drunkenly at vehicles passing in the opposite lane. Two men then managed to remove the giant inflatable from the roadway, allowing vehicles to pass. And an overze

The latest road safety data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides a serious cause for concern. The annual global road fatality rate has increased in the three years since the WHO last carried out a study of worldwide crash statistics. The report says that 1.35 million people are now killed on the world’s roads every year, compared with a figure of 1.25 million three years ago. The problem is particularly acute in the developing world, where increasing vehicle numbers combine with poor levels

Nortech has designed a range of vehicle detectors that can be set up using a smartphone app. This tool can be used to identify the presence of vehicles through an inductive loop buried beneath a road. The vehicle detectors come with new features and are backed up with a compact diagnostic unit that links to a smartphone app. This enables quick and easy detector setup and comprehensive loop fault analysis. Stable and robust, the units offer automatic frequency selection allowing a 7-series detecto

Caterpillar is launching a mobile app designed to allow customers to take advantage of equipment telematics data. The new Cat App delivers simplified, streamlined data directly to mobile devices, helping customers monitor machine location and health, react faster to fault codes and maximise machine uptime. The new Cat App is optimised for contractors who need to track critical machine operating data fr

During the past two years, Estonia’s Road Administration has clocked up 4,021km during a retroreflectivity project on all main state roads and on basic roads. Estonia’s Road Traffic Development Department of the Estonian Road Administration has been working with ERC Consulting to gather retroreflectivity data on road markings on all main state roads and basic roads. The work has shown that out of 1,609km of main state roads, 20% had problems. The reflective effect is created by glass beads on the surf

Geveko Markings says that better visibility, reduction of noise and increased road safety are the benefits its new ViaTherm LongDot road marking. ViaTherm LongDot has been developed in collaboration with Vejdirektoratet - the Danish Road Directorate – and several of its partners within the highways sector, says Geveko. Road markings everywhere are based mainly on two types of markings. The ordinary flat road marking (Type I) and the structured profiled marking (Type II). Flat markings are noiseless

The first section of the new steel-backed timber guardrail T32 has been recently installed near the city of Dijon, in eastern France. This crash barrier, CE certified in 2018, has been selected not only for its performance but also for its aesthetic quality, perfectly fitting the beautiful scenery of the Bourgogne region, known worldwide for its famous vineyards. The T32 is made of a B-profile steel guardrail cladded with four half-round logs of 16cm. This new system has been tested at N2 containment lev

Concrete barrier expert REBLOC has developed REBLOC 100SFP_8, a powerfully flexible barrier system for new bridges as well as for bridge refurbishment. Tested freestanding, the barrier achieves containment levels H2 with working-width W3 and H4b with W5. It is also possible to achieve H4b with W4 by using an additional position securing system. The safety concrete barrier is part of the REBLOC SWITCH product line which enables the use of the same system as either a temporary or a permanent barrier. All s

Caris Guardrail became the first firm to receive the Innovative Award in the guardrail segment from the International Road Federation last November. Yu Cheol, chief executive of Caris, received the 2018 IRF Global R2T Conference & Expo Innovative Award in Las Vegas. The award was for the South Korean company’s CG10 PVC-composite Guardrail. It has a honeycomb structure for increased strength and the elasticity needed to withstand high-speed vehicle impacts. The fluorescent material enables the guardrail to