Chile's Ministry of Public Works has revealed that work on the Vespucio Oriente highway will now cost US$2 billion.
March 1, 2012
Read time: 1 min
906 Chile's Ministry of Public Works has revealed that work on the Vespucio Oriente highway will now cost US$2 billion. The complexity of the project is the cause for the cost increase. The tender process for the project should commence by mid-2012. The project will be for a 13km length and much of it will run underground, with the route crossing seven districts. Work is expected to begin in 2014.
Work is starting on an upgrade for a 100km stretch of road in Zambia. The route connects Nchelenge and Chiengi districts and will benefit from a new asphalt surface. The project is costing US$77 million and is being carried out by the contractor Sinohydro Zambia. Delays to the work have been caused by heavy rains however. The Zambian Government has paid an initial $3.8 million for the work to be carried out and the project is expected to take two years to complete.
Data from the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that highway deaths increased to 33,561 in 2012, an increase of 1,082 over the figures for 2011.The official Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data reveals that the majority of the increase in deaths, some 72%, occurred in the first quarter of 2012. Most of those involved were motorcyclists and pedestrians. This newly released data marks the first increase in road related fatalities in the US
