News

A new tolled bridge link is planned for Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. The tender process is opening for the North Penajam Paser-Balikpapan toll bridge project. Building the bridge is expected to cost in the order of US$1.02 billion. The structure and the road connections needed will be around 7.35km long. Building the bridge will cut journey times between Balikpapan and North Panajam from as much as 120 minutes at present to just 10 minutes when the structure is complete.

A Canadian firm is taking over three highways in India from Essel Highways. The US$472.8 million deal is for the the Essel Devanahalli Tollway in Karnataka state, the Lebad-Jaora highway in Madhya Pradesh and Essel Dichpally Tollway in Telangana. The Canadian company is Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)

A new bridge project costing nearly US$756 million has been proposed for Brazil.

A Chinese contractor is expressing interest in building a major bridge connection in Bangladesh.

A contractor is now being sought for the UK’s Stonehenge Tunnel project. The work involves building a new tunnel and new stretch of dual carriageway, moving the busy A303 route away from the Stonehenge monument.

Funding is now secured for the Budimir-Bidovce stretch of Slovakia’s D1 highway project. In addition, the funding for the Kosicke Olsany-Hrasovik stretch of the R2-R4 expressway has been secured. The EU’s Cohesion Fund will supply €173 million for the work, which is intended to cut congestion and journey times. New interchanges and noise reduction systems will be built. Also included will be the construction of 23 new bridges.

According to research, the states of Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Texas offer the best safety for young drivers in the US. At the other end of the scale Wyoming has the worst record for crashes involving young drivers, followed closely by South Dakota and then Missouri. Arizona, Montana and North Dakota also have poor records for safety amongst younger drivers.

The New Zealand Government is setting out a new plan to reduce the country’s road casualty rate. This has the aim of reducing the road death rate by 560 over the next 10 years. The plan would also cut serious injuries by 5,600 over the same period. The New Zealand Government intends to implement the Vision Zero Programme. Better enforcement, new and better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists and safer vehicles are all included in the plans.

As many as 25,000 bridges in France are considered in poor condition according to research. In a bid to tackle the problem, there have been calls for an annual budget of €120 million for the next 10 years to improve bridge condition. There are an estimated 200,000-250,000 bridges in France. An additional fund of €130 million/year is proposed to tackle the problem of ageing tunnels in France.

Bosnia is investigating a series of road financing solutions. The country intends to borrow €150 million to construct the Corridor 5C highway project. A loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expected to provide much of the financing required, however the terms have still to be finalised.

The proposed Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link project in Sydney, Australia is coming in for renewed focus. Financing institutions are being invited by the New South Wales State Government to enter discussions over providing backing for the project. The new route will be one of the largest motorway construction projects for Australia should it get the go ahead. The work could cost US$9.9 billion (A$14 billion).

Astec Industries has appointed Barry Ruffalo as its president and chief executive officer, effective on August 12th, 2019. Ruffalo has also been elected to the board of directors. He will join the board of directors as a Class I director and will stand for re-election at the Company’s 2020 annual meeting. On the effective date of Ruffalo’s appointment, Richard Dorris, interim chief executive officer, will resume his role as chief operating officer. Prior to his appointment, Ruffalo was employed by Valmont

The tender process for Colombia’s Buga-Buenaventura fourth generation (4G) toll road project is being planned. The tender for the 114.1km dual carriageway is being handled in two separate stretches however. One of the road stretches will be for a 55.4km section from Buga to Loboguerrero, which is expected to cost US$359.45 million. The 58.7km stretch from Loboguerrero to Buenaventura meanwhile is expected to cost $362.75 million. The Loboguerrero to Buenaventura section of the route includes building a 19km

A finance package has been secured for Colombia’s Pasto-Rumichaca fourth generation (4G) road project. A loan package worth US$$593.6 million from a series of backers will underscore the project. These are; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Spain's credit institute Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO), JP Morgan, MetLife, Banco Santander, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Credit Agricole, and Bank of China. The project is for work to an 83km section of the route, incl