News

Approval has been given for Vietnam’s Hoa Binh-Moc Chau expressway project. The go ahead has been given by Vietnam’s Government. The project has an estimated cost of US$881 million and is planned as a public-private partnership. The construction work is expected to take 42 months and the new route will connect Hoa Binh to Moc Chau. When complete the expressway will cut the journey time between Hanoi and Moc Chau by around two hours.

Trimble and Caterpillar plan to deliver a connected on-highway telematics solutions to construction operations. This will form part of the CAT Connect offering for customers, extending the solutions to include Trimble's real-time, truck fleet visibility and monitoring capabilities. This will enable both on-highway and off-highway fleet management solutions for customers.

The Mersey Gateway project in England has passed a significant milestone, with over half of the main bridge deck stretching across the River Mersey. Work to install stay cables on the main bridge also passed a key point, with installation of the 31st 150m long cable – the halfway point for stay cable installations on the pylon. When complete, 146 stay cables will support the 1km-long reinforced concrete bridge, with a combined load-bearing weight of more than 53,000tonnes. “We’re now more than 50

New York City is now working towards cutting out traffic deaths, as part of a Vision Zero programme. The strategy is already seeing major benefits with traffic fatalities having been reduced by 23% since 2013. An official report reveals that the city’s road safety programme is having a positive effect, due in part to the use of data to identify prime factors in road deaths from crashes.

Financing has been found to pay for road upgrade projects in Ivory Coast. The Morocco-based banking business Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) will provide nearly US$183 million for improvement works to two stretches of highway. The funding will allow the Kokonou to Apprompronou road to be resurfaced with asphalt. Meanwhile the road running from Yamoussoukro through Bouaflé to Daloa will also be improved.

Construction work is due to commence in Hungary on a new dual carriageway, which will be the country’s first intelligent road for testing self-driving cars. The new R-76 route will link the M7 highway with Zalaegerszeg and is expected to cost close to €535 million to build. The road will run close to Sarmellek Airport and will take 24 months to construct.

Construction work for a new expressway project is now underway in the Philippines. The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) will link Mactan with mainland Cebu. The work includes the construction of bridge and the project is being carried out under a Public-Private Partnership scheme. The work is being carried out by Metro Pacific Tollways. Also planned is construction work to build bridges joining Leyte, Negros, Bohol, and Cebu.

Brazilian contractor Odebrecht may withdraw from its current contracts in Peru. The firm had planned to continue operating in Peru but is now considering withdrawing. Odebrecht has hit a series of troubles in Peru due to the complex political situation as well as allegations over improper business practices. The firm is looking to sell off the contracts that it holds in Peru at present and has already dispensed with some operations in the country.

In Poland a legal case is now underway concerning the A4 highway project. The construction firm PBG has launched a case against Poland’s road authority, GDDKiA. The dispute centres on the stretch of the A4 linking Krzyyz and Debica Pustynia. Also involved in the case are the administrator Aprivia, and the contractor SIAC Construction. The contract to build the section of A4 was lost by the contractors in 2012 and the dispute centres on which body was at fault, with substantial claims for payment being made.

A key stretch of highway in Romania is now open to traffic, connecting Lugoj with Marginea. This 15km long stretch of highway forms part of the planned Lugoj-Deva highway. Located in western Romania, the highway is being built by a joint venture comprising Salini Impregilo and Societa Edile Construzioni e Lavori. The project is worth some €124 million, with the work having been supervised by Romania’s National Road Infrastructure Administration Agency (CNAIR).

Work on two sections of the S17 highway in Poland will now go ahead following the granting of permission from the local authorities in the Mazowieckie area. In total the two stretches of the S17 will measure over 25km long. One of the stretches will connect Gonczyce with the ring road around Garwolin and will measure 12.2km. The other stretch runs from Lubelskie through Mazowieckie to Gonczyce and is 13km long. The work is being carried out by the contractor Budimex. Work on a further 95km stretch of the S1

Plans are in hand in the Philippines for a series of bridge construction projects. Two of the key bridge projects are for links between Luzon and Samar Island and from Leyte Island to Surigao. The work is expected to cost some US$3.85 billion. Construction work could commence in early 2018.

Work is commencing on Warsaw’s ring road project. The work will be carried out on the A section of the Warsaw Southern Ring-Road (POW). This stretch of the ring road runs from Pulawska to the Przyczolkowska junction and is costing just over €278 million to construct, with the project being managed by Italian contractor Astaldi. One of the more complex and challenging aspects of the work will be constructing a tunnel section underneath a metro route.