News

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.

France’s Transport Ministry has chosen construction and concessions group Eiffage as the single prospective concessionaire for the project to complete the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique. The east-west RCEA is considered to be one of the most dangerous routes in France, according to government statistics. Some sections of the route, also called the Route Nationale 79, has been upgraded into a four-lane motorway over the past several decades. The plan is make the remaining two-lane sections into four-lanes

Additional financing is required to help progress work on Thailand’s Bang Yai-Kanchanaburi highway project. An extra US$244 million is needed to push ahead with the work, which has been delayed due to problems in buying land. A key issue is that land costs have doubled in the area since the project was first approved by the Government of Thailand. Just 25% of the land required has so far been purchased.

A new report suggests key strategies to cut road deaths and injuries in Latin America. The report was commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies and shows that more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if United Nations (UN) vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region—Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil. The report was prepared by the UK-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The aim of the study was to estimat

A Polish-Hungarian consortium has signed a €44 million contract to construct a bridge over the Dunajec River near the southern Polish town of Nowy Sacz. Przedsiebiorstwo Wielobranzowe Banimex, from Poland, and Hungarian contractor Hodmezovasarhelyi Utepito Korlatolt Felelossegu will build the bridge within 25 months, according to Polish media reports. Nowy Sącz is at the confluence of the Kamienica and Dunajec rivers , about 20km north of the border with Slovakia and in the Sądecka Valley.

The authorities in Vietnam’s coastal Quang Ninh Province have set out a transport infrastructure development plan. The programme of works will prioritise development of the Van Don Economic Zone (Van Don EZ) under the plan. The programme of works involved is expected to be worth US$358 million. New roads are planned, along with new bridges to provide better connections to some of the many islands in the province. The existing Van Don Airport will also benefit from an upgrade to boost capacity. Quang N

Road works in the Philippines will benefit from funding being provided by Japan.