Road Structures

A successful explosive demolition has been carried out of the Hurricane Deck Bridge in the US state of Missouri. The Hurricane Deck Bridge carried Missouri Route 5 over Lake of the Ozarks and measured 695m long. The structure was no longer able to cope with the traffic volumes it was carrying and the Missouri Department of Transport (MODOT) opted to build a new delta frame bridge to replace it. Work started on the new bridge in 2012 and this was opened to traffic in September 2013. The steel span Hurricane

Guatemala’s Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing is seeking international loans of US$920 million to transform three national road sections into fast motorways. The loans could be obtained at some stage in 2014. One negotiated with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), of $280 million for the widening of CA-2 Oriente motorway to a four-lane motorway, is reportedly at its final stage. The bank has given its approval already and it is only the Monetary Council that has

The Russian government is allocating an extra US$1.56 billion (RUB 51bn) for the construction of new airports and roads in FIFA World Cup 2018 host regions. The Russian transport system development programme for 2010-2020 is reported to have been amended accordingly. Of the overall new funding pot, $936.34 million (RUB 30.7bn) will be spent on road construction. The government is looking to attract private investors to contribute to the new road and airport works through public-private partnerships.

Skanska has won a €144.01 million Highways Agency contract for improvements to the UK M1 motorway that will improve traffic flow at the intersections linking the M1, M6 and A14. Construction is set to begin in January 2014 and the project is scheduled for completion in late 2016 or early 2017.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry in India has approved the building of 6,418km out of a total of 10,141km of new roads under the Special Accelerated Road Development Project-North East (SARDP-NE) and the Arunachal Pradesh (AP) package of roads and highways. The major ‘Phase A’ SARDP-NE and AP works are due to be completed by March 2017. Phase B of the SARDP-NE and AP programme consists of the construction of the remaining 3,723km of highways. The ministry has approved a comprehensive project

In Colombia progress is being made with the the Autopistas de la Prosperidad road programme. The local authorities in Antioquia have approved funds worth US$268.66 million for this project. Overall the project has funding worth $716.65 million available. The project is for a 50km section of highway between Santa Fe (Antioquia) and Canasgordas. One of the most costly components will be for the construction of the Toyo tunnel along the route. This project will be opening for tenders in the first half of 2014.

Poland’s National Road Construction Programme has been amended for the 2011-15 period. One of the new projects being handled is for the southern section of the ring-road (POW) for capital Warsaw will benefit. The tender process is opening for the construction of an 18.5km section of the S2 dual carriageway from Pulawska junction to Lubelska junction. The General Direction of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is keen for the southern Warsaw ring road to be open to traffic by 2019. The Pulawska-Lubleska s

Major highway projects are being planned for Malaysia, to boost transport connectivity. A new toll road has been proposed in Negri Sembilan's Senawang, to connect the Kajang-Seremban Expressway (Lekas) with the North South Expressway (NSE). This has been put forward by the North South Expressway (NSE) operator, PLUS Expressway. The planned toll road would be shorter than the Lekas-NSE stretch by some 3-5km and would cut journey times by bypassing 11 traffic lights between Lekas and the NSE. The aim of the p

The authorities in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don report strong interest in a project to construct a new tolled tunnel. German companies have reportedly shown interest in the Northern Tunnel toll road project, as have Israeli and Italian firms. The toll tunnel road will provide an alternative North-to-South route in the city. The project is expected to cost in the order of US$306 million to construct. The new tunnel would run underneath the Don River and help improve transportation links for the busy por

The authorities in Paraguay have agreed a funding package with the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) for a series of infrastructure projects in the country. The funding comes in the shape of a US$222 million loan and this is the first time that the CAF has approved funding of this size for the country. This will provide partial funding for the Programme for the Improvement of Integration Corridors and Road Reconstruction. Projects included in this include resurfacing of a 73km section of road in Neembuc