Videos

In Chattanooga Tennessee, an overpass for the SR153 route was demolished at the weekend using a fleet of excavators fitted with hydraulic worktools. The work was carried out during an overnight possession during which traffic was halted, with the highway then able to open again in the morning. A new overpass will take the traffic in place of the old structure.

Locals turned out in large numbers to watch the demolition of a redundant bridge in West Virginia on the east coast of the US. The 65 year old bridge located near the town of Lilly was removed by a specialist demolition crew following careful preparations. The area now has a new bridge as the old steel cantilever truss structure was no longer able to cope with local traffic needs. The remains of the old bridge, one of the last cantilever steel structures in the state, are now being cut up for scrap.

Explosive demolition techniques were used to remove a bridge structure in the US at the weekend. In California on the west coast, the removal of a pier from the old Bay Bridge structure was carried out. The explosive demolition was organised by 5246 Caltrans, with around 10tonnes of explosives being used to blast the redundant bridge pier. Protective layers of wood and steel were used to prevent debris from the massive 24.4m x 42.7m bridge pier from being thrown into the air.

Demolition work has been carried out on a bridge crossing the busy A90 route in Scotland, just to the north of the capital, Edinburgh. The bridge carried the B900 over the A90 but had to be removed as its narrow design prevented the route from being upgraded to full motorway status. The first stage of the demolition work was carried out on October 24th and 25th, with the second stage on October 31st and November 1st and final remedial work to be carried out on November 14th and 15th.

Construction of a 10-lane bridge to replace a congested river tunnel in Vancouver, Canada, is still on target to start in 2017, despite details remaining sketchy.

The bridge will replace the 60-year-old George Massey Tunnel between the local cities of Richmond and Delta along the provincial Highway 99. But the cost and – importantly – whether it will be a toll bridge have not been declared by the British Columbia provincial government.

An undergraduate student from Texas was named winner of category two in the 920 American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 5th annual “Student Transportation Video Contest.” He will receive a $500 cash prize. Category two was for Post-Secondary, College or Graduate Students and was won by Alexis Gamboa of the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.

A high school student from Maryland was named winners of the 920 American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 5th annual “Student Transportation Video Contest.” She will receive a $500 cash prize.  
 

A defunct bridge has been removed in the US State of Louisiana using explosive demolition techniques. The OK Allen Bridge was removed at the weekend, following a planned blast carried out by a demolition specialist. The bridge psanned the Red River for 79 years, providing a connection between Alexandria and Pineville. Traffic was halted on the Curtis-Coleman Bridge, which carries US 71, for safety during the demolition. The steelwork of the old bridge will be removed from the river and sold for scrap, although its concrete piers still have to be demolished.

Four construction firms from Canada and one of Belgium’s largest infrastructure companies, 1303 Besix, have committed to building a school each during this year’s 7163 Pilosio Building Peace Award in Milan.

Executives from the companies, along with those from several other property related businesses, accepted a challenge from the event’s guest of honour, US actress Sharon Stone: “Is anyone out there going to build me a schoo1?”

Explosive demolition techniques were used to remove a defunct bridge in China. The Lishui Bridge in Zhangjiajie, central China was around 40 years old and was no longer able to meet current traffic requirements. The local authorities hired in a demolition contractor to remove the structure, with explosives then being used to bring it crashing down earlier this week. The Big People’s Daily Online reported that 1tonne of explosives was used for the work.

Nexus Infrastructure group has signed a contract with the Australian government to deliver the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project in Queensland state, costing nearly US$1.2 billion.

Nexus will design construct, finance, operate and maintain the 41km route that will bypass the city of Toowoomba, east to west.

Toowomba and district, with a population of around 158,000, is inland 125km west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane, on Australia’s northeast coast.

Adjustments to Brazil's budget could pose a threat to the planned immersed tunnel between Santos and Guaruja in Sao Paulo state, local media reported.

Sao Paulo state had put the project out to tender and had verbal support from the national treasury to borrow up to US$2 billion to finance the project. However, because of the economic crisis, this support has not materialised.

The tunnel would by 1.7km long, carry six lanes of traffic and be at an estimated depth of 35m.

At least nine, all in a row, according to a recent video shot in a town close to Montreal in the eastern province of Quebec.

It was feeding time last month for a clutch of 178 Caterpillar’s hydraulic 350 and 336D excavators as they nibbled, pounded and munched their way through the redundant road bridge in Vaudreuil.

The Avenue St-Charles overpass was surplus to requirements after a multi-million dollar interchange revamp was completed that included building a wider bridge next to the old one.

342 Topcon Positioning Group has agreed a partnership with Ascending Technologies to brand and distribute its rotary-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS).

The agreement gives Topcon exclusive distribution of Ascending’s AscTec Falcon 8 unmanned aerial system (UAS), as well as the GeoEXPERT and the InspectionPRO sensing and feature packages.

The Topcon-branded UAS includes the latest AscTec Trinity autopilot technology.

Ascending Technologies, based in Germany, develops and manufactures micro UAS for professional, civil and research use.

Demolition work has started of a 30-year-old bridge in the UK town of Barnsley in preparation for a €58 million revamp of the town centre.

Kendray Street Bridge is the first structure to be knocked down to allow for the redevelopment, which includes a new town square, library and a refurbished market.