Road Structures

Balfour Beatty has won a €225 million (£184 million) motorway upgrade contract from the Highways Agency. A total of 27.3kms (17 miles) on the M60 and M72 will be upgraded. The work includes converting the carriageway between junctions 18 and 20 on the M72 to a four-lane motorway. The carriageway stretch between junctions 8 and 12 on the M60 will also be upgraded. Employing around 1,000, the work is due to begin this month (July 2014) and be completed by autumn 2017.

The island of Reunion is to benefit from a new coastal road route that will reinforce the country’s connectivity. Construction company Egis will act as prime contractor for those firms carrying out work on the project. The work will involve building viaducts and dams to make way for the new road and the construction companies involved in the project will also focus on issues including environmental engineering. Egis will handle the project management and other aspects of the work will include overall design

In the second half of 2014, the launch date for an expressway project connecting Sejong and Seoul will be announced by the South Korean government. The expressway is set to ease traffic congestion in the Jungbu and Gyeongbu motorways. The project will cost an estimated US$6.57 billion (KRW 6.7 trillion), with the expressway spanning 129kms. It is due for completion by 2022.

Peru’s capital Lima faces a huge US$50 billion gap in its highways and other infrastructure, according to an official from the Lima metropolitan municipality (MML). "According to the studies that we have carried out, Lima needs to invest US$50bn in infrastructure to ensure growth and to continue to attract investments," Arturo Delgado, MML's urban project advisor, was quoted as saying by local daily La República. Delgado stressed in the same article that investments should go towards constructing new road

Fifteen bridges were destroyed and 144.7km of motorway damaged during the May 2014 floods in the Russian republic of Tyva, contributing to what authorities say is an infrastructure repair bill of €15.83 million (RUB 748.27 million. The Russian government is considering subsidies to the region worth €16.25 million in the short term. This will go towards meeting all types of flood damage costs. Meanwhile, the road fund for Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region is to receive €177.99 million (RUB 8.4 billion) in 201

Bangladesh's government has contracted an undisclosed Chinese firm to construct the main part of its flagship Padma bridge project – the country’s biggest infrastructure works. Building the bridge's key component is expected to cost around US$2.58 billion (BDT 200 billion), including expenses for river training. Local firms have pledged to supply high-quality construction materials such as rod and cement to the Chinese firm.

In Bolivia plans are in hand for a new highway that will help improve trade and transport in the country. The highway is costing close to US$180 million and will be constructed by Chinese contractor Nuclear Industry Nanjing Construction Group. The highway will be close to 75km long, connecting Cochabamba with Oruro.

A demolition contractor used 180kg of explosives to bring down an old bridge structure in the US state of Mississippi. The Big Ridge Road Bridge in D’Iberville was demolished as part of a project as part of a US$41 million project to construct a new interchange. Work on the interchange is expected to be complete in 2015. The work is being carried out for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Spanish contractor Ferrovial is commencing work on a new highway in Saudi Arabia in partnership with local firm Al Fahd Contracting. The project is for the construction of a 10km section of highway in Riyadh for client, ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA). The project is worth some US$197 million. Ferrovial subsidiary Ferrovial Agroman will work on this project alongside Al Fahd Contracting. The work includes building three intersections as well as installing traffic monitoring technology. In total, the pr

The state government of Maharashtra in west India is planning to build a 35km road between Kandivli and Nariman Point in the state's western suburban region. The US$1.33 billion (INR 80 billion) road is planned to have 18 access points and the state government might appoint BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to implement the project on a joint venture basis.