Road Structures

The National Road Maintenance Fund of Vietnam requires over US$332 million (VND 7 trillion) to upgrade and fix roads in 2014, according to Le Hoang Minh, chief of the Fund’s Central Council. Of the total, almost $255.1 million (VND 5.4 trillion) will be used to upgrade and manage national highways, while the remainder will be allotted to cities and provinces to upgrade and maintain roads. Vehicle registrations are foreseen to contribute $217.31 million (VND 4.6 trillion) to the total amount required, with t

Spanish firm Cintra Infraestructuras, a subsidiary of Ferrovial, has been chosen by the Department of Transport in the US state of North Carolina (NCDOT) to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the expansion of the I-77 highway. Design and construction within the US$655 million contract will be carried out by Ferrovial Agroman in collaboration with W.C. English, a local construction firm. The concession period is 50 years from when the highway opens to traffic - scheduled for mid-2018. Financing

Spain needs around €6.5 billion spent on its road infrastructure to bring it back up to ‘reasonable’ quality standard, according to a report drawn up by the Spanish Highways Association (SHA). The huge works’ bill is said by the SHA to be due to the deterioration of the roads since 1985. According to McKinsey, this investment could be reduced if tendering authorities made more effort when it came to project analysis. By improving the use of engineering services by 3% to 5% per investment, cost savings of

Uruguay’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MOTP) has recently presented proposals to the private sector on the modernisation and maintenance of four major national roads (26, 14, 55 and 20) over a ten-year period. A US$550 million government fund, known as Fondo Vial, will pay for the works, which will make Uruguay a real communications hub in the region, especially in light of a future deep water port. The national budget will remain unaffected.

A budget of US$5 billion has been set for road construction, maintenance and modernisation projects in Mexico during 2014. The programme has been set out by the Secretariat of Transport and Communications (SCT), which published 2,191 tenders by March 2014 and expects 80% of resources to be tendered by May 2014. The projects include the Indios Verdes-Santa Clara viaduct, works to 300km of rural and agricultural roads in Quintana Roo and pavement restoration in Benito Juarez. Also included are the Mexico-Pue

In Colombia work on the dual carriageway connecting Bogota and Buenaventura is now 40% complete. The link should be complete by the end of 2016. The Bogota-Girardot road is now opening, with excavation work still underway on the La Linea tunnel. The tunnel section of the project has been subject to delays arising from geological issues but when it is open, the tunnel will cut travel times and also improve safety over the existing route. The driving of the tunnel should be complete by September 2014 with the

The Spanish Road Association (AEC) has published a study detailing the condition of the country’s road network. The report highlights the condition of road infrastructure and sets out replacement requirements for safety features such as signage, safety barriers and lighting. The technicians have reviewed and rated some 3,000 sections of road, which were randomly selected from both the State Highway Network and local networks. The report includes for the first time a Territorial Status Indicator or weighted

Work is underway in Sri Lanka on a new bridge spanning the Kelani River. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is supplying funding worth some US$344.4 million for the bridge project, which is intended to improve transport connections to and from capital Colombo. The project is facing design challenges as the river is prone to flooding. As a result the design of the bridge features a thick deck and short towers, but without any piers. The 380m long structure will carry six lanes of traffic, with three

The Mott MacDonald Grontmij joint venture (MMG JV) is now working on the contract for the technical assurance role for the A160/A180 link to the Port of Immingham. The road project is located near Grimsby in the UK and is being developed by the Highways Agency as part of the national strategic road network improvement strategy. This is one of four schemes chosen for progression under the accelerated delivery programme and aims to reduce traffic congestion, cut journey times and increase safety. Works includ