Road Structures

Built in the 12th century, the Stone Bridge spans the River Danube as the most significant emblem of the city of Regensburg, in southern Germany. In the course of the protracted restoration work, Strabag is using a new Sennebogen 608 Multicrane for various lifting and construction tasks. Although the historic structure of the city was built within only 11 years, between 1135 and 1146, the restoration tasks for the Stone Bridge at Regensburg have been underway for three years and are not expected to be co

China’s Hebei province plans to spend US$3.47 billion (CNY 21.6 billion) in 2014 to build and maintain rural and normal trunk roads. Rural roads will receive CNY 7.5 billion, normal trunk roads CNY 9.1 billion and road network optimisation CNY 5 billion. Meanwhile, the Chinese city of Yibin will this year invest more than $1.61 billion (CNY 10 billion) in transport projects. During 2014, Yibin plans to spend a total of $6.59 billion (CNY 40.7 billion) on 157 major projects. They include 58 basic infrastruc

Canadian transport engineering firm Delcan has accepted an offer to join North American engineering giants Parsons. In an open email letter to Delcan clients, company CEO Jim Kerr said, “Following many months of consideration and detailed strategic discussions, our Board and shareholders have embraced this offer. We have now joined one of the premier professional engineering companies in the world. “Parsons is a global firm serving more than 2,000 projects through more than 100 offices around the world. A

A new stretch of the A7 road in Spain has opened. Costing €190 million, the 6.1km stretch runs between Puntalon and Carchuna, and is said to offer an alternative to the “endless traffic jams” on the Torrenueva crossing. In early-summer 2014, another new A7 stretch called ‘Taramay-Lobres’ will open, while a third stretch of the A7 is set to open in December, linking the municipalities of Castell de Ferro and Castillo de Banos (Polopos).

A consortium headed by Odebrecht Transport that has Tucuman Engenharia, Goetze Lobato Engenharia and America Empreendimento is reported to be the favourite to land a project to widen PR-323 motorway in Brazil’s Parana state through a public-private partnership. Valued at US$3.41 billion (BRL 7.7 billion), the 30-year contract will involve 207kms of motorway.

A contractor in China has completed an effective bridge demolition job efficiently and quickly. The pre-weakened structure was brought crashing into the river it spanned following one final push using the boom of an excavator. The defunct bridge collapsed in a controlled fashion without injury or inconvenience, allowing the rubble to be removed in a subsequent operation.

The Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) in Mexico has announced that roads and bridges in Guerrero affected by hurricanes during September 2013 will be repaired by mid-May 2014. However, repairs on the Barra Vieja bridge, costing US$38.27 million (MXN 500 million), will only be completed on 15 September 2014. Other projects are also planned for Guerrero, including school and housing schemes, following the hurricane damage. Guerrero will receive funds of more than MXN 30bn from the central gov

Indonesia’s transport expansion programme is seeing new projects commence, but others afflicted by questions over feasibility and delays. Questions over the economic feasibility of the proposed Sunda Strait Bridge project have been raised by the Public Works Ministry. This mega-project is intended to provide a road link between Sumatra and Java. But construction of the 30km structure could cost up to US$23 billion and might not be fully recovered, even if the investor collects toll fees under a 100-year con