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More than 100 representatives from local authorities, the police, and the highway safety-related business world attended UK Roads Crash Demonstration Day at MIRA near Nuneaton, in central England yesterday. The event included five crash demonstrations of road safety solutions developed by leading highway technology companies and an exhibition of safety products and services inside a marquee next to the demonstration site.

Croatian motorways company Hrvatske Autoceste (HAC) is reported to be planning to launch its new automatic road toll payment system from the beginning of June. HAC purchased the prototype of the system last year for US$426,807.75. The new system is expected to speed up the paying of road tolls, thus increasing traffic flow.

Moroccan motorway operator Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM) has reportedly completed its planned US$131.78million capital increase. The ADM board is said to have passed several amendments to company purchasing policy aiming to promote transparency, fair competitive processes and efficient internal compliance checks. It recommends that the motorway operator checks standards in place among its subcontractors against specifications laid down regarding their workforce and quality standards. The board also passed chart

Business Minister Mark Prisk visited a construction industry showcase at the Department of Business and Innovation Skills (BIS) in London yesterday. During the event, the Minister met Rob Oliver, chief executive of the CEA (Construction Equipment Association), who also represented Datatag; and senior figures from Terex; Taylor Construction Plant; JCB; Nyclast Ltd; and Perkins Engines. Each company had more than five minutes with the Minister to discuss their products and their concerns in the industry inclu

All motorised vehicles are now barred from entering two of the busiest streets in Indonesian capital Jakarta for five hours every Sunday morning as part of a city-wide bid to cut pollution levels. The ban covering Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin between 6 am and 11am each Sunday began on Sunday 13 May, 2012.

An investigation is underway in Canada concerning the Bonaventure Expressway upgrade project. Canadian firm Societe du Havre (SHM) is being investigated by Montreal's authorities. The first phase of the reconstruction work is worth US$141.4 million (C$141.7 million). The road project is currently being controlled by both SHM and the city through a project office. The authorities are questioning the need to have two joint managers for the project. SHM will submit its financial statements for 2011/2012 to the

A complex and bitter legal battle is being fought in the courts in Nicaragua over the construction of a new road in neighbouring Costa Rica. The road in question runs parallel to the San Juan River and construction work on this project commenced in February 2012. But several environmental organisations have joined forces to sue the Costa Rican Government over the project. The organisations recently presented their allegations to the Central American Court of Justice (CCJ) during a public hearing in Nicaragu

A new road-widening strategy is being put into effect in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley. The aim of this programme is to reduce traffic jams on busy roads, especially during peak hours. A major problem for Kathmandu is that the current road the infrastructure in the city is not sufficient for the increasing numbers of vehicles. In a bid to tackle the problem, the authorities have initiated a programme of road widening in various areas of Kathmandu Valley. However, obstructions have been encountered due to residen

Key road construction projects are now moving forward in Bosnia with work on-track for the Sarajevo ringroad as well as the Corridor Vc highway. Construction of a 130km section of the Corridor Vc highway should be complete by 2014 according to Bosnia's Ministry of Transport and Telecoms. Work on the first section of the Sarajevo ringroad should be completed within five months, following the signing of an agreement worth €17 million between the Austrian firm Strabag and the Bosnian company HP Investing. The

The authorities in the Republic of Tatarstan plan to boost road spending in capital Kazan. Tatarstan is a small state belonging to the Russian Federation but its capital is the eighth largest city in Russia and is of economic importance given it is the home of various key industries. The new road repair budget will see some US$263 million spent during 2012, a considerable increase over previous annual investments. For each of the five years prior to 2012, road repair spending has been around 75% of this yea

In Siberia Novosibirsk-based company Sibmost has offered the lowest cost tender for a new bridge over the Yenisey River at US$394.7 million. The Krasnoyarsk-based Trasmost offered a bid of $450.6 million for the work while another Krasnoyarsk-based firm Sibiryak submitted a tender of $453.9 million for the bridge. This will be the fourth road bridge spanning the Yenisey River in Krasnoyarsk. All three companies said that the work will take 40 months to complete.

Belgian drivers committing traffic offences in France will be fined in Belgium as part of a new data exchange agreement between the two countries. The agreement, which comes into practice on 1 July, 2012, comes ahead of a new EU directive which will force member states to exchange certain traffic offence data from November 2013. The EU states will be required to provide the name and address of people committing eight specified violations, including speeding.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has been appointed the programme management consultant to Ashghal, the public works authority of Qatar, for a US$8 billion programme focusing on the construction and upgrade of local road and drainage projects throughout the country over a five-year period. The award was announced by Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

The Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA) has launched a new campaign called “10 out of TEN” with the aim of showcasing successfully implemented TEN-T projects. The campaign highlights projects co-financed by this EU programme whose successful implementation contributed to yield regional, national and European added value and are helping to complete the TEN-T network.

Bucharest underground operator Metrorex has nearly finished plans to develop its new US$1.35billion M6 underground mainline to link the city centre with Henri Coanda International Airport. The new M6 in the Romanian capital will have a length of 14km and take in 12 stations. Metrorex has changed the initial project plans by adding two new stations to cover the residential area and Baneasa Commercial Park.

Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin said authorities would allocate US$263.14million to repair the city’s road network in 2012, compared to a total of $197.66million spent over the previous five years.

The Thai government's USD$ 3.83billion floodway project is set to be completed in 30 months. The project is part of an $11.18billion project on water resources management, which Thai authorities predict will permanently stop the flooding of the Chao Phraya River plain. The floodway project involves the building of a 2km road which acts as a dyke as well as two floodways. The government is also planning an irrigation system to enable farmers to plant two to three rice crops a year.

In Poland, the European Investment Bank has committed itself to maintaining its loan agreement for the A1 highway, despite recent problems over the project. The e1.1 billion loan that the EIB had agreed with Autostrada Poludnie for construction of a 180km section of the A1 highway from Strykow to Pyrzowice, will now be placed at the disposal of the Polish highway authorities. To carry out the work, Poland has to raise a further e503 million, which could be obtained from an issue of road bonds. Autostrada Po

While both the police and firefighting are recognised as occupations that carry dangers, nearly 13 per cent of the firefighters and police officers who die in the line of duty are killed in vehicle-related incidents, while fire trucks are involved in ten times as many collisions as other heavy trucks.

Following one of the coldest winters in recent memory, Britain’s roads have stacked up an estimated £10 billion (€11.5 billion) repair bill just for potholes. These are caused by the freeze/thaw cycle: water seeps into cracks in the road surface, expands when frozen and then breaks up when it thaws. It has been estimated that in Britain there is at least one pothole for every 110m (sometimes many more) and that it will take at least 15 years to fix the problem.