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Bechtel-Enka's Kosovo highway project has won the top prize in the Bechtel's own 2011 Green Footprint Awards for environmental achievements. The Bechtel-Enka joint venture project team was praised by judges for the campaign to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, which was unprecedented in the local area.

According to a report by ACI and Istat, the number of accidents involving two-wheeled vehicles in Italy fell 9% year-on-year in 2010 to 74,367 incidents. The number of deaths has fallen 20% since 2007, although 103 motorcyclists were killed by collisions with fixed objects.

In Kosovo, work is pushing ahead of schedule on the Route 7 highway to link capital Pristina with the Albanian border. Sections of the 120km highway have been opened, one year ahead of schedule. An official opening of several sections of the highway has been carried out by Kosovan leaders, including Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, President Atifete Jahjaga, and members of Parliament, along with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and US representatives Eliot Engel (D- NY) and Gary Peters (D-MI) joined thousan

Montenegro is to start work on a new highway project in cooperation with neighbouring Bosnia. The countries will work together on the Podgorica-Sarajevo highway and the two projects will be discussed by the governments of both countries soon. Meanwhile in nearby Serbia, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has held discussion with the World Bank (WB) regarding a new loan of €100 million for construction of the Corridor 10 motorway.

A key agreement between the Sudanese Government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will see a new bridge being built in South Sudan. The US$90 million bridge will measure 560m long and will span the River Nile. A seven month feasibility study has already been carried out into the project for Sudan’s road and bridges ministry and construction is expected to take three years to complete. JICA has agreed to give technical assistance although it is not clear at this stage whether funding will

Cost increases are being seen on work to the second phase of Bolivia’s Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos road project. The work looks likely to cost an extra US$250 million as the route will have to avoid the TIPNIS national reserve. The Bolivian Government made the decision to reroute the highway following appeals from the country’s indigenous community. However coca farmers are now appealing against this ruling, while farmers in neighbouring Brazil are also requesting guarantees on land use relating to th

Plans are in hand for a new road tunnel project at Kunming City in China’s Yunnan Province. The Kunming Transportation Bureau has signed a deal with Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co for the underwater tunnel and expressway project, which is worth US$1.31 billion. The project will be constructed on a build-operate-transfer basis. The new link will have a designed speed of 80km/h for the underground section and 100km/h for the sections on surface. The 25km project has been approved by the provincial development

Efkon and its advertising agency Rubikon have received the international WebAward from the Web Marketing Association for the development of the company's website.Now in its 15th year, the WebAward is the association's way of recognising the world's best Internet solutions.

Safety campaigners in the UK have reacted with concern following the release of a study showing 53% of drivers tailgate while travelling at speed on motorways. There has been an increase in the problem of tailgating over the last seven years since a similar study was carried out, showing 49% of drivers were guilty of this dangerous practice. The study was carried out jointly by road safety body Brake and insurance firm Direct Line. Men are particularly likely to tailgate, with the study revealing 30% of mal

The Chinese authorities are keen to encourage the development of a market for electric vehicles. The country’s State Council is drafting a plan intended to boost sales of electric vehicles as well as the development of new models. Included in the plans is the development of a charging infrastructure system.

"We regularly hear from drivers, usually visitors from out of town, who unintentionally missed the toll booth and want to know what to do to pay the toll," said WSDoT Toll Division Director Craig Stone.

Toronto councillor Doug Ford believes a proposed US$4.06bn subway project at Sheppard Avenue East can be paid for by a new casino or lottery. Ford is reported to be currently in talks with Ontario Lottery for the establishment of the casino. A casino or lottery would be alternatives to a previously proposed sales tax and vehicle registration tax. Toronto city leaders are set to discuss the funding issue in a meeting on 21 March, 2012.

Increased ridesharing is seen by some in the US as the best opportunity to improve the country's transportation system. However this concept is missing from the Senate's MAP-21 bill for reauthorisation of the transport budget.

Iteris has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Berkeley Transportation Systems (BTS), a privately-held specialist in transportation performance measurement, based in Berkeley, California. Since its inception in 1998, BTS has been involved in more than twenty projects and deployments, with customers ranging from the California DOT, Caltrans, and the Alaska Dept. of Transportation to the Transportation Research Board and Attikes Diadromes, operator of the Attica To

CNH is planning to build a new factory at Minais Gerais in Brazil in an investment worth some US$341.4 million (R$600 million). The factory will be located in Montes Claros, in the northern part of Minas Gerais. The firm has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the authorities in Minas Gerais (Brazil) at Fiat Industrial’s headquarters in Turin, Italy. The agreement was reached during a visit by a Minas Gerais state government delegation, led by Governor Antonio Anastasia. “This agreement strengthens ou

With public EV charging infrastructure achieving critical mass in the city of Shenzhen, China, BYD has announced that its five-passenger, long-range, all-electric cross-over vehicle, the BYD e6, will be available for consumer purchases (previously available for fleet purchases). Consumers in Shenzhen will receive a substantial government subsidy — equivalent to about US$18,000 – and the final price to consumers will be around US$38,500.

Anomalies regarding the return of driving licenses to people found guilty of serious driving offences have been uncovered in the UK. In a number of instances, these drivers have then gone on to commit more driving offences and in at least two cases, causing fatalities.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) board of directors has approved a US$260.56m loan for the construction of the central section of the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) in St Petersburg by 2014. Magistral Severnoy Stolitsy (MSS) consortium must invest at least ROUBLE82.86billion (US$2.61billion) in the 11.5km stretch of mostly eight-lane motorway.

The number of people using French public transport rose by 4.5% during the first 11 months of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010, according to UTP. The French public transport and rail union claims the increase is mainly due to the end of the Government’s nationwide bonus offered to individuals purchasing a new low polluting vehicle, and an increase in fuel prices. Urban public transport networks (outside RATP) are still believed by UTP to have means to develop, because 41% of the French population

Bavaria Parkgaragen and E.ON AG have teamed up to open the first eight jointly operated charging points for electric cars in Munich. Up to two electric cars can be charged at the same time at each point. "We are subsidising these charging points to give e-mobility a boost in its initial stages," says Claus Schnell, managing director of Bavaria Parkgaragen. “Just one euro is all it costs to charge up an electric car's batteries, and the use of a charging point is included in the car parking fee. Basically an