Search

IRF releases World Road Statistics (WRS), containing road data covering the period 2002-2007. The WRS 2009 includes high quality road and transport statistics for more than 185 countries, which have been compiled from a wide range of national, international and intergovernmental sources

A family in Indian capital Delhi now has good cause to be thankful for the poor state of the city's roads. Kidnappers abducted a 15 year old girl and made their escape by car. However the vehicle stalled on a badly potholed stretch of road and the girl was able to escape her captors. Locals then caught one of the three would-be kidnappers and handed the person over to police

Arrangements are proceeding full-speed ahead for what promises to be an exceptional IRF World Meeting from 25-28 May in Lisbon, Portugal. An outstanding technical programme has been finalised, the last remaining exhibition stands are being snapped up and an exhilarating social programme is in place.

The mayor of Lithuanian capital Vilnius is a keen cyclist and has done a great deal to promote this form of transport in the city, in a bid to cut vehicle congestion. A network of cycle lanes has been constructed, however these are often blocked by parked cars with owners of premium vehicles being frequent offenders. Irritated by this, the mayor made a highly visible demonstration of why the city's cycle lanes should be kept free. Buying a Mercedes specially, the mayor then drove over the car in an armoured

An Italian footballer who plays for a leading UK team has had to divest himself of an expensive Maserati sports car because it smells. His team-mates played a practical joke, leaving a box of fish behind the passenger seat before the players travelled to the US for a two-week training programme. By the time he returned, the car was infested with flies and maggots and the smell was so sickly that it made him feel nauseous. The €172,000 Maserati is an insurance write-off although as the player earns €114,000/

An American family were driving in their car when a snake suddenly slithered onto the windscreen. The snake slid from a windscreen wiper vent and the couple watched as it moved initially to the right of the screen and then to the left in front of the driver. The husband was a passenger and filmed the snake's progress while his wife drove. The snake finally slid over the door mirror and off the vehicle. Its welfare following the incident is not known but as it fell onto a busy highway it may not have survive

A hairdresser who placed a toy bus outside his shop in the UK city of Brighton was given a parking ticket by an attendant. Intended as a promotional move the toy bus measured a mere 1m high. Despite the diminutive scale of the toy bus however the attendant decided this was not allowed and handed the hairdresser a fine costing €57. This was later cancelled by the parking company on appeal.

Poland's A1 highway project is developing a reputation as a route to stable relationships. At present some 25 married couples are working on the project for Swedish contractor Skanska. Eight of the couples actually met while working on the highway while 10 opted to marry once the project got underway and 11 were already married when work commenced

A blonde woman driver is hotly denying stereotyping of her character following a somewhat embarrassing and costly incident during which she damaged her car and several others in Monaco. The woman was driving a Bentley worth around €287,000 when she collided with a Mercedes valued at some €86,000. She scraped her car down the side of the white Mercedes and then rammed into a black Ferrari worth some €160,500

A 23 year old man in Queensland, Australia has been fined for driving a beer cooler while under the influence of alcohol. The man bought the motorised cool box for A$600 and, having assembled it, was so proud of his handiwork that he could not resist taking it for a midnight test run to demonstrate its performance to his friends However, the man had been drinking during the assembly process and his progress was somewhat erratic. When police stopped the man on his somewhat unusual vehicle, he was breathteste

Preliminary work is now underway for the project to upgrade the M2 motorway in New South Wales, Australia. The project has commenced with night time working, before operations gear up and daytime working commences. The project is expected to cost US$550 million and will take two years to complete. This is NSW's biggest project carried out on an operational motorway.

The authorities in China are now acting on plans announced last year to build a proportion of the country's new highway network from concrete. The new 84km highway connecting Xingtai in Hebei and Fenyang in Shanxi will be constructed with a concrete surface. The project is due for completion in mid 2013 and is expected to cost some US$1.37 billion to construct. This development is of note as the country has built most of its most recently constructed highways using asphalt technology.

Work on the Myanmar section of the Stilwell Road will be carried out by Chinese contractor Yunnan Construction Engineering Group (YCEG). The deal is worth some US$498 million and the project is for a 375km stretch of highway. YCEG will carry out the project in partnership with the Yuzana Group. The deal is of note as it will improve Myanmar's international links with its neighbours.

Plans are in hand to upgrade the Bayonne Bridge in the USA. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey intends to raise the central span of the bridge from its current height of 46-65.5m. The port authority has approved a US$1 billion grant for the project. The work is needed to allow larger vessels to pass under the bridge by 2014. Other options have included building a new bridge or constructing a road tunnel but the upgrades to the Bayonne Bridge have been regarded as the most cost effective.

Poland has invested some €5.15 billion on road projects in 2010. The Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) signed contracts to build 544km of roads, including 300km of highways and 244km of dual carriageways. Of this 15% came from the Polish Government, while some 85% came from the National Road Fund (KFD).

The head of the German firm contracted to build 14 satellites for Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system called the entire project a "stupid idea," according to a leaked diplomatic cable published in Norway's Aftenposten newspaper.The head of the German firm contracted to build 14 satellites for Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system called the entire project a "stupid idea," according to a leaked diplomatic cable published in Norway’s Aftenposten newspaper. Aftenposten said the cable quotes Be

A project to construct much-needed highway links in Argentina now looks to have hit delays. The tender process for the highway projects, which will lie along the Atlantic coast of Buenos Aires Province, has now been held back. A partnership comprising IECSA, Chediack, Coarc, Equimac and Martinez de la Fuente had a proposal for the package of works disqualified due to financial terms of the various deals.

Progress is being made in the Czech Republic on two key urban tunnel projects. In capital Prague, the Czech contractor Metrostave has now completed the drilling portion of the Letna section of the Blanka road tunnel. Local residents have complained about the noise, vibration and cracks in their properties that they say have been generated by the drilling and blasting work. The project looks as though its completion date will be later than first planned however.

The Department of Transport is planning to improve traffic flow in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, in a bid to reduce congestion and delays. Some 18 major road projects are due to commence in the city in 2011. In total the 18 road projects will be worth close to US$600 million. The contractors carrying out the work have not been revealed at this stage. Some obstacles to a number of the projects exist however with financing and land clearance issues expected to provide some hurdles.

A massive highway project will boost Austria's international links. The €933 million Ostergion PPP motorway project is one of the largest PPP projects currently in operation in Europe. The financers of the project are AMBAC and EIB, while the routine maintenance activities are headed by Egis. The project intends to ease congestion Austria's capital, Vienna, improve commuter traffic, enhance road connections between Austria and the Czech Republic and increase safety on congested B roads around the country.