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Recycling materials offers the road ahead for highway construction - * Don Brock writes. Recycling has been used in the US for over 50 years in various industries. Today, steel is 100% recycled, and many other products that we have can be recycled.Environmental groups have aggressively pushed industries to recycle more, but it is either economically driven or legislatively driven.In the highway industry it has predominately been economically driven and discouraged by stakeholders such as aggregate producers

Harsco Infrastructure has provided self-climbing formwork (SCF), which is helping ensure quick and safe access during the construction of a 320m tall pylon for the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge.

Taxi drivers in the UK town of Preston have now been told to follow strict rules regarding the clothes that they wear as well as their personal health. The local authorities now require taxi drivers to dress in smart clothes and are also telling the cabbies to get fit, lose weight and stop smoking.

An Australian couple caused something of a parking problem with their vehicle in a quiet residential Sydney side-street. The issue was that their vehicle should have been in the air rather than on the ground, as it was a single engine Piper aircraft.

Composite bridge specialist falsework, Paraslim, from RMD Kwikform is being used to construct a viaduct and rail over-bridge in Wales. Paraslim is supporting the £35 million (US$55.7 million) A487 Porthmadog, Minffordd and Tremadog Bypass constructed by a joint venture partnership of Balfour Beatty and Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK.

One of the major components of public infrastructure is the transportation group. This group mainly includes the road network, airports, railroads, and ports.

Actions are planned on road safety but are they enough? - *Charles Melhuish and *Alan Ross report. Deaths and injuries on the world's roads are now a major health concern. Road crashes now cause around 1.3 million deaths and injure or disable as many as 50 million persons globally each year. The vast majority of these deaths and injuries (over 90%) occur in low- and medium- income countries adding to their already overburdened health facilities as well as adversely affecting economic and social development

In Europe, considerable political noise is being made over a new vehicle scrappage scheme that is said to be better for the environment.

Sunward has focussed particularly on building small-medium sized machines, said Li Lihong of the firm. An innovative development from Sunward is its new hybrid excavator design. This 22.6tonne machine has been developed with a view to offering lower fuel consumption than conventional excavators in its size class. As fuel prices are high in China, a hybrid machine offers incentives to the customer base and is said to be most effective in operations requiring slewing, such as for production truck loading. Pow

The satellite navigation leads me along a series of minor roads until it chirps, "You have arrived at your destination." And there is the sports centre I've been looking for, so I indicate, turn into the entrance and squeeze my car into the last narrow parking space available. I'm here to attend an innovative road safety programme being carried out in the UK on speed awareness. Drivers caught just over the speed limit have the option of points on their license, and subsequent increases in insurance costs, o

The authorities in the Czech Republic have been criticised for taking a low cost approach to speed enforcement in some areas. Instead of installing traffic lights at many busy junctions, cardboard cut-outs of female police officers wearing mini-skirts have been employed instead. The cardboard policewomen were installed at busy junctions, with the aim of encouraging drivers to slow down and proceed with caution. The authorities say that drivers automatically slow down when they see a police officer, although

An elderly British driver was charged with dangerous driving by police after he mistakenly drove his car onto the platform of a railway station. The man explained that he must have taken a wrong turn. Witnesses pointed out that he drove his car 200m up a footpath that was clearly marked. The man then drove his car almost the full length of the platform and at times was close to the edge and in danger of falling onto the busy commuter line leading to London. Waiting rail passengers had to scramble out of the

Police in Poland were recently filmed at a training facility practicing interception techniques for car chases. However as a cost saving measure the police were instructed to push the vehicles and eliminate the expense of fuel. The police claim the measure is needed to trim budgets and has the added benefits of being environmentally friendly and keeping the force fighting fit. However critics have responded saying that as most criminals can afford fuel for their cars, training police to push vehicles is a t

Paul Nordengen of South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) introduces a comprehensive self-regulation initiative to improve road wear, road safety and transport productivity in South Africa

Zoomlion is now offering a highly productive, high reach concrete pump developed with the benefit of expertise from its Cifa facility in Italy. Featuring a six section boom, the new Zoomlion-Cifa 63M pump is mounted on a five axle truck as standard. Carbon fibre has been used in some of the boom sections to provide the necessary light weight

Politicians can be an easy target for criticism. Their job involves making decisions that affect the lives of others, whether popular or unpopular, which they believe are nevertheless for the common good. But every once in a while politicians; international, national or local, do something so unutterably stupid it defies explanation. And in the US state of Michigan, the Senate has done just that by approving the repeal of the motorcycle helmet law.

There is an array of future vehicle solutions in development - Mike Woof reports. Ever since Henry Ford's Model T showed that the motor car could provide transport for ordinary people rather than being an exclusive toy of the rich, vehicle numbers have exploded. In every country around the world, vehicle ownership continues to grow.

A firm in the US is now offering a copy of the Batmobile, as seen in the 1960s TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. The vehicle is based on the running gear of a Lincoln Town Car, with a fiberglass body on top. It does feature a red flashing beacon, a Detec-a-Scope and a functional propane powered flamethrower at the rear to simulate the turbine the vehicle was supposed to be powered by. Costing US$150,000, the retro-Batmbobile is for affluent enthusiasts only and the producer is allowed to build jus

Searching questions are being asked within the construction industry of the need for the Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB emissions legislation now coming into force. A senior figure within the European construction equipment sector with an executive role at a major manufacturer said, "Who are we doing this for?" He said that there is a need to reduce engine emissions so as to minimise pollution.

With warmer weather now spreading across the Northern Hemisphere, the impact of a second successive harsh winter can finally be seen on the roads of many nations. The transport links of many countries were affected badly by tough winter conditions. From the US to Russia and the 27 European Union members, heavy snow blocked roads and led to endless delays.