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A contract worth US$491 million has been awarded for a new tolled highway section in Mexico City. The project will be carried out by Spanish firm OHL and local company Copri in a 50/50 joint venture agreement.

In January, a US$3.2 million project saw the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in the USA start operating a dynamic lane in Los Angeles. The lane at the northbound Pasadena Freeway (SR-110) connector to the northbound Golden State Freeway (I-5) provides more capacity and provides congestion relief, and is the first of its kind to be introduced in the state. It operates as an optional connector lane during peak hours and a through-lane on SR-110 during general hours, and includes Smartstuds

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is carrying out road safety pilot programmes in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York. These are intended to test whether increased law enforcement efforts can ensure that drivers stop using cell phones and focus instead on the road.

One of the largest construction programmes in Europe is being carried out to get a Russian resort ready for the Winter Olympics. Patrick Smith reports

Compressors from Atlas Copco are proving highly useful in highly diverse applications, on a bridge project and a quarry in Canada. Water ingress over 30 years has damaged a road bridge in Quebec City, Canada, deteriorating the concrete and breaking down the rubber expansion joints at both ends of the 150m long structure. City highway authority, Transportes Quebec, awarded local contracting company Inter-Structures the contract to replace the deteriorated concrete and fit new membrane seals. The bridge, clos

ContiTech's Transportbandsysteme division is expanding by buying the Moers facility from Metso Minerals. This factory makes the Flexowell and Pocketlift conveyor belts, which used in the extraction industries to transport loose bulk material up steep inclines.

Widening of a 3.5km stretch of the Tolo and Fanling Highways between Ma Wo and Tai Hang will now be carried out in Hong Kong.

Horizontal and high-tech in-road markings are all being used in a bid to keep roads safe as Patrick Smith reports. Many modern roads, especially in urban areas, are equipped with the latest technology to guide drivers and, more importantly, improve safety.

Heavy investment in road infrastructure is planned for Brazil's northeast city of Natal. In all 16 separate road projects are planned to improve transport infrastructure in time for the 2014 World Cup.

Demonstrating superb manoeuvrability due to what its manufacturers Hidromek say is its “compact but powerful” design, the HMK62SS mini backhoe loader’s additional auxiliary hydraulic lines make it ideal for working in urban constructions and agricultural applications where space is often limited.

Plans are in hand for upgrades to the existing ring road around Nepal's capital Kathmandu. This 28km route will be widened to cope with the growing traffic volumes and high congestion levels seen at present and the work is expected to cost US$55 million.

An important milestone has been reached at the Airport Link and Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) projects in Brisbane, Australia, with an Aker Wirth roadheader T3.20 breaking through in the 490m long Busway Tunnel at Lutwyche. The TransLink Northern Busway connects communities in Brisbane's northern suburbs to Brisbane City, major shopping centres and workplaces, and when complete it will be a vital link in the expanding busway network and will reduce travel times for people travelling to and from the su

Malaysia's highway system is in the process of being improved with the construction of the new Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor (KLS) Expressway. This new link is schedule to open officially in June 2011 and is expected to be completed by April 2011.

Macleod Construction in the UK is growing its business operations and is investing its two quarries. To maximise production from the quarries, and to produce aggregate for construction projects, the firm needed to source a tracked crusher. The crusher had to be highly productive, tough and versatile and also reliable due to the site's remote location.

Puerto Rico's Department of Transport and Public Works (DTOP) is setting out a plan to road maintenance and improvement works.

Morocco has a rapidly expanding road network, which is benefiting from expertise offered by French contractor Colas. The quality of Morocco's roads is higher than in many other African countries, with much of this due to the use of the latest road construction technology by Colas. It previously took almost two days to go from Casablanca to Tan Tan in the south and this journey now takes less than eight hours. Colas has some 800 machines and vehicles in Morocco, with 70 graders, 70 wheeled loaders, 50 excava

Morocco has a rapidly expanding road network, which is benefiting from expertise offered by French contractor Colas

Barrier and crash cushion systems can make a great deal of difference to roadway safety, with new technology offering major benefits to road users. In North America and Western Europe, concrete centre line dividers are being used for many major highways as these provide a durable solution for preventing cross-over accidents with large vehicles such as heavy trucks. It is worth noting too that other countries are now adopting concrete barriers for highway centre line dividers also, with this system being use

A US$332 million loan from Brazil will help build a highway between Villa Tunari and San Ignacio de Moxos in Bolivia. The project will cost over $1 million/km while the 306km highway will cost $415 million and the new link will be built by Brazilian firm OAS.

Terex Minerals Processing Systems (MPS) has launched a new modular product line with the MC1000, the first module built in the line, being highlighted at INTERMAT. The line consists of several pre-designed static and semi-static crushing and screening “plug and play” modules, which can be chosen to create the plant required to suit many applications, such as aggregates and mining. “This simple but effective product gives flexibility to our customers to choose ‘ready-to-work’ modules to create the plant they