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The European Commission said it will investigate the public financing for the Fehmarn Belt link to see if it in line with state aid rules. The announcement follows the European Union General Court's annulment of a previous Commission decision approving the support. "Today's opening of such an investigation is an invitation for all stakeholders to provide their input, which will allow the Commission to adopt a new, well-informed final decision,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner.

Raising the motorway speed limit in Norway to 120kph could mean four deaths annually, according to research by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen). It could also cost up to €504 million to build or upgrade 460km of motorways to withstand the wear and tear caused by having a 120kph limit. State Secretary Tommy Skjervold said that the government will analyse the research before making a final decision about raising or not the speed limit on some motorways. Norway has some of

There is concern at the ongoing road safety problems for Germany, with preliminary data showing worsening casualty statistics. During 2018, 3,270 people were killed in road crashes in Germany. A further 68,000 people suffered serious injuries in road crashes in Germany during 2018, with 328,000 having minor injuries. This data was compiled by Germany’s official statistics body, Destatis. The results from Destatis reveal a notable drop in road safety in Germany when compared with the previous year. In 20

Financing worth over US$705 million (A$1 billion) has been secured for road projects in New South Wales, Australia. This budget is for the 2019-2020 period and will pay for over 40 separate road projects. One of the key road projects targeted in the programme of works is for the M4 Smart Motorway, connecting Parramattta and Penrith. The work to the M4 is expected to cost $75.75 million (A$107.4 million). Meanwhile in Adelaide, South Australia, plans are in hand for a $283.5 million (A$402 million) grade

Construction activity remains strong in Europe, according to data from the industry body FIEC. The data from the FIEC reveals a 3.5% growth in activity in the overall EU construction industry in 2018 and forecasts a 2.2% growth for 2019. “Although the situation continues to vary from one country to the other, the overall picture is currently positive, with activity in new housebuilding even booming in several countries.” said FIEC president Kjetil Tonning, presenting construction’s annual statistics. “In

Russia’s Sochi highway project will not now be completed by 2024. The original plan was to build a 119.km new route to replace the existing A147 route that connects Dzhubga with Sochi. Because of the challenging terrain, this project to build a new four lane highway without the twists and turns of the existing route would have been extremely costly, with a pricetag of as much as US$18 billion. However the project has now been downgraded as being of a lesser priority than other Russian road projects ongoing

A finance package worth US$63.4 million has been secured for upgrade work to the ring road around Ghana’s second city, Kumasi. This financing will help to pay for the first stage of the ring road improvement project, for a 100km stretch of the route. Funding for the second stage of the project, measuring 143km, has yet to be secured however.

Russia’s Federal Road Agency, Rosavtodor, has awarded the contract to upgrade the second stage of the Scandinavia highway. The US$130 million package of works will be carried out by the local firm VAD. The contract includes building an overpass, two road bridges and a pedestrian bridge. The work is due for completion in late 2021. In all, the widening of the Scandinavia Highway is expected to cost $1.35 billion. The work has been split into five main sections and this work is due for completion in 2030.

Poland’s General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) reports that that the three bids for the Czestochowa A1 motorway section exceed the agency’s budget. The least expensive bid was nearly €101 million, submitted by a consortium of Strabag Infrastruktura Poludnie, Budimex and Budpol. Lemar bid around €121 million while Intercor bid €159 million. GDDKiA said that the bids will not automatically be rejected. Earlier this year GDDKiA terminated its contract with Salini Polska, signed

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and other agencies involved in the US$4.25 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge have pledged millions of dollars in community support. WDBA, contractor Bridging North America, the US state of Michigan and the federal Canadian government announced the support plan, which involves more than 30 agencies and organisations, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The plan includes a $15 million Neighbourhood Infrastructure Strategy for both s

Road widening work will be carried out in the Australian state of Queensland as part of the Gateway Motorway project. A budget of US$141 million (A$200 million) has been set for the work by the Queensland State Government. Meanwhile the Australian Federal Government will contribute from $564 million to $705 million (A$800 million to A$1 billion) for the project. This latest stage of the massive Gateway Motorway project involves widening the stretch of the route between Bracken Ridge and the Bruce State High

The latest research reveals that the use of hands-free phone systems is just as dangerous as driving drunk. The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has carried out extensive research into the use of cellphones by drivers. Moves to improve road safety in the UK have seen a reduction in the casualty rate, with a notable drop in the 2007-2012 period. However in the last five years, there has been minimal progress, with the UK’s road casualty figures remaining broadly static. There is particular concern

Romania’s transport ministry says it plans to build animal crossings over the A1 motorway between Lugoj and Deva in the west of the country. The crossings will be over a 9km section of the A1 and cost around €180 million, said Razvan Cuc, the transport minister. nTenders will be issued for both the design and construction with work to start by the end of the summer. When completed, likely by the end of this year, the A1 will be 576km long and run across Romania in a south-east to north-west direction.

France’s Transport Ministry has chosen construction and concessions group Eiffage as the single prospective concessionaire for the project to complete the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique. The east-west RCEA is considered to be one of the most dangerous routes in France, according to government statistics. Some sections of the route, also called the Route Nationale 79, has been upgraded into a four-lane motorway over the past several decades. The plan is make the remaining two-lane sections into four-lanes

Additional financing is required to help progress work on Thailand’s Bang Yai-Kanchanaburi highway project. An extra US$244 million is needed to push ahead with the work, which has been delayed due to problems in buying land. A key issue is that land costs have doubled in the area since the project was first approved by the Government of Thailand. Just 25% of the land required has so far been purchased.

New developments in asphalt plant technology are offering better cost efficiency and materials quality for the industry

The next generation of highways will be a matrix of smart, intelligent and dynamic technologies that lower maintenance costs and ensure user safety. But challenges lie ahead, as Geoff Hadwick discovered in Dubrovnik The fifth-generation road is about to provide the world’s highway authorities with a big leap forward. This “forever-open”, self-healing road will integrate innovation into infrastructure, vehicles and entire intelligent transport systems, says Adewole Adesiyun, deputy secretary general of

New developments in asphalt compaction offer performance gains for contractors, with future innovations being unveiled – Mike Woof writes Advanced asphalt compactors are offering huge gains in performance over previous generation machines. Better working quality and finish is claimed for the latest machines, while future developments will offer sophisticated solutions. The new ARX 91 articulated tandem roller from Ammann is designed as a high productivity compactor that can be used on both thin and t

The 12th ASECAP Annual Road Safety Conference organised at the European Parliament in Brussels on 18th March set the scene for the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the International Road Federation (Geneva, Switzerland) and the European Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures (ASECAP) aiming at further strengthening the collaboration between the two organisations. Signed by Anouar Benazzouz, Vice President of IRF, Susanna Zammataro, Director General of IRF, Bill Halkias, P

A new report suggests key strategies to cut road deaths and injuries in Latin America. The report was commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies and shows that more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if United Nations (UN) vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region—Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil. The report was prepared by the UK-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The aim of the study was to estimat