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Advances in road design and construction will deliver cost savings In the past 50 years there have been huge advancements in the automobile industry but the roads we drive on remain nearly unchanged. As cars get smarter so too should the infrastructure that supports them. Our planet is covered in roads. And by 2050 our global network of highways is projected to increase by 60%. Volvo Construction Equipment takes a look at possible technologies for the roads of the future, looking at some innovations

Caterpillar is now offering its new GC S Series top-mount, hydraulic, silenced hammers. The firm says that its H115 GC S, H120 GC S, H130 GC S, and H140 GC S models are specifically designed for use with hydraulic excavators weighing from 13-40tonnes. The firm says that the new GC S Series models combine high power-to-weight ratios with simple design. The units are said to be robust, reliable and easy to maintain, suiting duties in general construction, demolition and quarrying. Caterpillar-designed hydrau

Exciting changes in construction will reward the aware contractor - *Jeff Winke comments Hop in a car and drive anywhere in the US and chances are the drive will be on roads and highways that need patching, resurfacing, or widening, and bridges often show signs of needed maintenance. Sadly, things are in bad shape. On the last two report cards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the US infrastructure scored a D+. This year’s report urges the government and private sector to increase spending

New developments in crushing and screening equipment as well as washing technology will deliver benefits for materials production - Mike Woof writes Competition is tough in the market for quarry material processing equipment, with key firms introducing new systems that are said to boost capacity and performance. Firms offering crushing and screening equipment have expanded their respective ranges, offering additional capabilities for these segments. Mobility and versatility have been key factors in the d

Trimble is offering a new system that can help to boost the quality of drilling and piling work. The firm’s new Groundworks Machine Control System has been developed as a streamlined machine control solution for drilling and piling operations that helps optimise productivity and quality. The firm claims that this highly sophisticated system allows contractors to carry out drilling and piling operations more quickly, safely and accurately than using conventional methods. “Engineered for ease of use, Trim

One of the most competitive segments of the off-highway equipment sector, it is no surprise that earthmoving machinery is seeing a wide array of new models coming to market - Mike Woof writes Competition is tough in the market for earthmoving equipment. Manufacturers from Europe, the US, Japan, Korea and China are all vying for increased market share across the globe. Firms are developing new models and widening product lines, with a wide range of excavator, wheeled loader, dozer, grader and soil compact

Technology supplied by Cemex has helped repave taxiways at the International Sangster Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The firm supplied a concrete plant, a paver, and other supplies from Mexico to guarantee the durability and quality of the airport’s facilities.

Slipform pavers from Wirtgen have played important roles for the Beijing New International Airport project. The four Wirtgen slipform pavers have been used for the construction of the apron area for the new Chinese airport.

A new bridge crossing for the Lena River is being proposed in Russia. The bridge will provide a connection between Yakutsk and Nizhny Bestyakh. The bridge is expected to cost upwards of US$900 million to build, with the project likely to be offered under a concession package. A number of consortia comprising both Russian and international firms have already shown interest in the project.

Equipment from German firm Bauer has been used to help upgrade facilities at Jakarta Airport in Indonesia. The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is located in Cengkareng, Banten, a suburb of the Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta, is one of the largest airports in Asia. Handling around 63 million passengers in 2017 and over 447,000 flight movements/year, the aircraft handling facilities were becoming too crowded. The answer was to construct a new connecting taxiway linking the existing runways at the eas

A new bridge connecting Slovakia with Hungary is under construction at present. Costing €117 million, the bridge spans the River Danube connecting Komarno in Slovakia with Komarom in Hungary. The project has been delayed but the bridge should be ready for traffic in 2020. Funding for the project is being provided by the EU and is being directed through the Slovakian Government and the Hungarian Government.

In Argentina a new loan facility for road projects is now being provided by the Banco de Inversion y Comercio Exterior (BICE). The loan facility will be worth US$100 million and will be offered for projects being handled under the PPP model and with distances of 2,500km or more. This is expected to speed up plans for various PPP projects, with some $6 billion for road concessions planned for the next four years. A number other funding sources are being developed but are yet to be finalised.

Moscow suffers the worst congestion of any city in Europe, with drivers spending an average 56% of their time being stuck in traffic. Istanbul meanwhile comes close behind, with drivers spending an additional 53% of their time being stuck in traffic. Bucharest suffers the third worst traffic congestion in Europe, with Saint Petersburg in the fourth spot. The data has been gathered by the TomTom Traffic Index, which has collated information on 403 cities around the world. By the end of April 2019, Istanbul h

The tender process for Brazil’s 364/365 highway will commence in mid-September 2019. The 437km route connects Jatai, Ituiutaba and Uberlandia in Minas Gerais State. The concession deal will be for 30 years and investment in the road is expected to be worth US$1.22 billion. The tender will be awarded to the firm offering the lowest toll rate. The national land transport agency, ANTT, is overseeing the tender process.

Lafarge Cement – part of Aggregate Industries – has launched Lafarge Endure SR; a high performance, low carbon, CEM II blend cement. While traditional CEM I blends use virgin clinker to produce the finished cement, Lafarge Endure SR blends Portland fly ash (PFA) with clinker, which results in a lower embodied CO2, as well as improved plastic and hardened properties when used in concrete. Another benefit of using Lafarge Endure SR over a CEM I blend is its suitability for all ground types. Sulphates in

The tender process will restart in 2019 for Slovakia’s Visnové Tunnel project. The tunnel forms part of the D1 highway. Work was being carried out on the tunnel and highway stretch of the D1 connecting Lietavska, Lucka, Visnové and Dubna Skala by the contractors Salini Impregilo and Duha. However following a dispute with the Slovak national motorway company NDS, these two firms are no longer working on the project. Some stretches of the highway are near complete already but the tunnel still requires some wo

A massive programme of transport infrastructure development is planned by Indonesia’s current administration. A budget of US$27.38 billion has been set for this work in 2019, an increase of 1% from the budget set for 2018. Work will be carried out to improve and/or upgrade 2,007km of roads and 27,067km of bridges under the plans. The programme also calls for the construction of four near airports and improvements to 415km of rail lines, as well as other infrastructure improvements.

Mercedes-Benz says that it’s low-entry Econic truck has been awarded the maximum safety-specific five-star Direct Vision rating by Transport for London. Utilities contractor Ferns Surfacing has just invested in a pair of 32tonne Mercedes-Benz Econic trucks decked out as tipper-grabs and is operating them on surface reinstatement and resurfacing duties in and around London. Ferns has 10 depots across south-east England and East Anglia, north-east of London. With its deep, panoramic windscreen and full-heig

Mercedes-Benz says that it’s low-entry Econic truck has been awarded the maximum safety-specific five-star Direct Vision rating by Transport for London. Utilities contractor Ferns Surfacing has just invested in a pair of 32tonne Mercedes-Benz Econic trucks decked out as tipper-grabs and is operating them on surface reinstatement and resurfacing duties in and around London. Ferns has 10 depots across south-east England and East Anglia, north-east of London. With its deep, panoramic windscreen and full-heig

The UK's Saltash Tunnel is undergoing a major US$1.53 million upgrade to the incident detection system to provide quicker detection of vehicle fires and other incidents. The scheme will see close to 5,000m of cable installed inside the 410m tunnel on the A38 in the county of Cornwall in England. Overall design of the new system and integrated control systems are from PDS – Paul Ducker Systems – and includes smoke detectors from UK firm SICK Sensor Intelligence and SmartVision fiber-optic temperature sensi