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Trimble has introduced version 5.0 of Trimble Business Center. This merges two products, Trimble Business Center and Business Center - HCE, to provide surveying and civil construction customers with a complete office software solution. The combined software enables data interoperability between survey and construction workflows for more efficiency, time savings and data quality. The firm says that the package simplifies workflows and licensing for its customers, saving them time and money by providing a

Ecolighting says that its latest LED street luminaire, Medusa, is weatherproof to IP65 and comes with an adjustable pole mounting. The Medusa is designed with a Philips advanced Xitanium driver, Samsung or Cree LEDs and an NEMA five-pin plug which comes as standard for telematics such as TELENSA or similar open protocols. Ecolighting says that the Medusa is ideal for use in streets, security, car parks and building exteriors. Importantly, it enables big cost savings and makes a substantial difference

An asphalt plant upgrade has helped boost long-term efficiency for a producer in southern Germany. The firm, Fiegl, based in Bavaria, invested in a new asphalt mixing plant four years ago. More recently, the firm also replaced the plant’s baghouse. The retrofit has since helped lower the plant’s emissions, noise output and fuel consumption. The time frame for the retrofit was tight because it was important to avoid lengthy downtime and production outages in mid-season. This meant that the changeover had to

New asphalt plant technology is being introduced by a range of manufacturers to meet varying needs and increase system versatility.

The World Health Organization’s 2018 Global Road Safety Status Report – the definitive international road safety performance benchmark – paints an alarming picture, just two years from the United Nations’ target to cut fatal traffic injuries by 2020, and confirms that road fatalities represent one of the worst public health epidemics in history. “Think about it. In the Plague of Justinian in 541 and 542 AD, approximately 100,000,000 people died, making this event recognised as the worst epidemic in hist

The 81st session on the Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) will have a strong focus on automation in transport during 2019. UNECE and International Road Federation (IRF Geneva) joined hands last December to host a flagship event at the UN headquarters in Geneva. This high-level ITS event focussed on “Governance and Infrastructure for Smart and Connected Mobility” and was organised to kick-start a collaborative dialogue among key ITS stakeholders followin

Challenging ground conditions meant a design rethink - and some engineering firsts - for California’s Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project* The Port of Long Beach on Terminal Island south of Los Angeles is the second-busiest container port in the US. It handles around 15% of all imported goods, much of it with Asia. As the Port of Long Beach was growing in importance over the past half century, the 51-year-old Gerald Desmond Bridge has faithfully been delivering thousands of daily commuters to wo

Norwegian state-owned road developer Nye Veier has announced the tendering of a 23km four-lane motorway between Roterud and Storhove along Lake Mjøsa. Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake as well as one of the deepest in all Europe is located in the southern part of the country and about 100km north of the capital Oslo. It is around 117km long and at its widest is 15km. More than 4km of the €388 million project will be a tunnel. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2021. The stretch of road is as part of

Dutch construction company Heijmans has been awarded a contract for the maintenance of motorways in Noord-Brabant province by the Dutch infrastructure and water board Rijkswaterstaat. The €13 million contract covers the A2, A50, A59 and A67 motorways including fly-overs and bridges. Work will start at the end of August. Heijmans has been involved in road building and maintenance since 1923. Last month, the company announced that effective 1 July, Bart Smolders will join as director of Heijmans Inf

The French market for earthmoving equipment remained very strong in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest data compiled by CISMA. Q1 sales rose 12% compared to the same quarter 2018 with that for compact equipment up by 14%. CISMA - the French trade association - noted that this performance is mostly due to the strength of sales to rental companies (+32%) and the good performance of non-rental sales. Sales of crawler excavators are up by 11%. Sales of wheeled loaders grew by 23% t

The Kasetsart Intersection-Nawamin Road northern expressway project in Thailand is expected to require funding worth US$457 million. Also called the N2 expressway, the 12.2km stretch of expressway will benefit from financing raised through an IPO organised by the Thailand Future Fund (TFF). The project has been delayed due to objections from the Kasetsart University over concerns at the expressway’s impact the structure of campus buildings. A number of other buildings lie close to the route and there may ha

The Czech capital Prague has cancelled a contract worth almost US$90 million to demolish old the Liben Bridge and build a replacement. Instead, it will spend nearly $22 million to renovate and strengthen the existing bridge - Libensky Most . Media reported that the bridge will have its frame replaced and will be strengthened during the renovation, following recommendations from the Czech Technical University's Klokner Institute. Renovating the bridge will likely take around two years. The Libeň Bri

The African Development Bank (AfDB) is providing a US$181.7 million loan to the Tanzanian Government. This will help pay for the construction of a ring road featuring two lanes in either direction around Dodoma City. The ring road will measure 110km and its construction is intended to reduce congestion in the city, which currently has to handle considerable through traffic. Although Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s largest city and major port, Dodoma City has been the country’s capital since 1996.

Upgrade work is planned for an elevated highway in Sri Lanka.

A French contractor is to build 18 bridges and flyover stretches in Senegal. The deal is worth US$241.45 million.

The International engineering federation FIDIC (the International Federation of Consulting Engineers) and ITA-AITES (the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association) are jointly publishing a new form of contract for tunnelling and underground works. Called The Emerald Book, this new contract form is intended to meet developments in the fast-growing underground market sector. The new Conditions of Contract for Underground Works (The Emerald Book) is expected to be widely used. Underground cons

Eurobitume now has a new president and vice president, following the organisation’s recent Spring Meeting held in Brussels. Markus Spiegl from OMV was elected Eurobitume president while Frédérique Cointe from ExxonMobil was appointed vice president. In addition, Keith Stone from Shell was re-elected treasurer. The trio say that they will help drive the continued development of Eurobitume as the first reference for bitumen in Europe, and also champion the efficient, effective and safe use of refined bitume

A major new bridge project is now going ahead in Ethiopia, with funding being provided by the Ethiopian Government.

A new relief road project is going ahead in Russia’s capital, Moscow. The four lane relief road for the Ostafievskoe Highway in Moscow is due for completion in 2020. The 3.75km link will feature crosswalks, traffic lights and intersections and a 200m bridge section. Noise barriers will be installed along 1.2km of the route.

A group of experts from Thailand have been visiting the UK to research methods that would help boost road development. The planning and engineering team from Thailand’s Department of Rural Roads (DRR) have been holding meetings with UK counterparts about adopting a scheme similar to its Highways Authority Approval Scheme (HAPAS). The DRR has the responsibility for over 47,700km of Thailand’s 396,600km road network, upgrading paved and earth roads and delivering bridge projects. This is intended to boost so