Features

Doka’s formwork expertise is currently in demand during the construction of one of the busiest motorway viaducts in Germany. The 400m six-lane Lahntal Bridge in Limburg dates from the early 1960s. Every day about 100,000 vehicles cross the bridge that spans the valley of the River Lahn. But traffic loads have increased sharply, so a new bridge is being built sited just a few metres west of the old viaduct. The new Lahntal viaduct will measure a massive 43.5m in width, enabling eight lanes plus hard shoul

A series of developments in the milling machine market will give customers both greater choice and performance – Mike Woof writes. Competition is heating up in the market for milling machines, which has been dominated for many years by Wirtgen. The German firm still retains a strong share of this market, but is now facing much tougher levels of competition from key rivals, and Atlas Copco, BOMAG, Caterpillar and Roadtec in particular. Meanwhile the market is also seeing the return of another familiar nam

In 2015, Nexco East introduced a moveable barrier system in Japan, creating safer work zones along the Joban Expressway, north of Tokyo. Two of the main actors behind this project look back at how it came to life and the role of IRF. Masato Matsumoto: I graduated in 2006 from the IRF Fellowship Programme. As a young professional, becoming an IRF Fellow was a life-changing opportunity. It allowed me to meet industry executives from around world and start building a professional network. Armed with this expe

The 18th edition of the IRF World Road Meeting (WRM) will take place from 14 – 17 November, 2017 in Delhi, India. The WRM has been organised by IRF once every four years for the last 60 years. The WRM is a prestigious event and is expected to attract over 4,000 international and national participants. The theme for WRM – 2017 is “SAFE ROADS and SMART Mobility: The Engines of Economic Growth.” Road transport and mobility are the lifeline of a modern economy and contribute significantly to economic growt

The Africa Regional Seminar and Workshop delivers key recommendations on performance-based contracts. The International Road Federation (IRF) Geneva has helped co-organise the Africa Regional Seminar and Workshop on "Performance-based Contracts for Roads." This was organised and run jointly with local support from the Tanzania Ministry of Works, Transport, and Communications, the Road Fund Board, TANROADS, the Tanzania Transportation Technology Transfer Centre and the Tanzania Roads Association (TARA). Also

Malaysia’s Minister of Works receives IRF’s top award. YB Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof, Minister of Works and one of the chief architects behind Malaysia’s spectacular highway investment programme has been nominated to receive IRF’s most distinguished individual honor. Established in 1951, IRF’s Professional of the Year award recognises eminent public, private and education sector professionals with an outstanding track record of leadership and commitment to the road transport industry. Over the y

Work continues on the 2.3km Mersey Gateway signature bridge project close to Liverpool in the UK. David Arminas reports on some of the construction highlights. Under construction is a cable-stayed structure with three towers that will span the Mersey River’s expansive mud flats between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes near Liverpool. Including the approach viaducts on each side, it will be 2.3km long with a river span of 1km. The main bridge deck will be reinforced concrete. The 80m-high central tower will b

Congestion is a major problem in certain areas of US state Florida. Large number of commuters and tourists means that central Florida’s Interstate 4 (I-4) highway suffers particularly from congestion. Its proximity to Disneyland means that the traffic often comes to a complete standstill.

The winter maintenance market heats up this summer. Bobcat has expanded its winter range of loaders with the addition of the S450 skid-steer and T450 compact tracked machines.

It’s official – Britain’s tyres are unloved and under-inflated, according to recent research. But WheelRight’s chief executive, John Catling, believes that the research results are indicative of a global problem.

Recent trenchless installation of surface water drainage pipes was used underneath a UK road improvement scheme to allow highway upgrades to proceed unimpeded The A556 Knutsford to Bowdon Improvement Scheme, being undertaken by Costain for its client Highways England, is valued between €197 million and nearly €265 million. The 7.5km section will transform the A556 trunk road between the towns of Knutsford and Bowdon into a modern dual carriageway. Costain will also be making the existing A556 into a single

SWARCO is playing a key role in a US$110 million traffic-management improvement scheme at the UK’s Dover Port The port handles nearly $155 billion of trade annually and saw record freight volumes of 2.53 million units in 2015, up 5% on 2014. It handles up to 17% of all UK trade so its efficient operation is essential.

Gantries first appeared over highways in the late 1960s and are now of increased importance, thanks to the emergence of Smart Motorways, writes Simon Benfield* The motorway network exhibits a timeline of innovation; lane control signals on highways appeared in the 1970s

A new concrete road is now open to traffic in Nigeria’s Kogi State. This is of note as the new 24km road is the now the country’s longest to be made from concrete. The new road was built in a joint venture partnership between Nigerian firm Dangote Construction and Brazilian company Andrade Gutierrez. The new road connects Kabba with Obajana. Part of the Dangote Group, Dangote Construction was well placed to carry out the work as it operates its Obajana Cement production facility, at Obajana. This new road

Simon Topp, director of international business at software developer Yotta, explained the need for having the best possible plan in place. Highways agencies and departments the world over face a raft of complex and difficult challenges when it comes to managing and maintaining their infrastructure assets. In some countries, where natural disasters or extreme weather events are endemic, good asset management will need to be supplemented by risk and resilience planning. In the US, for example, the Feder