February’s top stories: HE’s dual carriageway work, NZTA’s new road proposal

Highways England to begin final phase works on £192m dual carriageway project

Highways England (HE) is set to start work on the new £192m Knutsford to Bowdon dual carriageway this weekend.

The highway agency will be closing the A556, M56 junctions 7 and 8 and M6 junction 19 over the weekend.

As part of the dual carriage project, HE will be replacing the A556 between the two motorways with the new dual carriageway, it is slated to open on 6 March this year.

New Zealand Transport Agency proposes new road between Northland and Auckland

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) released a proposal for constructing a new road between Warkworth and Wellsford, which is expected to make traveling between Northland and Auckland safer, faster and easier.

The new proposed road has an Indicative Route for the Warkworth to Wellsford section of the Ara Tuhono Puhoi to Wellsford Road of National Significance.

New Zealand Transport Agency Northland director Ernst Zollner said: “Building an off-line motorway, completely separate from the existing State Highway 1 will improve safety, reduce congestion and support Northland’s economic growth.

“Removing sharp bends, providing better passing opportunities and a dual carriageway to separate north and southbound traffic will improve safety and is predicted to reduce the fatal and serious injury crash rate by 80% through this area.”

MDOT to invest $60m for M-59 reconstruction project

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) in the US, is investing $60m to carry out reconstruction work of 3.7 miles of the M-59 (Hall Road).

It is reported that the two-year project will occur between March and October this year and March and October 2018.

The reconstruction works will commence from March this year, and works will occur from M-53 to west of Garfield Road, and in 2018, construction works will begin from west of Garfield Road to Romeo Plank Road.

Vitronic to offer gantry-less free-flow tolling system

Vitronic, a German company that offers tolling and machine vision specialist, developed a new technology for a free-flow toll collection and enforcement, which does not rely on gantry infrastructure.

The company claims that its new system uses optical identification and classification method, which can be easily installed at the side of the road.

The high-resolution optical classification method has the ability capture high-resolution images of front and rear ANPR and can classify vehicles based on size, type and axle count.

INRIX partners with ParkU to provide connected car parking service in Europe

INRIX, a global company that offers connected car services and transportation analytics, entered into partnership with German company ParkU, which provides off-street parking reservations in 10 countries in Europe, for bringing embedded payment and reservation technology to the dashboard of connected cars.

The new partnership will come into effect immediately, providing automobile manufacturers a opportunity to create an embedded, end-to-end parking experience.

With this new feature, European drivers now will have an option to find, reserve and pay for parking directly using their in-car dashboard.

Kier secures £40m design services contract from Highways England

Kier, a UK-based construction company, secured a £40m contract from Highways England (HE) for offering design services to the South West region for a period of five years.

The contract will commence from 1 July this year, Kier will be responsible for developing technical designs, as well as providing supporting work for capital projects, from initial scheme feasibility phase through to as-build phase.

Kier Highways executive director Dave Wright said: “This award is testament to the expertise we’ve provided through our design services work in Area 7 and we are pleased to be continuing to support Highways England in its new approach.

RTA Dubai extends TransCore contract for five years

The Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai (RTA) extended a contract with TransCore, a US-based company that provides transportation solutions, for another five years to carry out customer service operations and maintenance services on the Salik Toll System.

As part of the new contract, TransCore will be responsible for upgrading the existing systems including software updates, servers, increased network and storage capacity, and new roadside equipment.

As part of RTA’s Smart Government and Customer Happiness initiative, TransCore has recently designed and developed a new customer application that would enhance the level of self-service capabilities, as well as created an online tolltag sales portal, and also upgraded the Salik website.

Government to invest $80m for road projects in Winnipeg, Canada

The Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg are planning to invest nearly C$105m ($80.1m), towards 150 roadway construction projects that will begin in Winnipeg later this year.

The funding will be used on local roads, back lanes and sidewalk projects, which are being considered for renewal this year.

Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr said: "Investing in infrastructure is vital to strengthening the middle class, creating jobs and growing the economy.

“Modern and efficient community infrastructure like local and regional roads and bridges contributes to a high-quality of life by helping to connect people, supporting local businesses, and ensuring Canadians can spend less time on the road and more time with their families."

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff to develop new Edinburgh road bridge

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, a global professional services consultancy, secured a contract from Ross Development Trust, to develop proposals for a £25m project including a new road bridge to completely regenerate Edinburgh’s famous West Princes Street Gardens.

The Ross Development Trust is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) comprised of a board of trustees, who work towards improvement of West Princes Street Gardens.

The deal will see WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff conduct a feasibility study for the new road bridge for improved vehicular access to help service the re-animated Gardens.

Sweden and Germany partner on mobility and electrical roads

The governments of Sweden and Germany entered into a new innovation partnership for mobility and electrical roads called 'Innovation and Cooperation for a Sustainable Future'.

The new partnership was announced during German Chancellor Merkel visit to Sweden.

Both countries will be focusing on the development of electrified road technology, work that has already been started by Scania in cooperation with its German counterpart Siemens.