More than $33bn in regional goods passes across the Goethals Bridge every year. Photo courtesy of Decumanus.
Gantry signs on managed motorway. Photo courtesy of Highways Agency.
The project involves construction of a section of A1 motorway linking Torun and Strykow. Photo courtesy of European Investment Bank.
According to TomTom Business Solutions managing director Thomas Schmidt, cost management is crucial for transport companies who are operating on tight profit margins. Photo courtesy of TomTom Business Solutions.

Road project

US announces $474m loan for major bridge replacement project

US bridge image

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a $474m Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to construct a replacement for the Goethals Bridge that links Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York.

The existing bridge will be replaced by a new cable-stayed bridge, comprising of six 12ft-wide travel lanes, a 12ft-wide outer shoulder and a 5ft-wide inner shoulder on each roadway.

The new bridge will also provide a 10ft-wide sidewalk and bikeway along the northern edge of the New Jersey bound roadway, along with sufficient space between the eastbound and westbound roadway decks to accommodate future transit service.

UK completes M4 smart motorway project

The UK’s Highway Agency has announced the completion of work to upgrade the M4 section of the smart motorway project near Bristol in south-west England.

The completed scheme will ease congestion along the stretch, while providing safe and reliable journeys to road users in the south-west.

The Highways Agency, which conducted trials earlier this month, will open the hard shoulder between junctions 19 and 20 of the M4 section during rush hours, beginning 26 November.

EIB supports major motorway construction in Poland

Poland image

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a loan of €250m to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) for the building of an additional section of the A1, a vital motorway in Poland.

The loan will be used for construction of a 144km stretch of dual two-lane tolled motorway on a new alignment from Torun to Stryków, along with associated access roads in central part of the country.

This loan is the second tranche of the EIB finance for the construction of this section.

Four major auto firms to fund EV charging infrastructure in Japan

Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi have agreed to provide financial assistance to installers of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs, and EVs) in Japan.

The latest development comes after an agreement between the four companies on 29 July to jointly promote the building of a user-friendly network of charging infrastructures.

Applications for financial assistance from installers of charging stations will be accepted starting immediately.

Kapsch and JSC NIS eye Russian nationwide tolling system project

Russian nationwide tolling system project

Kapsch TrafficCom and open joint stock company ‘Navigation and Information Systems’ (JSC NIS) have formed a consortium to compete in the next stages of a tender to develop of nationwide tolling system for heavy vehicles in Russia.

NIS and Kapsch are among the four firms that have applied for participation in the federal highway agency, Rosavtodor’s competition.

The 13-year project involves development of a tolling system for vehicles with the maximum authorised weight greater than 12t based on the use of satellite signal GLONASS/GPS on the roads of Russia.

US FHWA and Solidia Technologies to develop a new construction material

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Solidia Technologies have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to develop a new, durable, sustainable and cost-effective highway construction material.

Solidia Technologies has developed new technologies for the production of cement and concrete that, when combined, reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions up to 70% while using less water, less curing time and reduced kiln temperatures.

Solidia Cement and Solidia Concrete are produced with equipment and materials that are similar to current industry practice, while waste CO2 is recycled in the curing of Solidia Concrete.

TomTom launches road toll reporting service for transport companies

TomTom

A road toll reporting functionality has been developed by TomTom Business Solutions to help transport companies achieve improved cost transparency for all European routes.

An addition to TomTom’s range of applications designed specifically for the transport sector, WEBFLEET truck toll reporting offers a real-time breakdown of the toll costs during each trip, helping transport companies to better manage expenses while providing customers with transparent invoices.

This functionality accounts for all applicable national tolls in countries including France, Germany, Austria and Slovakia, along with the proposed French Ecotaxe, reporting on the carbon emissions for each trip and estimating the total costs.

Endesa unveils new bidirectional EV charging points

Spanish electricity company Endesa has launched its V2G (vehicle to grid) charging station, the new variant of its bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The new charging infrastructure can offer charging power of 10kW, which is twice the current level. This would allow a vehicle to be fully charged in 1.5 hours.

A V2G station allows the charge to flow in two directions, from grid to vehicle and in the opposite direction. This means that the user is free to choose when to discharge their vehicle.

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