August’s top stories: Bidders for UK’s recharge infrastructure funding

UK to receive hundreds of new electric car chargepoints

The UK is set to welcome a wave of new chargepoints for electric cars, with the government announcing winning bidders for the first round of the £37m recharge infrastructure funding.

The funding, which was announced in February, was allocated to local authorities to offset the cost of installing infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles.

With this development, money will be made available to several local authorities, NHS trusts and train operators to provide charging points.

Envision Solar to launch new standalone EV charging station

US-based Envision Solar International is set to launch EV ARC, the world’s first fully autonomous, mobile, renewable electric vehicle (EV) charging station.

According to Envision Solar, the EV ARC, which is ready for shipping, is a cost-effective, easy-to-install, standalone charging station that does not require foundations, trenching, a building permit or grid connection.

Designed to fit inside a standard parking space, the new charging station will not reduce available parking as the vehicles park on the station’s ballasted pad.

Texas opens $1bn DFW Connector road

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in the US has announced the opening of the DFW Connector, the $1bn roads project developed to ease traffic movement to and around Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport.

Completed nine months ahead of the schedule, the project marks TxDOT’s first public-private partnership to open to traffic in North Texas.

The programme, which commenced in early 2010, increased the capacity of the existing highway from 12 to 24 lanes, and will also add TEXpress-managed lanes in the area where multiple state roadways converge north of DFW International Airport.

ADB provides $410m to build new transport link in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to provide a $410m loan to Vietnam for the construction of sections of a second arterial highway linking Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta and southern coastal regions.

The Central Mekong Delta Region Connectivity Project involves the construction of a section of the Second Southern Highway, consisting of two cable-stayed bridges with a combined length of 5km and 26km-long associated access and interconnecting stretches.

The road will run on the boundaries of the An Giang, Can Tho and Dong Thap provinces until the west of the Mekong Delta Region.

Salini Impregilo to construct first section of Libyan coastal motorway

A consortium headed by Salini Impregilo Group has been awarded a contract to build the first section of the coastal motorway in Libya with a total investment of €963m.

Salini Impregilo, a new entity created from a merger of Italian construction firms Salini and Impregilo, owns a 58% share in the project, which will generate 2,000 jobs.

The new contract comprises a performance bond of 2% and an advance of 15% equivalent to €145m.

Bouygues wins €1.15bn tunnel construction contract in Hong Kong

France-based Bouygues Construction, through its two subsidiaries, Dragages Hong Kong and Bouygues Travaux Publics, has secured a €1.15bn tunnel construction contract in Hong Kong.

Under the contract, which is considered to be the largest design-build contract ever awarded in Hong Kong, Bouygues will build a 4.2km-long undersea road tunnel.

The project comprises the construction of an undersea twin-tube tunnel, each tube with two traffic lanes and 14m in diameter.

Jacobs Engineering JV secures Scottish road contract

International engineering, architecture and construction company Jacobs Engineering’s BEAR Scotland joint venture has been awarded a contract from Transport Scotland to manage the operation and maintenance of vital roads in the northwest part of the country.

According to Transport Scotland, the estimated total contract value to the joint venture is around $160m over five years, with an option to extend the contract for five more years.

The trunk roads and motorway network in Scotland is segmented into four geographical parts, each serviced by a separate maintenance contract.

NZ Transport Agency to trial icy road warning technology

The New Zealand (NZ) Transport Agency is set to commence a two-year trial of the latest icy road warning technology in Otago, New Zealand, next winter.

The technology, which will be tested at five sites in the Coastal Otago area with significant histories of ice related crashes, features a marker that flashes when a road surface becomes frosty.

The PATeye marker developed by New Zealand-based company Solar Bright displays a flashing blue light that warns travellers of icy conditions.