July’s top news stories

New Zealand starts construction of Matakana Link Road

The Government of New Zealand announced that construction work had started to deliver a new road between Matakana Road and State Highway 1.

The new 1.35km link road was conceived to reduce congestion and support future growth in the region. The NZD62.2m ($40.21m) project will be delivered in two stages and is expected to create up to 120 jobs.

Qatar opens road linking Southern Doha Expressway and Doha Expressway

Ashghal, the public works authority in Qatar, became set to open a 7km road that will link the Doha Expressway and Southern Doha Expressway on the Mesaimeer Interchange on 11 July.

Once opened, Ashghal expects a free and direct traffic flow from Mesaieed, Al Wakra and Al Wukair towards Doha, 22 February Street and Al Shamal Road.

Ashghal noted that the Mesaimeer Interchange connects six main roads and is the first of its kind in Qatar. It provides a vital traffic link between the south, central and north parts of the country.

Aurora to test autonomous vehicle fleet in Texas

Aurora, an autonomous vehicle technology start up, decided to expand the testing of its fleet of autonomous vehicles in Texas.

The company begun testing its autonomous vehicle hardware and software installed in Chrysler Pacifica minivans, as well as Class 8 tractor trailers at the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The company was established by Chris Urmson, a former lead engineer for Google’s self-driving project.

Electric vehicle maker Fisker to go public through Spartan deal

Electric vehicle manufacturing start up Fisker became set to become a publicly listed company through combination with Spartan Energy Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition firm backed by an affiliate of Apollo Global Management.

The deal valued the start up at $2.9bn.

NEC India and UMTC to develop intelligent mobility solutions

NEC Technologies India (NEC India) entered a strategic alliance with the Urban Mass Transit Company (UMTC) for intelligent mobility solutions.

The parties will jointly work on transport-related system integration projects and provide the solutions to rural and urban India.

NEC India is the wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese technology company NEC Corporation while UMTC is a joint venture (JV) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

Waymo to deploy L4 fully autonomous technology for FCA products

Self-driving technology company Waymo agreed to implement its Level 4 (L4) autonomous technology across Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) entire product portfolio.

The deployment is part of the companies’ autonomous driving technology partnership expansion.

Under the expanded partnership, Waymo will work with FCA to develop and test self-driving light commercial vehicles, class 1-3, for goods movement, including Waymo Via.

BMW to offer five fully electric vehicles by end of 2021

German automobile manufacturer BMW unveiled plans to offer five fully electric production vehicles by the end of next year.

The move is part of the company’s sustainability efforts as it seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions during production and on the road.

Under the plan, the automaker will offer the BMW i3, the MINI Cooper SE, the BMW iX3, the BMW iNEXT and the BMW i4 from next year.

OC 405 Partners to utilise Iteris’ ClearGuide for $1.9bn I-405 Project

OC 405 Partners, a joint venture (JV) team that is delivering the $1.9bn I-405 Improvement Project in Southern California, upgraded to Iteris’ ClearGuide solution.

The solution will help in traffic management during construction.

ClearGuide, a component of the ClearMobility Platform, leverages traffic data from HERE Technologies to provide real-time and historical transportation analytics to improve mobility on the roads.

Renouveau La Fontaine secures $850m Lafontaine Tunnel contract

The consortium of Renouveau La Fontaine secured a C$1.14bn ($850m) contract to renovate the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel in Quebec, Canada.

The contract, awarded by the Quebec Ministry of Transportation, includes the rehabilitation of the tunnel, as well as the renovation of access roads.

Opened in 1967, the Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine Tunnel runs beneath the Saint-Lawrence River. It serves as an important transport corridor for the Montreal urban area, connecting the eastern part of the Island of Montreal to the city of Longueuil.

India builds 100,000km of road using plastic waste

India completed the building of 100,000km of road using plastic waste, reported Hindustan, a sister publication of Hindustan Times.

The South Asian country reached the milestone in nearly four years after the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways announced in 2016 that plastic waste will be deployed in constructing roadways.

The roads comprise around 6% to 8% plastic and 92% to 94% bitumen.