Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge due to open

The multibillion-dollar Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge opened for public use.

Linking Hong Kong to Zhuhai and Macau, the structure is claimed to be the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge and cost more than $20bn to build during a nine-year period.

Initially scheduled to open in 2016, a number of delays, budget overruns, and safety issues pushed the opening of the bridge back to 24 October this year.


Honda to acquire 5.7% stake in GM Cruise for $750m

Japanese automaker Honda signed an agreement to acquire a 5.7% stake valued at $750m in Cruise, an autonomous vehicles unit of General Motors (GM).

Additionally, Honda will contribute $2bn to the autonomous vehicle project over the next 12 years, which aims to transform mobility through the large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicle technology.

The Japanese carmaker will work with the two companies to fund and develop a purpose-built autonomous vehicle for GM’s unit.


Apple files patent for autonomous vehicle technologies

Apple filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a suite of autonomous vehicle technologies called Peloton.

According to the patent document, the Peloton technology will enable moving self-driving cars to share battery using a ‘connector arm’. It will also allow them to adjust positions and boost efficiency, among other improvements.


ACCIONA wins €410m contract to build part of E6 highway in Norway

Spanish infrastructure firm ACCIONA Construction secured a Nkr4bn (€410m) contract from Norway’s Nye Veier to design and construct a section of the E6 highway between Ranheim and Værnes in the Trondheim Region.

Nye Veier operates as a Norwegian Government-owned road planning, construction, operation and maintenance firm.

The contract includes the design and construction of a four-lane 23km stretch of the E6 highway, which includes 8km running underground through four tunnels measuring between 1km and 4km each.


Eurovia wins two US highway contracts worth $480m

Eurovia signed two highway contracts worth $480m in the US.

Under the design-build contract, Eurovia, a subsidiary of French concessions and construction firm Vinci, will develop two major corridors.

The company will construct 26km of express lanes on the I-485 in Charlotte and 4km of express lanes on the R-2247EB in Winston Salem, North Carolina.


Waymo secures permit to test self-driving cars in California

Waymo gained a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to trial its autonomous cars on public roads without a driver present in the vehicle.

New California DMV regulations came into force in April and enable firms to apply for complete autonomous car testing permits, with Waymo the first company to receive one.

Waymo is a Google spin-off owned by parent company Alphabet.


Bentley Systems acquires pedestrian simulation software provider Legion

Bentley Systems acquired Legion, a UK-based provider of pedestrian simulation software.

Legion provides services for more than half of the 40 largest transit agencies in the world.

The acquisition bolsters Bentley’s modelling environment with collaborative digital workflows, allowing the company to explore different simulations of pedestrian traffic scenarios.


Volvo Cars and NVIDIA to develop core computer for self-driving cars

Volvo Cars collaborated with American chipmaker NVIDIA to develop an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capable core computer for Volvo’s self-driving cars.

Based on NVIDIA’s DRIVE AGX Xavier technology, the new core computer will enable Volvo Cars to implement an advanced computing platform for its new cars on the impending Scalable Product Architecture 2 (SPA 2) vehicle platform.

The core computer features advanced 360° perception capabilities and a driver monitoring system. It will allow Volvo Cars to launch fully autonomous cars for Level 4 autonomous driving.


Highways England awards Amey £325m contract for Area 10 Highways

Amey won a £325m contract from Highways England to provide highway maintenance and response services for Area 10 Highways over a period of 15 years.

Area 10 road network serves the North West of England, connecting the cities of Manchester and Liverpool, and other nearby areas.

Under the contract, Amey will deliver all routine and cyclic maintenance on the trunk road and motorway network around Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and South Lancashire from April.


Work starts on second stage of $509.54m Monash Freeway upgrade

The Government of Victoria announced the commencement of works on the second stage of the A$711m ($509.54m) Monash Freeway Upgrade project.

The upgrade will add 36km of new lanes to improve traffic conditions and is expected to save drivers an additional nine minutes in travel time and avoid congestion.

In order to provide drivers with live traffic information and help in lane management, smart technology will be installed from the South Gippsland Freeway to the Beaconsfield Interchange.