September’s top news stories

US DOT allocates $871.2m to repair roads and bridges

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) allocated $871.2m to repair roads and bridges damaged by storms, floods and other unexpected events.

The Emergency Relief (ER) fund was allotted to the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief programme.

The money will be used to rebuild roads in 39 states, as well as American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Midlands Connect requests £596m from UK Government for road schemes

Sub-national Transport Body Midlands Connect submitted a funding request of £596m ($729.23m) to the UK Government for 11 transformational road schemes.

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) gave Midlands Connect the responsibility to identify priority schemes related to road improvements in the region.

The 11 schemes fell between two categories, seven under ‘Major Road Network’ and four under ‘Large Local Majors’.

UK Treasury provides £400m for EV charging infrastructure

The UK Treasury announced a £400m fund to aid the development of the country’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

Of the total, the first £70m will be used for installing 3,000 EV charging points, bringing the amount of such points in the UK to 5,000.

Exchequer Secretary Simon Clarke said: “We are driving ahead with plans to make travel greener while backing British innovation and technology.

EU sanctions $398.7m for bridge in Romania

The European Union (EU) approved €363.3m ($398.7m) financing for the construction of a bridge over the Danube River in Romania.

According to an announcement by the Bucharest EC office, the project will be funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Negotiations on Enlargement and Regional Policy Johannes Hahn said: “This EU-funded project will clearly improve the quality of life in the region through shorter and safer road routes.”

Victoria’s Monash Freeway receives additional $250m funding

Monash Freeway in Australian’s Victoria state will receive further funding of A$367.5m ($250m) for the addition of 36km of new lanes.

The Australian and Victorian governments will jointly fund stage two of the Monash Freeway upgrade, which aims to ease congestion in east Melbourne.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “This project is a top-order congestion-busting priority for Melbourne and we’re going to get it done.

  ADB provides $200m loan to improve Indian road infrastructure

Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement to provide a loan of $200m to enhance road infrastructure in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

According to the agreement signed with the Government of India, the funds will be used to improve rural roads in 34 Maharashtra districts.

The contract was signed by India’s deputy country director and ADB-India resident mission Sabyasachi Mitra on behalf of ADB, while Department of Economic Affairs additional secretary Sameer Kumar Khare represented the government.

TuSimple secures $120m to develop self-driving vehicle technology

US-based autonomous truck company TuSimple raised $120m in a Series D financing round led by Chinese tech company Sina.

The startup company will use the funds to increase long haul services for fleets and will work with OEM and Tier1 suppliers to develop commercial self-driving trucks.

TuSimple said that the round was oversubscribed and raised a total of $215m.

Hyundai Motor Group becomes shareholder in EV charging venture Ionity

Hyundai Motor Group became a shareholder in Ionity, a joint venture (JV) between BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, Daimler and the Volkswagen Group with Porsche.

This move is expected to expedite Ionity’s mission to make long-distance EV travel across Europe a reality.

Established in November 2017, Ionity aims to set up and operate a high-power charging network along the main highways in Europe.