Lo Wu Bridge in Hong Kong has been successfully moved downstream to enable the construction of a new bridge. The original structure will be preserved as an historic monument on the bank of the Shenzhen River adjacent to Lo Wu station. The bridge was moved intact in an overnight operation to avoid affecting rail services.

Melbourne’s latest landmark, the Webb Bridge, will be opened next week. The superstructure comprises a lattice of hoops as an analogy of fishing traps and baskets. The design was by sculptor Robert Owen, architect Denton Corker Marshall and Arup, which provided specialist lighting input and structural engineering. The bridge provides access across the 110m River Yarra in Melbourne’s Docklands.

Progress of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project has been expedited by an executive order from US president George Bush. “The president’s executive order provided the impetus and structure for us to resolve important issues that resulted in unnecessary delays of much-needed projects,” said transportation secretary Norman Mineta yesterday.

The US Transport Research Board has published guidance on the use of expansion joint systems. Synthesis 319: Bridge deck joint performance summarises performance data for each system type and includes guidance for designers and operators. Topics covered include a review of current practice, design guidelines, provisions to test watertightness and lessons for maximising the service life of systems.

Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Asian Development Bank and World Bank are to carry out a joint study to determine the way forward for infrastructure development in east Asia. The banks believe that a new framework and approach is needed to meet the demands of the region, where development has slowed sharply in recent years. The wide-ranging study is scheduled to take about 18 months and will include workshops and seminars with public and private sector stakeholders.

The missing link in Australia’s rail network was finished yesterday with the final weld on the 1,420km Alice Springs to Darwin line. It joins up with an existing line to Adelaide, establishing a 3,000km new trade route and completing a national rail network linking all of Australia’s main cities. The US$865 million project included construction of 90 bridges. The first freight services is due to leave Adelaide on 15 January, arriving in Darwin two days later.

Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has invited four consultants to submit proposals for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Route 1 - Trenton Morrisville Toll Bridge.

An Austrian/German team has won the competition to design a new bridge over the Danube River in Linz, Austria. Consulting engineers Schlaich Bergermann & Partner and Baumann & Obholzer teamed up with architect Volkwin Marg for the competition to design two four-lane highway bridges over the river. Their proposal of a suspension bridge with its main cables anchored in the rock on either side of the gorge, was awarded first prize by the jury.

Asian Development Bank has approved a US$250 million loan for a roads project which will spur economic growth in remote communities in the Ningxia region of China. The project will finance the construction of a 182km, four-lane toll expressway and upgrade about 400 km of local roads. Construction will include interchanges, tunnels, bridges and service areas.

John Martin Construction has been awarded a US$39 million contract to replace all 140 bearings on the northbound Thelwall Viaduct in Cheshire, England. The viaduct was partially closed to traffic in July 2002 after problems were discovered. Surveys showed a significant number of the roller bearings to be cracked and corroded, and so the Highways Agency decided to replace them all. The viaduct was opened in 1963 and refurbished in 1996. A new southbound viaduct opened eight years ago.

Projects could be shut down and jobs lost unless a key transportation bill is renewed this month, according to US transportation secretary Norman Mineta. He is leading a nationwide campaign to urge Congress members to renew the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) which is due to expire on 30 September. Delaying the passage of a full six-year plan could damage the economy and jeopardize the ability of state and local transportation leaders to plan and manage infrastructure projects, said Mineta.

Dubai Municipality is examining the feasibility of building a new bridge across the Dubai Creek to help reduce traffic congestion. The bridge would link to a new airport road tunnel which is under construction and would provide access to Dubai Festival City. The Creek is already crossed by two bridges and a tunnel and an alternative proposal was to expand the capacity of the existing Al Garhoud bridge.

Zimbabwe has given the Botswanan government the go-ahead to proceed with a US$165 million bridge to replace a ferry service across the Zambesi River. The project had previously stalled because of a disagreement about the exact national boundaries in the area, which is on the border between Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia.

Aecon Group has won a US$8.8 million contract to widen eight bridges on Canada’s 407 ETR all-electronic toll road, just north of Toronto. The company has also been awarded a US$8.2 million contract by the Ministry of Transport of Ontario to replace the Frederickhouse River Bridge. Completion is due in 2005.

German transport minister Manfred Stolpe has said he would support plans to build the 20km Fenmarnbelt link between Denmark and Germany. The project has long been a priority for Danish ministers. A report published last year explored the options for financing the crossing (Bridge update June 2002).

It would cost US$9.4 billion a year for 20 years to eliminate all bridge deficiencies in the US, says the American Society of Civil Engineers in a major report published today.

The governments of Canada and Quebec have signed an agreement to spend some US$156 million on Quebec’s highway system by 2006. The federal government will contribute half the funds. Nine projects were announced to increase capacity and enhance safety, including a US$20 million scheme to widen bridges in the Quebec City area.

Glasgow City Council has shortlisted six consortia to take part in the design competition for a US$63 million scheme to provide a landmark pedestrian/cycle bridge over the River Clyde and regeneration of the surrounding area.

A consortium of Symonds, Arup and Dongmeyong has been appointed to review the technical risks involved in the design and construction of a link between Busan and the island of Geoje in South Korea. The project includes two 2km cable stayed bridges, a 3.5km immersed tube tunnel and short bored tunnels. The capital cost is estimated at US$1.1 billion.

At least 25 people - mainly children - died today when a bridge collapsed in Daman, western India. The narrow iron bridge was the link between the mainland and an island. About a third of the 300m structure fell into swollen waters, taking with it vehicles including a school bus.

A contract has been placed to manage the design and construction of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio river bridges project. The project involves construction of two bridges and the relocation of a complex interchange. Indiana Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet awarded the contract to a team made up of Parsons, Beam Longest & Neff and HMB Professional Engineers.

With advances in material technology, bridge designers are able to increase the efficiency of structural components and design longer and wider spans, but these designs require innovative construction solutions. Clients, on the other hand, are imposing more and more stringent schedule milestones, forcing contractors to seek solutions that save time and money. The bridge construction industry must find 'out of the box' technical solutions for the erection of superstructures that have been specifically designed for a certain project in order to increase productivity.

The Dong Hai Bridge, otherwise known as the Eastern Ocean Bridge, will link Luchaogang, Shanghai’s new port in Nanhui County, across the sea to Yangshan Island in Shensi County, south of the Yangtze River mouth.

A US$280 million contract has been awarded to Gammon-Skanska-MBEC Joint Venture for the Hong Kong section of the Shenzhen Western Corridor.

Final designs will be submitted this week in a competition to design a landmark structure across the Tees in northern England. Five firms have been shortlisted from an initial entry of 30. They are:

Iowa River Bridge on US 20 will be opened today. The steel structure was incrementally launched, to avoid construction equipment causing any damage to the river environment.

The new Cooper River Bridge is to be fitted with a US$16 million package of sensors and cameras to help traffic and emergency management. This bridge management system will also include radar sensors to count vehicles, overhead message signs, and alarms which will sound if boats get too close. The US$640 million cable stay bridge is under construction in South Carolina.

A ground breaking ceremony took place today for the US$341 million Suramadu bridge. The 5.3km structure will link East Java’s capital of Surabaya with Madura island. Plans for the bridge were first discussed in the 1960s, but the start of construction has been delayed several times because of the economic crisis.

A trio of river crossings for a water pipeline has been given a gold award of excellence by the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand. The three bridges were designed by Bycroft Petherick and built by Emmett Civil Construction for New Plymouth District Council. Each has a single cable-stayed span over a river or stream in an environmentally sensitive area. The bridges were praised for being attractive as well as functional, in providing support for the pipeline and a walkway.

Gitto Costruzioni General has won a US$41 million contract to build a 760m reinforced concrete bridge in Cross River State, southern Nigeria. A prime role of the Itigidi Bridge will be to improve the transportation of goods, though it will also serve commuters in the region. The project is expected to take two years.

A third shaking table has been installed at the University of Nevada, US. The new large-capacity table will be used to research the effects of earthquakes on structural sections of up to 50t. Multi-million dollar federal grants helped finance the latest installation, and the funding will also be used to upgrade the two existing tables from uniaxial to biaxial motions.

India’s rail ministry has announced that it is providing funding towards one of four major rail bridges being built under a major infrastructure programme. Bogibeel bridge will cross the Bramaputra river in Assam, north east India. Construction of the approaches is already under way.

Work starts this week on a US$204 million project to reconstruct part of Hood Canal Bridge in Washington State. The eastern part of the 42-year-old bridge is floating structure, which is nearing the end of its service life. This will be replaced with a new floating section, while the western part will be upgraded. The project also includes construction of a graving facility to fabricate the floating bridge pontoons.

Details are being published today of the proposed route of the Kincardine Bridge across Scotland’s Firth of Forth Estuary. The Draft Road Orders are being being advertised in the local press, and public exhibitions will follow.

Multi-million dollar road and viaduct schemes are included in the latest plans to improve New York’s transportation. Among the projects listed are a US$77 million upgrading of a section of Route 17 to interstate standard; a US$55 million renovation of Roslyn Viaduct Bridge in North Hempstead, Long Island; and US$95 million for reconstruction of part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

Proposed construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge took a major step forward today.

Malaysia’s Baram Bridge will open this month. The 1.04km tolled crossing will replace a ferry service over the Baram River, near Miri in northern Sarawak close to the Brunei border. Completion is almost a year ahead of the initial schedule.

East China's Zhejiang Province has approved construction of a second major structure over the Hangzhou Bay.

Composite Bridge Alliance Europe (COBRAE) has announced that the European composite bridge technology meeting will be held on 13 and 14 November in Porto, Portugal. Topics will include standardisation for composite materials in bridge construction, performance of proprietary bridge deck systems under traffic loading and case studies.

A striking masted design has been announced as the winning entry in a competition for a pedestrian bridge over the River Lea in east London.

Tony Fitzpatrick, the structural engineer who led the project to solve the 'wobble' of London's Millennium Bridge, has died in a road accident.

The governor of Oregon signed a bill this week to provide a US$2.5 billion investment in the state’s highways. The 10 year project includes provision for repairs to hundreds of bridges.

The Inter-American Development Bank has agreed to lend Panama US$37 million as part of a programme to improve highway links between Central America and Mexico. The loan will help finance the upgrading of a 92km stretch of the Pan American Highway. Work includes the construction of three vehicle bridges and 12 elevated pedestrian crossings as well as rehabilitation and widening along the existing road.

Winds of 160km/h this week destroyed the centre section of Pennsylvania’s 103 year old Kinzua Viaduct. Eleven of the 20 piers collapsed along what was once the largest railway bridge in the world. The steel trestle structure was severely rusted and had been closed to trains since last year because of fears for its stability. A US$11 million restoration project was under way at the time of the collapse.

Work has begun on a new bridge over China’s second longest river. Sunkou Yellow River Highway Bridge will cost an estimated US$29 million and take 30 months to build. It has a total length of 8.77km and is close to an existing rail bridge.

The first of two caissons for the new Tacoma Narrows suspension bridge was towed into position this week. Four tugboats powered the 14,000t concrete box on its eight hour journey to the site, which is immediately south of the existing bridge. The new bridge will ease congestion and includes provision for a second deck should further capacity be needed. The second caisson will be delivered in August.

Rebuilding of a key Iraqi bridge can now start, following completion of a 3km alternative route for traffic. Al Mat Bridge had been severely damaged by weapons fire and urgently needed to be closed. Provision of a bypass was essential as the bridge lies on a major highway which carries over 3,000 trucks a day between Jordan and Baghdad.

Swedish contractor Skanska has won three road construction contracts in the Czech Republic, valued at a total of US$38 million. The largest is for a highway between Hradec Kralove and Pardubice in the central Czech Republic, about 100km east of Prague. The highway extension is being built for the Czech Road Authority, is 11km long and also includes 15 bridges of varying length. Work will start soon and is scheduled for completion in October 2007.
The other contracts are for two smaller road projects in Bystre-Svojanov and Hlinsko-Jankovice. All the contracts will be carried out by the company’s Czech subsidiary, Skanska CZ.

A radical US$11.5 billion package of improvements to keep the traffic flowing on some of Britain’s most congested roads has been announced by Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling. He underlined his four key aims: better use of existing roads, new capacity along particularly busy stretches, improvements to public transport and planning to manage demand in the future. The package includes a major programme of motorway and trunk road widening on Britain’s busiest routes such as the M25 around London, M11, M1 and M42, and stepping up traffic management measures, including hard shoulder running at peak periods where it can be done safely.

Swedish contractor NCC has been commissioned by the Swedish National Road Administration’s Southeastern Region to build a section of highway from Stromsnasbruk to the traffic port just north of Markaryd. The assignment is for the first phase of construction of the E4 highway past Markaryd. The contract is worth US$48 million. The 14km long highway also includes a junction, a large bridge over the Langandalen valley and 13 smaller bridges that will be formed on site. Construction will start later this year and the project is scheduled for completion in 2006.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has awarded a US$204 million contract for the repair and replacement of the Hood Canal Bridge to contractor Kiewit-General. The project, which has been designed by Parsons Brinckerhoff, will take some 3.5 years to complete, including an eight week closure during 2006 to install the new east half floating structure.