Corrosion damage to ageing reinforced concrete bridge decks poses the threat of costly and disruptive repairs. New non-destructive testing technologies such as ground penetrating radar are being used to map defects at an early stage to enable timely and cost-effective repairs.

In recent years, increasingly frequent repairs have been required on the roller-shutter joints of the New Lillebaelt Bridge.

Bangladesh extends across the low lying flood plain of the Bramaputra and the Ganges basin between India and Myanmar, and is splintered by many rivers and tributaries that flow into the Bay of Bengal. Bridge building across its major rivers has been a key feature in the country's drive for better road access and economic stability. The latest in this programme is the Bhairab Bridge, now known as the UK-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge.

Granite Construction has been awarded a US$21.4 million contract by the California Department of Transportation for work to take place in northern California, just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. The award is for the widening of Route 87, from four lanes to eight lanes, including carpool lanes. This project will include substantial roadway excavation, construction of a perimeter road, demolition and replacement of three existing bridges, and all associated sewer and drainage, signing and lighting. Work will begin in November of 2002 with completion scheduled for mid-2004.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved two consortia formed by Freyssinet&cie and Moststroi and by Avtomagistrali Cherno More and Inzhstroiinzhenering as the contractors for the rehabilitation of sections of the Trakia and Hemus motorways in Bulgaria, according to the Bulgarian & Balkan Transport News International. The road sections are part of the 690km of motorways and priority roads that will be reconstructed under the Transit Roads 3 Programme co-financed by the EIB and the European programme ISPA. Freyssinet&cie and Moststroi will implement a 15-month programme for the construction of two bridges on the Trakia Motorway, while the other consortium will repair 74.9km of the Hemus Motorway (Varna-Burgas, Varna-Obrochiste and Biala-Obzor) over a 15-month period.

Colin Smith has been appointed Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa to support and strengthen the commercial development of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's maritime and aviation business.

Keller & Kirkpatrick (K&K) has received a 2002 New Jersey Historic Preservation Award for the rehabilitation of two bridges in Somerset and Hunterdon Counties. The projects involved rehabilitation of two single-span truss bridges on Higginsville Road that together form the crossing of the south branch of the Raritan River between Hillsborough. The two bridges are considered remarkably intact examples of metal truss bridge engineering design of the 19th century. Prior to rehabilitation, the bridges were deemed structurally deficient and posted at a three ton weight limit. Somerset and Hunterdon Counties proposed that the bridges be preserved and rehabilitated to remain in services.

Parsons has announced that its joint venture with HNTB has received notice to proceed on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Washington, a design-build project scheduled to be constructed in 55 months. The project scope consists of final design (to be completed in 14 months), engineering support during construction, and construction quality assurance for a new 1,645 metre suspension bridge, as well as partial retrofit to a parallel suspension bridge and 4kms of roadway approach work for Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC), a joint venture of Bechtel and Kiewit. TNC is the main contractor/design-builder for the Washington State Department of Transportation.

A building contractor for the second bridge over the River Danube, connecting Vidin in Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania, will probably be appointed by the end of 2003, and construction works are to be completed by the end of 2006. A project consultant is to be chosen through international tender and will start work in July this year. According to French consultancy BCEOM, the cheapest option for the bridge construction without the adjacent infrastructure will cost €107 million (about US$95.5 million).