Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner has won the design competition for a bridge to cross the 200m-deep Tamina Canyon in the Swiss canton of St Gallen.

Acting US Federal Highway Administrator Jim Ray has announced a 20-year research effort to collect data on bridges nationwide aimed at improving investment decisions. The Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) has been awarded a contract, worth up to US$25.5 million, to carry out the programme through to 2012.

Transit New Zealand chief executive Rick van Barneveld today confirmed that Transit plans to start construction of the new Kopu Bridge by mid-2011.

The record-breaking sea crossing of Hangzou Bay in eastern China opened to traffic today after the final link was placed last year.

Contractors shortlisted for the Twin Sails Bridge in Poole, southern England, have been stood down pending the outcome of negotiations betwen the council and a landowner, JJ Gallagher.

The Government of Canada has announced the award of a contract for replacement of the deck of the Honoré-Mercier Bridge in Quebec.

Acciona and its subsidiary Mostostal Warszawa have been appointed to build a major cable-stayed bridge over the River Odra in Wroclaw, Poland.

A new 280m-long bridge over the River Chenab in the state of Jammu & Kashmir was officially opened today by India's prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Environmental considerations have led to the 173m-high two-tower cable-stayed design proposed for the new Peace Bridge being dropped in favour of a lower-profile arched scheme.

Kiewit-General crews have completed construction of the first of two trusses for the transition spans that will connect the pontoons of the floating Hood Canal Bridge to its approaches.

Dubai's Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is embarking on beautification project covering a 10.5 hectares around the new Al Garhoud Bridge and the bridge itself. The intention is to reshape the bridge as a landmark of modern Dubai as part of a vision for roads, bridges, tunnels and open spaces that combine technical, aesthetic and environmental excellence.

American Civil Constructors has submitted the lowest of six bids to replace the First Street Bridge over the Napa River in the City of Napa, California. Design engineer for the new bridge is TY Lin International and the architect is William MacDonald.

The operators of the Forth Road Bridge have set up a multi-agency working group to seek ways of reducing traffic disruption caused by strong winds. The initiative follows an unusually windy winter, during which two lorries have been blown over and the crossing has been closed to high-sided vehicles for a total of 184 hours.

Transit New Zealand start preparations this month for upgrading the Auckland Harbour Bridge's "clip-ons" - box girders - to ensure they stay in good condition for the next 20 to 30 years.

The opening ceremony took place on Friday for the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge West Approach. California's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the workers who completed the US$429 million seismic retrofit project seven months ahead of schedule.

Minnesota Department of Transportation today used its annual construction kick-off briefing to announce 135 new highway and bridge projects, including the replacement of the Highway 23 DeSoto Bridge in St Cloud. The bridge, which is similar to the I-35W bridge that collapsed last year, was closed last month following the discovery of distortions in the gusset plates at four locations.

New Zealand's transport minister Annette King has today turned the first sod in a ceremony to start construction of the new US$183 million Manukau Harbour Crossing.

Chile’s Ministry of Public Works is inviting expressions of interest for construction of the fourth bridge over the Bío Bío River. The project for the 2km-long bridge and some 30km of road is worth an estimated US$250 million.

Our free email newsletter is now up and running, and we are now sending it out on a regular basis. Subscribers receive all the latest news, are alerted when new features are posted on the site, and hear about events and special offers that are available.

Portugal's government has confirmed its approval of a third crossing of the Tagus and plans to launch an international tender in November.

Engineer Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner and architects Jean-Jaques Zimmermann and Short Cuts have beaten four other shortlisted teams to win the design competition for a bridge taking the A14 highway over the Elbe River near Wittenberge in Germany.

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has ratified the award to Cherry Weber & Associates of a design engineering contract for repairs to the steel bearings, bridge seats and pier caps on the Delaware Water Gap (I-80) Toll Bridge.

A bridge was lifted into place over the weekend to form a key part of the new East London line. A 1,200t mobile crane - the UK's biggest - lifted the 350t bow-string bridge into position across Shoreditch High Street.

Mexico's transport and communications ministry, SCT, has announced a US$421 million highway scheme to connect Oaxaca city to coastal towns. The 283km project will include 78 bridges and three tunnels.

Construction of a 2.1km crossing of the Mahanadi River was completed this week with the placing of the final steel girder.

A 63m-long bridge weighing 250t was lifted into position in Copenhagen over the Easter weekend, as part of a project to create new cycleways across the city.

Owners of Canada's 24 international vehicular bridges and tunnels will be required to inspect and report on the safety of their structures under new proposals from Transport Canada.

Hong Kong's Kowloon - Sha Tin section, including the 1.4km Lai Chi Kok Viaduct, will open tomorrow.

Carillion Civil Engineering is starting a US$6.3 million project this month to carry out essential structural repairs on the Canford Main Bridge and Canford Flood Arches in Poole, southern England.

New Zealand railway infrastructure Ontrack has awards a contract to HEB Smithbridge to build a road and rail bridge at Arahura. The new structure, which is jointly funded by Transit NZ, will replace an existing 120-year-old timber bridge which provides the only direct route between Greymouth and Hokitika but is nearing the end of its serviceable life.

The first two deck segments of the second Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, Australia, were lifted into place today. The 80t concrete segments form part of the 750m northern approach to the bridge.

WSP Finland has signed a contract to design a major cable-stayed bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam. The company’s proposal had an international design competition last year.

Auckland City Council in New Zealand has put on public display the seven competing designs for a dramatic opening bridge on the city's waterfront.

South China's Guangdong province is planning a 5.63km-long bridge to link Foshan and Jiangmen along the Xijiang River.

Michael Baker Jr has been awarded a two-part contract, worth an estimated US$2.7 million, to complete environmental investigations and both preliminary and final design for the new Vrooman Road Bridge over the Grand River in Lake County, Ohio.

The governor of the US state of Washington, Chirs Gregoire, has announced an accelerated project schedule for the replacement of the SR 520 Bridge. The floating bridge links Seattle to the east side of Lake Washington.

Tendering is to start soon for a third bridge over the Klang River in Malaysia. Designs for the US$72 million project have been completed and work is due to start in four months and take two and a half years, said works minister Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu.

The governors of the US states of Illinois and Missouri have announced an agreement to build a new bridge over the Mississippi River. The US$640 million project involves construction of a cable-stayed structure 1.6km north of the existing Martin Luther King Bridge.

Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macau have struck a deal on the financing of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge's construction. Hong Kong will be responsible for 50.2%, the mainland 35.1% and Macau 14.7%. The ratio reflects the economic benefits to each location.

Surrey County Council's plans for a new River Thames bridge have been given the go-ahead by environment secretary Hilary Benn.

A series of revised dates has been announced for the new Brent Spence Bridge over the Ohio River between Kentucky and Ohio in the USA. Recommendation of the preferred alternative has been put back to August next year, with a view to publishing the draft environmental document in September 2010, instead of February next year as originally scheduled.

HNTB Corporation has been chosen to complete the final design for the new South Park Bridge for King County in Washington, USA. The bridge over the Duwamish River near Seattle provides a key link between Seattle and Tukwila.

Michigan Department of Transportation has begun public consultation on the draft proposals for a new international crossing of the Detroit River.

The Sixth China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge opened to traffic today. The prestressed concrete box girder structure - also known as the Mukterpur Bridge - is 1,521m long, with 37 spans across the River Dhaleswari.

Network Rail has awarded Balfour Beatty a contract to complete the remaining restoration and painting of the Forth Bridge. The contract is set to mark the end of the oft-repeated story that painting of the iconic rail bridge is never ending, starting again from the beginning as soon as the work is complete.

Engineers at the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland have unveiled plans for “mini-bridges” designed to minimise impact of major roadworks that are scheduled for next year.

Engineering researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have received a US$2 million grant to explore ways to make new and existing bridges last longer.

Wyndham City Council in Victoria, Australia, has chosen architect WMCQ's snaking schematic designs for a new crossing of the Werribee River. Three teams had been shortlisted in the first stage of the project.

Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority has awarded the New York district office of American Bridge Company a U$41.1 million contract for structural retrofit work to the Throgs Neck Bridge.

The design of the Waldschloesschen Bridge in Dresden has been modified in a bid to keep the city's world heritage status.

Preliminary investigations by Ghana's Ministry of Transportation have indicated that an 8km-long bridge is required over the Oti River. Minister Godfrey Tangu Bayon said in Parliament that the bridge would be the country's longest.

A century-old bridge in Shanghai is to be taken away for a year while a tunnel is built beneath its site. The two span Garden Bridge was China's first steel bridge. Shanghai's city government will dismantle it piece by piece and take it to a local shipyard for conservation.

A consortium of Vinci Concessions, J&P and Cybarco has been named prelimary preferred bidder for the first motorway public private partnership contract in Cyprus. It consists of 30 year contract that includes the financing, design, construction and operation of a 31km stretch of motorway between Paphos and Polis.

The engineering team working on the Clyde Arc in Glasgow has developed a system for repairing the bridge by replacing all 28 connectors on the hangers. A temporary hanger has been installed to replace the failed one and the team led by contractor Edmund Nuttall has started to mobilise barges, cranes and access equipment to help install temporary supports ahead of work on the connector replacements.

Dubai Creek is to be crossed by the world's longest arch bridge, the Roads & Traffic Authority has announced.

Glasgow’s Clyde Arc Bridge could be closed for up to six months after engineers discovered a crack in a second cable connector. The bridge was closed last week after a cast steel connection between the cable and the arch fractured and the cable fell on to the deck. An inspection of the remaining 13 cables revealed a crack in the same component on a different cable.

Lunda Construction has been named by Minnesota Department of Transportation as the apparent low bidder for a new contract to restart work on the eastbound stretch of the Wakota Bridge. Lunda had previously been working on the project, but the contract was halted when negotiations with the client came to an impasse following a redesign.

Ramboll Whitby Bird and Tim Norlund, a 23-year-old Danish architect, have won first prize in the Sheffield Parkway footbridge competition, beating more than 100 entries.

Delaware Department of Transportation has named three teams to compete for the contract to design and build a new bridge over Indian River Inlet.

New York State Department of Transportation has announced major procedural changes to the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 corridor project, aimed at faster implementation of the project at lower cost.

SNC-Lavalin's Vancouver-based division has won a contract to design and construct the Coast Meridian Overpass for the City of Port Coquitlam in British Columbia.

The UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has begun a project aimed at developing a structural health monitoring system that would be as simple to understand as traffic lights.

The USA's National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a safety recommendation for the checking of bridges following the discovery of undersized gusset plates in the I-35W bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi river in August 2007. The investigation into the accident has has discovered that the original design process of the I-35W bridge led to a serious error in sizing some of the gusset plates in the main truss.

The Clyde Arc Bridge in Glasgow, Scotland, has been closed to traffic after the failure last night of one of its 14 cables. It is likely to remain closed for several weeks.

The Hull-Albern Joint Venture has won a US$281 million contract from the Queensland government for the duplication of the Houghton Highway Bridge in Redcliffe. It will be Australia's first coastal bridge capable of withstanding a one-in-2000-year storm event.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj has announced that work is now under way to implement the fourth phase of the Jamrat Bridge.

The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has approved the initial financial plan for the multi-billion dollar Ohio River Bridges Project. The document outlines project costs, schedule and funding mechanisms through to completion of the scheme in 2024.

India's Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has started the tender process for consultancy services on four flyover contracts in the city of Pune.

A cable-stayed bridge with a 73.5m-high "fish-shaped" observation tower as its pylon opened yesterday in east China's Anhui province.

A ceremony yesterday marked the start of construction of the Fourth Yangtze River Bridge at Nanjing, China. The main span of its focal three-span suspension section will be 1,418m. Total length of the bridge is almost 29km.

The planning application is being submitted this month for a new bridge over the River Tone in Taunton, western England. It has been designed by Flint & Neill in conjunction with Moxon Architects and will be a key element of the Taunton Third Way scheme, which is aimed at alleviating congestion in the town centre.

New Jersey Department of Transportation has awarded a contract for the replacement of the Highlands Bridge over the Shrewsbury River in the US state.

The Skyway section of the eastern span of the new bridge across San Francisco Bay has been completed on schedule. The US$1 billion contract has been carried out by a Kiewit-FCI-Manson joint venture for California's transportation department, Caltrans.

The main arch for the Sauvie Island Bridge in Oregon, USA, was brought to its site by barge yesterday. Completing the installation of the arch for the US$38 million project is expected by contractor Max Kuney to take three days.

Bridge collapses in Nepal and Indonesia have claimed dozens of lives.

Transport Scotland has announced the preferred bidder for the new Forth bridge's project consultancy contract. A joint venture of Arup and Jacobs - and including Flint & Neill Partnership, Dissing & Weitling and EC Harris - is expected to be appointed as the project management team.

The Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission has chosen Missouri Bridge Partners as the apparent "best-value" bidder to implement a plan to replace or rehabilitate more than 800 of the state's lowest-rated bridges within the next five years.

The new crossing of the Firth of Forth is to be a cable-stayed bridge upstream of the existing road bridge, cabinet secretary John Swinney told Scotland's parliament today.

Norwegian artist Vebjørn Sand has used ice to build a bridge outside the UN building in New York to highlight the threat of melting glaciers resulting from global warming. The 10m-long sculpture is based on a design by Leonardo da Vinci and the ice comes from Antartica.

The presidents of Chile, Bolivia and Brazil have agreed plans to complete a highway corridor connecting the three countries. The route will run from Santos on Brazil's Atlantic coast to Chile's Pacific coast.

Sweden's Rautaruukki - known as Ruukki - has signed a contract with project consortium TYL Vt6 to supply structural steel for the Mälkiä bridge over the Saimaa canal in Lappeenranta, Finland. The 315m-long bridge is part of a project to develop the motorway between Lappeenranta and Imatra.

Planned pedestrian and cycle bridges around the UK will receive funding following today's announcement that Sustrans' Connect2 project has won a public vote to distribute US$102 million of lottery money.

The US Federal Highway Administration has awarded a contract to Physical Acoustics Corporation under a steel bridge testing programme. The company's Acoustic Emission Sensor Highway II System is one of the technologies that has been selected for the programme, which is aimed at improving the quality and safety of steel bridges by using non-destructive evaluation techniques to detect damage.

Minnesota Department of Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau has issued a response to the preliminary findings of a state House of Representatives committee investigation into the Wakota Bridge construction project. The committee had criticised the department for mismanagement of the project, which had been due for full opening last month.

Shanghai has confirmed plans for a 7km bridge across the Yangtze River as part of a 52km expressway linking Chongming Island and Jiangsu Province. The bridge will provide a connection to the small city of Qidong.

Austrian contractor Alpine has won two infrastructure contracts in Bucharest, Romania. The contracts are together worth US$95.5 million and each includes a bridge.

The centre portion of a dramatic new pedestrian bridge in Singapore was raised to position 37m above ground level at the weekend. It had been built immediately beneath its final location and was lifted in a five-hour operation.

A celebration was held yesterday to mark the merger of Hong Kong's two railway companies. The Mass Transit Railway Corporation has taken has taken up the transport services of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, including the East and West Rail and Light Rail Transit networks.

China's 10.3km-long Chongming Bridge topped out yesterday, when the final concrete was placed in the second of the main towers for the focal suspension section.

Civil engineering company Spencer has been appointed to carry out major dehumidification works on the Severn Bridge, which links England and Wales. The US$9 million contract follows a similar project currently under way to dry out the cables on the Forth Road Bridge.

The government of Canada has announced that it will make the construction of South Ottawa's Strandhern Bridge a priority for funding under the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund.

Online voting opens today in a competition to choose the winner of US$103 million of UK lottery money. Four schemes are competing for the funding offered by “The people's £50 million”, with the winner chosen by public opinion and announced in December.

Construction of Dresden's controversial Waldschloesschen Bridge in the Elbe Valley has begun this week following the overturning of a final injunction that was preventing construction.

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) has said that the Forth Road Bridge cable replacement study is on track but that additional work will be required to prove the structural integrity of the anchorages where the main cables are attached to concrete-filled tunnels bored into the rock on each shore.

Construction, asset management and project investment company Graham has announced the opening of new offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

FCC's Austrian subsidiary Alpine has won a US$71.4 million contract for a new bridge over the River Danube at Traismauer in Lower Austria. The 1km-long prestressed concrete bridge will link the S33 and S5 highways, shortening the journey between Sankt Pölten and Vienna by 20km.

Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has chosen Paseo Corridor Constructors as the design-build contractor for the Interstate 29/35 corridor improvement project. The U$245 million scheme features the landmark cable-stayed Christopher S Bond Missouri River Bridge as well as highway upgrades.

River barge pilots were last week given the opportunity to take part in aircraft-style computer simulations of the navigation around two major new bridges currently being designed in Kentucky and Indiana. The observations and experiences of the 13 pilots are being supplied to the bridge design teams and shared with the Coast Guard to determine whether the proposals would benefit from any changes.

Designers from the UK, Germany, Tokyo and Germany join local firms in the second stage of the Te Wero Bridge design competition in Auckland, New Zealand.

Hong Kong's government has issued a notice in its official Gazette confirming the proposed extension of a footbridge network in Tseun Wan.

Seven workers were killed and others injured today by the collapse of a bridge under construction in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai.

Uganda's Ministry of Works & Transport is seeking expressions of interest from consultants for emergency repairs to a road bridge across the Nalubaale dam on the River Nile at Jinja.

Widening of Dubai's Al Maktoum Bridge has been completed and the bridge opened to traffic yesterday. It is part of an integrated scheme aimed at increasing provision for crossing Dubai Creek.

The City of Port Angeles in Washington State, USA, has awarded Parsons a US$18.4 million construction contract for the replacement of two 70-year-old bridges.

Minister of shipping, road transport and highways Thiru Baalu has approved funding for a high-level bridge over the River Vena in the Indian state of Bihar.

Crews yesterday began drilling the first test shaft for the piers of the replacement for the I-35W bridge that collapsed into the Mississippi River in August.

Penang's chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon has said that the cost of the Second Penang Bridge is now expected to be more than the original US$1 billion estimate because of rising costs of building materials.

Delaware Department of Transportation has today issued a request for qualifications for the design and build contract for the Indian River Inlet Bridge. It has announced that the bridge is now to be considerably longer than originally planned and that its cost estimate has risen from US$130 million to US$150 million.

Nottingham County Council in northern England is to study traffic movements across a section of the River Tyne with a view to making better use of existing crossings after a report by Faber Maunsell found it unlikely that a new bridge would secure funding.

Work started yesterday on the 2.4km Pelješac Bridge, a cable-stayed bay crossing that will connect the Croatian peninsula of Pelješac with the mainland. A consortium of Konstruktor, Viadukt and Hidroelektra is building the US$378 million scheme. However, the project is controversial as Bosnia believes it may violate its territorial waters.

Germany's Second Strelasund Crossing opened to traffic yesterday, relieving the original bridge which had served as the only connection between Ruegen Island and the mainland.

The Olympic Delivery Authority has announced that Adams Kara Taylor Engineers and Heneghan Peng Architects have won the competition to design one of the key footbridges in the centre of London's Olympic Park.

Publication of a hard-hitting report into last year's fatal collapse of an overpass has led the government of Quebec in Canada to announced details of a modernisation plan.

Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Authority has issued a tender notice in which it is seeking expressions of interest from international consultants to investigate cracks in the bridge, suggest remedial measures and prepare tender documents.

Transit New Zealand's chief executive Rick van Barneveld has issued a public statement headed "Auckland Harbour Bridge is safe" to counter concerns raised locally in recent days about the safety of the structure's extra "clip-on" lanes, which were added in 1969.

The transportation departments of the US states of Oregon and Washington have put the cost of the proposed Columbia River Crossing project at between US$3.1 billion and US$4.2 billion in a new estimate released this week.

An ambitious infrastructure development agenda is expected to create more than 250,000 jobs, said Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang yesterday in his annual policy address. He outlined progress on 10 major schemes, including the 35km-long cross-boundary Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge.

Minnesota Department of Transportation has officially awarded a Flatiron-Manson joint venture the contract for design and construction of the replacement for the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed in August. The team had been announced as the apparent winner in September. Details have also been released of the proposal submitted by the team, whose lead designer is Figg Bridge Engineers.

The Canadian province of Alberta has invited three groups to submit proposals to develop the north Edmonton ring road as a public-private partnership.

The Ministry of Transport, Public Works & Water Management in The Netherlands has announced that US$25 million of additional funding will enable a new bridge carrying the N50 to have a higher clearance than originally planned.

The governors of Indonesia's Banten and Lampung provinces have given the go-ahead for a pre-feasibility study into proposals for a record-breaking suspension bridge across the Sunda Strait.

A report released yesterday by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) identifies the need for US$13.58 billion to be spent on structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges in the US state.

Aas-Jakobsen has annnouced that it has been appointed to carry out pre-engineering for Norway's Hålogaland Bridge using the patented "bridge symphony" hybrid concept, which combines aspects of three different bridge types.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed for the construction of a 40km causeway linking Bahrain and Qatar.

Perth & Kinross Council in Scotland has unveiled possible designs for a new foot and cycle bridge over the River Tay. The planned bridge will be part of a national TV show being screened in November in which projects will compete for US$100 million of lottery funding.

Part of the approach to a major bridge under construction in Vietnam collapsed today. Latest reports from the official Vietnam News Agency say that 34 people have died and more than 170 are being treated in hospital.

Alaska state governor Sarah Palin has directed that an alternative should be found to the proposed US$398 bridge to Gravina Island.

Venezuela-based financial institution CAF has signed an agreement to finance a structural evaluation of Peru's bridges. The project will allow the government to fill gaps in the information held about its structures with a view to identifying where additional maintenance or repair may be needed.

A joint venture of Flatiron and Manson has been named as the apparent best value bidder for the replacement of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota, USA. The fast-tracked emergency design-build project will replace the bridge over the Mississippi River that collapsed on 1 August.

All four tenders that were opened yesterday for a new highway bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway exceed North Carolina Department of Transportation's US$27.9 million estimate by more than 10%. English Construction's bid of almost US$31 million was the lowest but the state normally only awards contracts if the price does not exceed the estimate by more than 10%.

The 1.5km-long Jim Anderson Bridge was officially opened on Sunday near Sydney, Australia to form the high-level Windsor flood evacuation route, which is part of of a floodplain management strategy. A time- lapse video commissioned by the Roads & Traffic Authority, New South Wales compresses the 16 month construction of the concrete viaduct to less than a minute.

The US Senate has approved a transportation bill for 2008 that adds US$1 billion in funding to address structurally deficient bridges.

A joint venture of Granite Construction and FCI Constructors has been awared a US$138 million contract by the California Department of Transportation.

Surrey County Council has just submitted a new planning application for Walton Bridge over the River Thames in southern England.

TY Lin International has announced the start of construction a new segmental bridge over the Kanawha River in South Charleston, West Virginia.

A section of flyover under construction in the Indian city of Hyderabad collapsed in heavy rain last night, killing three people and injuring up to 10 others.

A survey of businesses has been commissioned by the Forth Estuary Transport Authority to verify the economic impact of the traffic disruption that would be caused if the Forth Road Bridge's main suspension cables need replacing or augmenting.

An exhibition of more than 150 entries to the Te Wero Bridge design competition has gone on display in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland City Council received entries from around the world in answer to its challenge to design a striking, sculptural design for the waterfront.

Vietnam´s government has asked the authorities of Hochiminh City and Dong Nai Province to work together to develop and manage a build, operate and transfer project for a new 2.2km bridge over the Dong Nai River together with approach roads.

Part of the new Northern Bypass Bridge has collapsed in Karachi, Pakistan, killing an estimated 10 people.

A four day project to replace a 110m-long section of the Bay Bridge is proceeding on schedule in California, USA, and is due for completion by contractor CC Myers tomorrow.

The new Park Bridge along the Trans-Canada Highway in Kicking Horse Canyon, British Columbia has been completed ahead of schedule and opens to traffic today. The 405m-long bridge is carried by five piers which stand up to 90m high.

The Missouri Senate has backed an ambitious plan to repair more than 800 of the US state´s worst bridges by 2012. The bill, which now needs approval by the governor, will change state laws enabling the award of a single contract to have all the bridges repaired and then maintained for 25 years. Total cost of the project is put at between US$400 and US$600 million.

An agreement has been signed between Deh Cho Bridge Corporation and contractor Atcon Construction allowing work to start on a bridge over the Mackenzie River in northern Canada.

Afghanistan and Tajikistan have opened a new 680m-long crossing of the river Pyanj to link the two countries.

Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development (DOTD) has awarded a US$453 million contract for widening the main span of the Huey P Long Bridge, despite the bid being more than 51% higher than the original US$299 million estimate.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its second update into its investigation into this month's fatal I-35 bridge collapse. Removal of the structure is under way and investigators are developing a layout plan for critical structural elements removed from the river.

The executive committee of Bangladesh's National Economic Council yesterday approved construction of the US$1.5 billion Padma Bridge.

Flint & Neill Partnership, working with Marks Barfield Architects, Grontmij and MG Bennett & Associates, has won a US$460,