Severe pier displacement in a major viaduct has forced Venezuela's Ministry of Infrastructure to close the key route to the country's main airport. Repairs to the concrete structure have been under way for some months but major openings have now appeared in the columns following heavy rain and slippage of the adjoining hillside. There are now fears that the bridge could collapse at any time. The government not ruled out the permanent closure of the structure.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is to reopen the westbound lanes of the I-10 “twin spans” bridge tomorrow, eight days ahead of schedule. Round-the-clock repairs started on 12 September, two weeks after a storm surge during Hurricane Katrina knocked 435 segments out of alignment. Sixty-four segments were damaged so badly they had to be discarded.

Holland Railconsult's management and staff have taken over the majority of shares from principal shareholders ABN Amro and NPM Capital. The management and staff of the Utrecht-based engineering consultancy now hold 74% of shares. "A company like ours depends heavily on the commitment of its staff," said board of management chairman Wim Jol. "The fact that over 50% of them have invested in the company obviously says a lot about their commitment and their confidence in the future of Holland Railconsult.” Van Lanschot Bankiers, which holds the remaining 26%, structured and financed the buy-out and is also setting up the staff participation agreement.

The final placement has been completed on the upper part of the Penobscot River Crossing’s Verona Island pylon, bringing the tower section to its finished height of 131.32m. "Topping out the Verona upper pylon is an important milestone in this project," said project manager Tom Doe. Once the roof is added, the pylon will reach more than 136m. Work on the pylons will soon be halted until the weather warms up in spring. In the meantime, construction efforts will focus on the roadway sections connecting the bridge to the shores and heading towards the middle of the river. Crews will also work on the abutments, both of which are due for completion by early May.

The second of two cable-stayed bridges is just starting construction over the Neva River in St Petersburg. The same structural health monitoring system which was successfully installed on the first bridge is planned for the new crossing.

Toledo's newest bridge has been officially christened the Veterans Glass City Skyway in honour both of those who have served their country and to celebrate the city's heritage in the glass industry.

Work is set to start on the design of a new 900m-long bridge over the Mersey River in north west England following the government's go-ahead for the scheme. Transport secretary Alastair Darling has approved the project's entry into the national programme of major schemes and allocated US$365 million of funding. The new bridge will relieve pressure on the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge, which is about 400m west of the proposed site.

China's National Development & Reform Commission has approved a 49km expressway which includes the Xiangshan Port Bridge. The US$623 million route will save almost an hour on the journey from Ningbo to Dancheng. It is one of several sea crossings being built to connect bays and ports in the region.

Trans Park Highway Constructors - a joint venture of Parsons and Flatiron Construction of Canada - has been awarded the design and build contract for the Kicking Horse Canyon improvement project in British Columbia. The US$107 million scheme involves construction of 4.6km of highway and a 400m-long bridge high above the river. The team also has the concession to improve, operate and maintain a 26km corridor of the route for 26 years.

The self-anchored suspension bridge will have a single tower supporting a 365m forward span and a back span of 165m. Instead of using large anchorages, a suspension cable will wrap over the tower, underneath the western end of the span then over the tower again before anchoring in the roadway decks at the eastern end.

The Vietnamese and Chinese governments have agreed to build a four-lane bridge linking the two countries across the Red River. Construction is expected to start this month for completion next year. The 295m-long bridge is intended to relieve traffic volumes on the two exisiting bridges.

Edmund Nuttall will start work next week building a new, wider structure to replace the Surtees Bridge which carries the A66 highway in Stockton, north east England. All traffic will first be transferred to the eastbound carriageway to allow the westbound side of the bridge to be demolished and rebuilt. The US$25 million project is expected to take18 months.

Oklahoma governor Brad Henry yesterday signed legislation that immediately allocates US$125 million for emergency bridge repairs across the state. "With these emergency funds, we can attack the backlog of bridge repair projects that has plagued Oklahoma for decades,” he said. An estimated 1,600 bridges need replacement or rehabilitation.

Warwickshire County Council will this week announce details of an international competition to design a US$3.45 million pedestrian and cycle bridge for Stratford-upon-Avon. The competition will be launched at the MIPIM property show in Cannes and will be advertised across Europe. It will be administered by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The board of directors responsible for the Golden Gate Bridge has voted to commission the first phase of a US$2 million study into physical deterrence of suicide attempts. The initial project is expected to take six months and cost US$625,000. It will include a review of earlier studies carried out both for the Golden Gate and other long-suspension bridges. Output will include a report identifying concepts to take forward for wind tunnel testing and further studies. Generic design concepts are expected to fall into three categories:

North America's longest cable-stayed bridge has been proposed by the team that looks set to be awarded the design-build contract for a new crossing of the Mississippi River. The Audubon Bridge Constructors Joint Venture plans a structure that would exceed the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge's 471m main span. The bridge will have a total length of 3.9km. The joint venture's bid of US$334.7 million was the lowest submitted for the project and the team also achieved the highest technical scores. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development has 45 days to make a decision on awarding the contract. Audubon Bridge Constructors is made up of Flatiron Construction, Granite Construction and Parsons Transportation Group with Buckland & Taylor.

Eiffel has won a US$24.5 million construction contract for the Viaduc de la Grand Ravine on the Tamarins road on Reunion Island. The 288m-long steel deck will be designed to withstand winds of 290km/h. It will require 124,000 hours of design studies followed by fabrication in Lauterbourg and transport to site, with opening due by the end of 2008. The company had already been awarded two other structures as part of the scheme.

Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority has chosen a striking double helix design for a new pedestrian bridge at Marina Bay, a prime development zone. The bridge's walkway is encircled by opposing double helix structures, in reference to DNA. The design is by an international consortium comprising engineer Arup and architects Cox Group and Architects 61.

The contract to design and build a new 1.2km road bridge over the Forth at Kincardine in Scotland has been awarded to Morgan-Vinci. The crossing will take the form of a slender, low multi-span viaduct with navigation spans to match the existing bridge. Work on the US$210 million project is set to start in June with completion due in summer 2008.

Scotland's ministers have agreed to start planning for a new bridge over the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting, where it was also agreed to abolish tolls on the Erskine Bridge and to reject proposals to raise peak-time tolls on the existing Forth Bridge.

New York State Department of Transportation has appointed a joint venture of STV and Parsons Brinckerhoff as construction manager for the replacement of Roslyn Viaduct. The US$127.4 million project involves replacing the deteriorated steel and concrete bridge with a 654m-long precast segmental concrete structure. The joint venture will administer the construction contract and provide resident engineering and field inspection services.

Storting - the Norwegian parliament - has approved plans for construction of a major bridge to replace the ferry service at Hardanger Fjord in the west of the country. The two lane structure will be Norway's longest suspension bridge, with a main span of 1310m. The project also includes tunnels and approaches.

The Delhi Cabinet has approved construction of a US$105 million crossing of the Yamuna to improve links between the city centre and its outskirts. The 575m-long cable-stayed bridge will be supported from a 175m-high pylon which will include two public viewing galleries. Construction is expected to start in June under the management of Delhi Tourism & Transport Development Corporation.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council is investigating a new bridge overlay intended to reduce the build-up of ice and snow on driving surfaces. The epoxy overlay includes a 10mm aggregate layer that slowly releases de-icing chemicals. The limestone aggregate allows salt-brine solution to “penetrate the pores of the aggregate like a sponge” said to VTRC materials associate director Michael Sprinkel. VTRC is evaluating the technique this winter and next on behalf of Virginia Department of Transportation.

The French government has approved a project to build a footbridge to replace the causeway to Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. The 19th century causeway needs to be removed in order to to restore the tidal regime around the dramatic abbey-topped rocky islet. Work on the new 396m bridge will start in the second quarter of this year, announced environment minister Nelly Olin.

The 28th and longest bridge over Shanghai's Suzhou Creek will be in use by the end of this year and work is set to start on two further bridges, according to city engineers. The 735m-long Gubei Road Bridge will have a 70m-long arch at its focus. It is intended to boost north-south traffic, as the city is currently better served by east-west arteries. There are plans to start work this year on two further bridges over Suzhou Creek - the Zhenping Road Bridge and the Qilianshan Road Bridge.

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is issuing a global invitation for pre-qualification to build the US$640 million second phase of the Western Freeway Sea Link. The crossing will run from Worli to Nariman Point near Mumbai and the project will be carried out on a build, operate and transfer basis. It consists of a 12.75km sea link and 5.4km of connectors. Documents will be available from MSRDC between 27 February and 31 March. Submissions must be returned by 1500h (IST) on 7 April.

The European Investment Bank has given a US$102 million loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina to modernise 172km of key railways. The loan represents some 50% of the total finance and will include the rehabilitation and reconstruction of bridges, tunnels and stations as well as an overhaul of the track. Design work starts this year, with construction planned for 2008 to 2011.

Representatives of the Mozambique government and Portuguese consortium Mota Engil/Soares da Costa have this week signed the contract for construction of a new bridge over the Zambezi River. The 2.3km bridge will link the Sofala and Zambezia provinces. Sweden, Italy and the European Union are providing funding for the US$80 million project.

Work started on site yesterday in preparation for the new Golden Ears Bridge and its associated roads in British Columbia, Canada. Fraser River Pile & Dredge will work round the clock six days a week until the end of the month pumping sand from the Fraser River to avoid having to bring in thousands of loads from further away. The company is a member of the Golden Crossing Group, which is led by Bilfinger Berger and has responsibility to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the six-lane bridge and its associated road network.

Consultant Faber Maunsell is set to be appointed to carry out a six month study addressing corrosion of the Forth Road Bridge's main suspension cables. The board of the Forth Estuary Transport Association (FETA) meets on 24 February and will discuss a report which calls for an immediate study to investigate the prospects for installing a dehumidification system on the cables.

Geotechnical investigations are starting next week for the design of a replacement bridge over the Waihou River at Kopu in New Zealand. The bridge forms part of a primary link between Auckland and the Coromandel. Beca Infrastructure is carrying out the design, which expected to take about two years to complete. Client for the work is Transit New Zealand. The new crossing will be 500m long with two lanes and will be built slightly upsteam of the existing bridge. Replacement of the Kirikiri Stream Bridge will also be investigated as part of the project.

The USA's Federal Highway Adminstration (FHWA) has published a report which it says describes the most comprehensive set of real-time field trial measurements of bridge scour ever assembled. US Geological Survey researchers spent more than six years collecting data. FHWA recommends the report for use by bridge and hydraulic engineers involved in bridge scour evaluation and by researchers involved in developing improved evaluation procedures. Details are available from the

Eiffage Travaux Publics has handed over the Laize Viaduct which forms part of a new route opening next year from Fleury-sur-Orne to Boulon, south of Caen. The 352m-long structure is up to 31m high, standing on six columns. Construction took 20 months and used some 5,000t of materials.

A joint venture of Traylor's Heavy Civil Division and Massman Construction has been awarded a contract to build a 6.4km high-level bridge in Leeville, Louisiana, USA. The structure includes connecting ramps and interchanges and the project start-up is set for next month.

Congestion in the Canadian province of British Columbia is to be tackled by a comprehensive new programme designed to open up the transportation network. The US$2.6 billion plan includes a new six-lane bridge over the Pitt River and the twinning of the Port Mann Bridge which will include provision for reintroduction of a public transit service. “Our existing bridges and highways in the Lower Mainland are well beyond their designed capacities,” said premier Gordon Campbell.

The plans are outlined in a report published yesterday by the Ministry of Transportation. There has been little investment in transportation infrastructure since the mid-1980s, concludes the report. Greater Vancouver's population has risen from 800,000 to more than 2.1 million since the Port Mann Bridge was built in 1964 and the bridge is congested for 13 hours a day. There has been no significant increase in major road and goods movement capacity since the completion of the Alex Fraser Bridge in 1986.

Columbia's Instituto Nacional de Vías plans to give the go-ahead on Friday for the replacement of Banadía Bridge which collapsed in 2004 when the central river pier was undermined. Design and construction of the 120m-long lightweight steel arch structure is due to take 14 months.

The Malaysian government has announced that it is to go ahead with the building of a bridge to replace its half of the causeway that provides a link to Singapore. Contractor Gerbang Perdana had been asked to stop work on the project in 2004 as the two governments have been in negotiations about building a bridge to replace the entire causeway. Malaysia has now decided to take unilateral action. "We need to build the bridge because we want the water along the coastal area in South Johor to flow freely, not blocked by the causeway," said prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Malaysia's public works department has now instructed Gerbang Perdana to resume work on underwater surveying ahead of building the bridge.

An earthquake engineer at the University of Buffalo in the USA has developed a new design for bridge piers to make them more resistant to terrorist attacks and earthquakes. The design is the work of Michel Bruneau, the director of the university's Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research. It is intended for use on small- and medium-sized bridges such as those constructed over highways.

Granite Archer Western emerged yesterday as the low bidder for reconstruction of a hurricane-hit bridge over the Bay of St Louis in the US state of Mississippi. The winning lump sum bid of US$266.8 million beat the price of US$358.1 million put forward by the only other tenderer, GC Constructors.

The winner of a second contract - involving the rebuilding of the Biloxi Bay Bridge - was also due to be announced yesterday but the scheme has been put on hold in the light of Coast Guard concerns about shipping access. Granite Archer Western was the only lump sum bidder for this contract, with a price of US$180.2 million. It had indicated that it would prefer to carry out the St Louis Bay project if it came out with the best scores on both.

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction has launched a new seismic damping system for bridges. The technology involves the use of attenuation devices strung diagonally between the bridge's piers using a pair of connectors. The "tops" spin when an earthquake causes the connectors to move, helping prevent vibrarions from being transferred to the bridge.

The final deck segment has been completed for the 5.545km Shenzhen Bay Bridge. Hong Kong secretary for the environment, transport and works Dr Sarah Liao officiated at a ceremony to mark the occasion. The US$110 million bridge will form a major section of a new western corridor linking Shenzhen and Hong Kong which is due for completion this year.

Bid opening has been postponed 60 days for the US$1.4 billion signature span of San Francisco's Bay Bridge. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has responded to requests from tenderers for more time to prepare the bids and develop their teams. Tenders will now be opened on 22 March instead of 1 February, with the contract awarded on April 21. Incentives to bid have also been increased and the three lowest bidders will now each receive US$5 million instead of the US$2 million originally intended. The project was first tendered in 2004 but there was only a single bid, which was rejected as it was almost double Caltrans' estimate.

Construction of the Ham Luong Bridge in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre started yesterday. Capital investment in the 1.28km bridge will be more than US$37.5 million, raised from government bonds. Completion is due in 2008.

The Philippines Department of Public Works & Highways has reported that 304 bridges were completed last year through funding by the President's Bridge Program. Mabey & Johnson has supplied the steel components and construction support for the programme which is a joint scheme between the Philippines govenment and the UK.

Cianbro Corporation is to carry out the replacement of the aging bascule lift span of the Thames River Bridge in Connecticut. The US$76 million project for rail operator Amtrak will take two years to complete, with virtually all work carried out while the railway continues to operate. The most dramatic phase will take place towards the end of 2007 when the movable centre portion of the bridge will be replaced. The new 57m-long 1,250t section will be floated to the site on barges and lifted into position during a four-day planned outage of the rail service.

Extensive repairs to London's Battersea Bridge have been completed three months ahead of schedule. The bridge was badly damaged when it was hit by a 200t barge in September 2005 and engineers originally feared it would have to remain closed to traffic until the summer. "We've been able to bring forward the completion date through a combination of repair techniques, careful planning and project management, and a lot of hard work," said Transport for London chief operating officer for surface transport Peter Brown.

Delaware Department of Transportation is now to build a cable-stayed structure for the Indian River Inlet Bridge in place of the more expensive dramatic concrete arch that was originally planned. Construction of the arch was put on hold in October when only one bid was received despite seven contractors prequalifying for the tender. The bid was for more than US$200 million - some US$80 million above the estimate. The new bridge is now expected to be completed by 2010 - two years later than originally intended.

Washington State Department of Transportation has expanded the website for the New Tacoma Narrows Bridge to include an interactive section on the bridge's construction. The "Building the bridge" section aims to provide a one-stop shop for information on all five phases of the project's construction, from the rise of the caissons, anchorages and towers to the spinning of the cables and the assembly of the deck.

The Asian Development Bank is to conduct a study to aid China in drawing up a policy reform plan for the country's railway network. China's rail traffic is growing rapidly but is losing ground to other modes of transport. There are therefore plans to build some 6,000km of new lines and provide 3,000km of double lines, as well as to improve capacity on 10,000km of other lines through electrification and increased operating speeds. Capital investment is expected to reach some US$56 billion in the five year period to 2007.

Bangladesh's communications minister Nazmul Huda has said that construction of the Karnaphuli Bridge will begin in April. Seven teams prequalified for construction of the Kuwait-funded 900m-long crossing and five are expected to submit bids by the 15 January deadline, said Huda, following the withdrawal of two Japanese bidders. Four of the remaining organisations are from China and one is from Korea.