Consultant Baker & Associates has been awarded the contract to design a replacement 'signature' bridge for the Cuyahoga County Engineer in Cleveland, Ohio. The structure will replace an existing crossing that was built in 1932 - while concrete arches are heavily favoured, the structure type has yet to be decided. Baker will provide public involvement services, conceptual design, and environmental clearance - construction is expected to begin in 2006.

Sundoya Bridge is situated in one of Norway's most scenic areas, only 100km south of the Arctic Circle. The 538m-long bridge spans Sundet, and when it is complete will provide a ferry-free road connection between Sundoya and the mainland.

China will help Indonesia fund the construction of a 5.44km-long bridge in East Java. The Chinese government will contribute US$167.84 million towards the total cost of the bridge, which is US$270 million. The bridge would link East Java's provincial capital Surabaya and the island of Madura. The rest of the funding would come from the Indonesian government through the national budget, the East Java provincial administration and PT Jasa Marga, a state-owned toll-road operator.

A joint venture between Vinci subsidiary Hidepito and Betonut has been awarded the contract to build a section of the M7 motorway linking Budapest and Slovenia. The 20km section includes 27 bridges, three of which are viaducts; construction will start in March and is due for completion in 2005.

Cleveland Bridge Group has announced the appointment of two new board members - Ian Reeves joins as president and chief executive officer, and John Fletcher has been appointed as senior non-executive officer. Reeves founded and was formerly deputy chairman of High-Point Rendel Group, where he oversaw the international development of the company and the merger of High-Point and Rendel Palmer & Tritton in 1986. Fletcher was formerly a director of Cleveland Bridge from 1968 to 1982, and managing director from 1971; he was a main board director of the Trafalgar House Group from 1982 to 1996, and president and chairman of Kvaerner Engineering & Construction from 1996 to 1999.

Virginia Approach Constructors submitted the apparent low bid for the second of three contracts to build the superstructure of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The joint venture of Granite Construction Company and Corman Construction submitted a bid of US$115 million, almost 28% below the engineers' estimate. This contract, for Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration, covers construction of the bridge from the abutment in Virginia, to the drawspan just off the Alexandria shore. Construction of the foundations for the bridge is now more than 90% complete. The drawspan portion is being built by American Bridge and Edward Kraemer & Sons, and award of the third bridge contract will take place later this year.

A consortium between the British companies Scott Wilson Holding and Flint & Neill Partnership and the Spanish company Ibernisa has been awarded a 60-month consulting contract for the Vidin-Kalafat Danube Bridge, the Bulgarian Transport Minister Plamen Petrov has announced. The consortium’s activities include drafting the conceptual design of the bridge, preparing a technical project on the adjacent infrastructure and the tender documentation on the selection of the bridge design and construction companies. The total cost of the works in the contract is estimated at US$5.7 million.