Latest news with #roadconstruction
Times of Oman
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Construction for parts of Sultan Said bin Taimour Road starts
Salalah: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology announced the commencement of work on the dual-carriageway of Sultan Said bin Taimour Road for parts (3, 4, and 5), spanning approximately 400 kilometres with a total cost exceeding OMR258 million. Eng. Said Mohammed Tabook, Director General of Roads and Land Transport in Dhofar Governorate, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that the executing companies have begun construction work on the three parts, with a project duration of 36 months. He explained that Part 3 extends from Haima to Maqshin over 132.5 kilometres, Part 4 covers about 135 kilometres from Maqshin to Dokha, while Part 5 stretches 132.5 kilometres from Dokha to Thumrait. He added that the project will enhance Oman's road network efficiency and improve connectivity between governorates. The road is designed for year-round accessibility across various weather conditions and will improve traffic safety through concrete/steel barriers, reflectors, road markings, and warning signs. It will also support economic, tourism, commercial, and social development.
The Sun
13-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
I lost a THIRD of my garden to £2B mega road & massive wall snaking around my home… it's a nightmare but I won't move
A £2BILLION road has been built around a pensioner's garden after he refused to move from the family home he has lived in for 65 years. The new road, which curves around John Watkeys' home, officially opened yesterday in Merthyr Tydfill. 9 John, 75, was first told by officials that they would not need any of his land or house to build the Heads of Valleys road, but they later changed their minds. However, John stood his ground and, instead, the road now curves around his home after he refused to have it knocked down. The Welsh government offered to compulsory purchase the property, but the former microbiologist and keen gardener refused. While John was luckily able to keep his forever home, he still lost a third of his beloved garden to the road scheme. He said: 'The whole process has been upsetting. It's been stressful. 'I've been left picking up the pieces. 'It has been extremely stressful for a lot of years.' 9 9 9 John used to grow fruit and veg in the garden, and would also sit under an oak tree to watch bats, however, this was all lost to the new road. He said: 'In the evenings, bats used to come around the oak tree, for the gants and insects. 'Now, you don't see any. I miss it. It was a sign of life, really.' The 28-mile stretch of road snakes round his house and he is now left with a massive wall at the end of his garden, where he has started to replant. John explained: 'They said we want to knock down your garage and we need your drive. 'You can imagine my response. 'So they found another way.' He added: 'When I was a kid, you'd look out onto the garden, and there'd be goldfinches, bullfinches, tits, wrens, a couple of jays and woodpeckers. 'You'd hear owls in the evenings. 'You'd always have a few hedgehogs, but now, you're lucky if you see a few blackbirds. 'There aren't any birds left, nothing. 'It's almost devoid of the wildlife that you used to see. 'It's because the habitat is gone. I've lost oaks, I've lost hawthorns. 'They took down a lovely 70-year-old oak tree at the bottom of my garden.' 9 9 The Heads of the Valleys road has now officially opened after 23 years of roadworks and a £2billion spend. What was once a relatively small A465, is now a major road. Some nicknamed it the "road from hell," while the work that started in 2002 was being completed. This was due to the congestion it caused, but now all the cones have gone and traffic flows freely. First Minister Eluned Morgan, has named the upgrade Wales' biggest project since devolution in 1999, giving valleys communities "the same opportunities" as other areas. John explained that now the roadworks are complete, he is trying to rebuild his garden in a bid to make it as special as it once was. He said: 'I did a couple of hours out there yesterday digging it over, and it will need some more before I start planting. 'Unfortunately, at my age, I won't see the full effect of it. 'And all that is because of the road.' John explained that despite initial assurances that the new road would not take any of his land, they later wanted to knock down part of his house, with the Welsh government even offering to buy it off of him. However, John refused to sell the home he grew up in, in the Cefn Coed area of Merthyr. He said that not only was this his childhood home, but both his parents and wife died there and he could not part with it. Three tips for saving money on your garden John recalled how, in February 2019, advisors from the firm involved in the road expansion requested a meeting and came to see him at his home. He said: 'I can remember it like it was yesterday. 'They said 'our plans have changed. We're going to knock down your garage. We want the whole of your drive for our working area and you can have that bit back when we are finished.'' John continued: 'The heating, my hot water and everything was at the back of the garage, so I think you can imagine my response to that. 'You fight it as best you can.' After challenging this offer, John said they came back to him asking just to take a bit of the garden. He said: 'You get compensation but it still hasn't settled yet. 'It's a compulsory purchase so they can do what they want. 'They were pile driving right outside my back door. 'That was hellish noisy. Extremely noisy.' 9 9 9 John has been given interim compensation from the Welsh government for the loss of his garden but is waiting for a full settlement. The pensioner isn't alone in his frustration, as neighbour, Daryl Wilkins, claims the works have left his home with cracks in the walls. The former fish and chip van owner, 79, said: "I had a survey on the house before work started and there were no cracks. "Now my house has cracks on outside and inside walls and that's because of vibrations from piling going on outside my house." He added: "Now I've got damage throughout the house, it will take thousands of pounds to repair. "I don't want compensation, I just want my house repaired." Transport secretary Ken Skates said he thanked residents 'for their patience during the construction period' and that the Welsh government continued to 'work with them to resolve any issues.' The Sun has reached out to Merthyr council and Transport for Wales for further comment.
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Chippenham road was resurfaced while 'meeting net zero' standards
A street dubbed the "worst road" in a town has become one of the first in the UK to be resurfaced while meeting net zero standards, according to a Road in Chippenham was resurfaced in October, after residents' vehicles suffered damage and discomfort by cracks and it has come to light that the work was part of a trial between Wiltshire Council contractors and academics to product a "net zero" road biochar, a waste product from the biomass industry, Wiltshire Council said the process had increased the cost of the project by 5%. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the process included superheating straw waste, used to power boilers to heat industrial greenhouse, in a vacuum, locking in carbon rather than releasing it into the makes up about 7% of the road surface material. The contractors also used UK-produced steel slag, a by-product of the steel industry, rather than virgin top of the new road surface material was Milepave, which is produced at lower mixing temperatures than traditional Tarmac, requiring less energy and bitumen, and which is derived from crude oil, according to scheme used 871 tonnes of Milepave across 8,216 sq m (about two acres) of road surface, cutting carbon by 40%, equivalent to the carbon emissions of 10,000 litres of diesel, the LDRS road was later sealed with a special asphalt grout that stops water getting into the road surface – making cracks and potholes far less at Aston University in Birmingham are are trialling the new road surface.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10 road construction projects in downtown Detroit set to last until 2026
The Brief Multiple downtown Detroit road construction projects are set to last until June, 2026. There are nearly 1,000 traffic cones downtown among the 10 projects ongoing. DETROIT (FOX 2) - Construction season is here, especially in the downtown area with the constant road closures and blocked lanes making driving a nightmare, at times. Big picture view Lydia Shaia lives in Sterling Heights. "I leave early in the morning and I like to look at my phone and see the maps, see which route is the fastest," said Lydia Shaia who lives in Sterling Heights. "But the traffic and the construction kind of increases my time." Driving in downtown Detroit has got more twists and turns than the Grand Prix racetrack these days. "Even leaving is a lot harder too, because they're helpful with directing us," she said. "But we're stuck either in the parking garage or we're stuck with traffic." "Leaving is definitely harder than coming here," said Brooke Keeney, a Walled Lake resident. "I don't want to let my secrets out. But coming in earlier definitely makes a difference as far as the traffic goes. "If I leave my house at seven, it's so much better than if I leave my house at eight." And navigating the orange cones can be a whirlwind, says Shaia and Keeney who both work downtown. "Sometimes they're confusing. I accidentally took the wrong road one time just because of the signs, but it just takes learning and being able to kind of adjust to the new norm for a little bit," Shaia said. The City of Detroit says there is close to 1,000 cones in the downtown area, helping folks get around the 10 construction projects going on. Sam Krassenstein is the deputy director of the Department of Public Works. "We're at Monroe and Randolph downtown right now. So the two big projects are right behind me," he said. "So one is Randolph Street, which runs north-south. That's a city project, where we're doing a street scape along Monroe from basically Gratiot all the way down to Jefferson." The other, says Krassenstein, is the private construction going on at Greektown, making it more pedestrian-friendly. "Additionally we have some private utility work that's being improved," he said. "We have some other roads that are being improved where you have the Grand Circus Park improvements that the downtown Detroit partnership's doing. "We have the Jefferson Avenue work related to the new bridge that going across from the riverfront to Congress, behind Huntington Place." He says the city understands that driving can be a pain, so public transportation is an option. "We have the People Mover downtown which is free, we have the QLine which is free," he said. But if you drive, keep a close eye on Google Maps, he says, which they update constantly. Some projects will last until May or June of next year. "All this construction investment is a sign of a healthy downtown," he said. About 10 projects are going on for the next year. The City says if you plan on coming down here, plan ahead. The Source Information for this story came from interviews with two commuters who work downtown and Sam Krassenstein of DPW.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2nd St./Rio Bravo intersection to close for construction on June 18
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Construction is gearing up for a big road construction project this summer on an extremely busy Albuquerque intersection. Starting on June 18 and going through June 22, road crews will get started on roadwork at 2nd Street and Rio Bravo Blvd. Elite U.S. Army parachuting team performs at Kirtland AFB for 2025 Air Fiesta Construction began about a year ago, just down the street at the nearby Princeton Dr. and Rio Bravo Blvd. intersection and stretching all the way to I-25. This upcoming project will bring several improvements to this intersection of roads, walking trails, and train tracks. 'The road is being widened to 6 lanes. Three lanes in each direction. And we're installing a sidewalk on the north side of the road, where there previously wasn't one. And the southside has a trail that we'll also be improved….the railroad will be widened to match the road section, which is six lanes,' said Rodrigo Eichwald, Engineering Program Manager, Bernalillo County. During the closure, traffic will be diverted further down 2nd Street, towards Woodward Rd. Even though full closures will be sporadic, the full construction project is not expected to be complete until December. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
