The world’s biggest tunnel-boring machine has dug the 9km-long Gudauri tunnel in the mountains of the Caucasus state of Georgia. It’s part of the 23km “KK Highway” linking the cities of Kvesheti and Kobi, north of the capital, Tblisi. The 8,860m tunnel will allow the road, which is 2,400m above sea level, to remain open in winter. It will also cut the drive time between the two cities from an hour to 20 minutes. A 2019 report by the Asian Development Bank, one of the project’s funders, said the old road couldn’t handle the 3,000-4,000 vehicles that used it each day, causing congestion ..read more

Vietnam broke ground this week on the 60km stretch of highway in the north of the country that will complete its historic $59bn North-South expressway. The $430m section runs north from the district of Chi Lang to the Chinese border town of Dong Dang. Just over the border in China is the “Friendship Pass” gate that marks the border between the two countries. When complete, it will be the end of an immense project conceived in 2016 and begun in 2019 to replace the famous Route 1 – the “Street without Joy” – with a modern motorway. It will have four lanes in mountainous regions and up to ..read more

Transport ministers from Iraq, Turkey, UAE, and Qatar met on Monday to sign a memorandum of understanding on Iraq’s “Development Road”. It’s envisaged as a 1,200km motorway, rail link and oil pipeline between Iraq’s Al-Faw Grand Port in the Persian Gulf and Turkey, a scheme that has been roughly costed at $17bn. The link between the Gulf and Turkey’s Mediterranean coast could be an alternative shipment route to the Suez canal, and bring Iraqi oil to Turkey and Europe.  The agreement was signed by the four ministers in Baghdad, and was witnessed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, the prime m ..read more

Construction has begun on the US’ first true high-speed rail line, a 351km link between Las Vegas and Southern California. The $12bn Brightline West, which will travel at speeds of up to 322km/h, has so far received $3bn in funding from Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and $3.5bn from the Department of Transport. The majority of the line will run alongside interstate-15, with stops at new stations to be built in Hesperia, Rancho Cucamonga and Victor Valley. The project includes $800m in improvements to the I-15 corridor. Brightline says its electric trains will save 400,000 tons of ..read more

The City of Anaheim, California, has voted to allow the Walt Disney Company’s $1.9bn DisneylandForward plan to go ahead. The details of Disney’s plans have not yet been finalised, according to the city, but they will include theme park attractions alongside hotels on the west side of Disneyland Drive, and attractions, shopping, dining and entertainment areas in the to the southeast on what is today the Toy Story Parking Area. The DisneylandForward plan will provide the state with $45m for street and sewerage upgrades, $30m for affordable housing and $40m to buy land surrounding the current ..read more

Denmark’s Bjarke Ingels Group, local firm BNIM Architects and the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Design are collaborating on a 50,000 sq m mass-timber building for the university. The six-storey Makers’ KUbe will provide the university with studio spaces, and 3D-printing and robotic labs. It will be held up by a timber diagrid, engineered by Canadian consultant StructureCraft. This is inspired by Japanese joinery techniques, which use dowels and notched glulam elements to create an interior with oblique columns and beams that fit together without steel plates or fasteners ..read more

Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been chosen to design the three-storey Centre for Arts & Innovation in Boca Raton, southeast Florida. The centre’s main hall will be used for events, exhibitions and performances, and can extend into an outdoor piazza if more space is required. The building will also contain flexible working spaces, workshops, an incubator, educational areas, a roof with 100,000 sq ft of photovoltaic panels and, above that, a 100-capacity area to be known as “the Belvedere”. There is also an underground car park, which can be used for other functions. Renzo Piano ..read more

Architecture firm EskewDumezRipple has produced a concept design for the planned Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience Museum in New Orleans. The 120,000-sq-ft The Louisiana Music and Heritage Experience will be located across the street from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center downtown. It will celebrate the contributions the city has made to the music industry, incorporating many styles. The architect said that while there are several smaller museums in the state and region celebrating specific genres, this one would take a “complete view of music as it relates to the people and le ..read more

When you hear the term “artificial intelligence” (AI), what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps it’s the rise of ChatGPT, or the thought of robots taking over from us. No matter your stance on AI, it’s becoming a big part of our future and we’ll have to adapt. The construction industry is one of the least digitalised industries and is at the very early stages of technology adoption.  But quite a few people who work in the industry say they’re eager for it.  According to recruitment agency, Randstad, 46% of those surveyed believe upskilling in technological skills l ..read more

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