Chile's public works ministry (MOP) is working on five new urban highway concession initiatives totaling US$2bn, an official from the ministry's concessions division told BNamericas. MOP is currently drawing up the documentation for capital Santiago's Vespucio Oriente highway, which will be launched for tender next year, the official said. Join discussion...

Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell's transportation plan includes speculative components that may - or may not - build highways in Virginia. But the Republican does promise to emphasize one existing program that has worked well for the state in the past. The Public-Private Transportation Act has been instrumental in the construction of highways in Northern Virginia, Richmond and the Southwest. Projects now under way include the addition of high-occupancy toll lanes to the Capital Beltway and a new transit line to Dulles International Airport. Join discussion...

IRB Infrastructure Developers, the Mumbai-based highway builder, may raise up to Rs1,200 crore to fund its projects. Virendra D Mhaiskar, IRB's chaiman & managing director, said the company's board has passed an enabling resolution to raise Rs1,200 crore. "We have not decided how much we have to raise now or the instruments to be used," he said on a conference call on Tuesday. Join discussion...

The Department of Transportation has dissolved all its privately funded road projects in the state. The DOT says its part of a plan to revamp a program meant to lure private money to transportation projects. Join discussion...

Marxist economics has a basic principle, that “prices are formed in the commodity markets”. Since Marxists don’t regard services as being of any real value, they don’t have a theory about where prices are ‘formed’ for services. Nor, it would seem, does the Road Transport and Highways Ministry. It has been tying up itself into all kinds of knots over toll rates. The latest confection has been served up at the Allahabad bypass on the National Highways network. Join discussion...

State officials and environmentalists are nearing a deal to build a 5-mile bridge to link the northern Outer Banks with the mainland. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported Monday that the $650 million toll bridge would stretch over the Currituck Sound to Corolla, known for its lighthouse and wild horses. Projected tolls on the Mid-Currituck Bridge would be $10 to $15 for a one-way trip. The bridge is expected to generate $7 million in its first year. Join discussion...

Traffic on San Diego County's lone tollway — the South Bay Expressway — hit the skids this summer, largely because of a sour economy that has undercut one of the road's major selling points. When it opened two years ago, the tollway was pitched as a hassle-free alternative to busy Interstate 805 and other roads. But a regionwide drop in congestion appears to be making it less of a magnet for harried commuters. Join discussion...

Tolls and private money, not an infrastructure bank, will raise revenue for infrastructure spending plans under a Tory administration, NCE can reveal. Speaking exclusively to NCE, Conservative construction minister Mark Prisk ruled-out an infrastructure bank, which has long been the subject of lobbying by the ICE. Prisk said it was better to use tolls to attract private investment to finance infrastructure. Join discussion...

Macquarie Infrastructure Group has reported an improvement in traffic and revenue across its toll roads in Europe and North America from a low point earlier this year. MIG, which is heavily exposed to overly indebted toll roads in the US, today released figures showing a 1.6 per cent increase in traffic across its toll roads for the September quarter, compared with 0.6 per cent growth in the June quarter and a 6.4 per cent decline in the March quarter. Revenue increased on all of its major toll roads. Join discussion...

The 9km elevated highway by the Bangalore Elevated Tollway Ltd (BETL) is expected to be completed by mid November. When the stretch opens to public it would be the first of its kind in Bangalore. Join discussion...