Around the world, there are thousands of kilometres of rural roads that support farms, ranches, mines, forestry and other operations; these roads are vital to many people and businesses, but often are left unpaved for cost reasons.

The Ontario Asphalt Paving Council was forced to cancel its annual Spring Operations Seminar this past March due to coronavius concerns, but it will return July 15 in a virtual webinar format.

The ongoing expansion and renovation of Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a $5 billion CAD project (a 30-year plan that is actually $9.1 billion when adjusted for inflation) that reimagines what an airport needs to be in order to handle an already impressive growth curve that portends even bigger things ahead. 

Safe and quality asphalt roadways acquired through proper design and construction, and timely maintenance remains a prime objective for all stakeholders in the roadbuilding industry. However, this quest is challenged by low-bid contract practices, limited budgets, increasing traffic volumes, climate change, use of substandard materials, proliferation of specifications, and many more concerns. Industry-practitioners recognize that these challenges cannot be effortlessly wished away. They require that we consistently strive for the best strategies that can guaranty good quality roadways, fair value for the work undertaken and a healthy competitive market that enables innovation. 

Asphalt paving is the latest construction sector to enter the age of electric vehicles as Dutch company BAM Infra has recently put a fully electric tandem roller to work on road projects.

Trimble has released its Roadworks 2D Paving Control Platform for asphalt pavers, an automatic screed control system that can improve the accuracy and productivity in applications of asphalt paving. Trimble Roadworks enables paving contractors to minimize the waste of expensive asphalt material, achieve optimal rideability results as well as finish their projects on time and budget.

Beyond the standard PPE of vests, glasses and hard hats, wearable technology can further improve safety for construction workers. Here are six construction safety wearables for 2020 that address the dangers of heat exhaustion, fatigue, and lack of visibility, among other jobsite hazards.

Connectivity and productivity are important to everyone, especially when the world is mostly busy at home. In rural areas, the spread of high-speed internet access has been slow. For one company, though, it has become the basis for its operations.

The ongoing expansion and renovation of Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is a $5 billion CAD project (a 30-year plan that is actually $9.1 billion when adjusted for inflation) that reimagines what an airport needs to be in order to handle an already impressive growth curve that portends even bigger things ahead. 

Bentley Systems has acquired NoteVault, a San Diego-based provider of voice-based field automation for construction management.

Autodesk has released the BIM 360 Assets module within Autodesk Construction Cloud. The module enables construction teams to track and manage project assets through the entire building lifecycle - from design through handover - from one centralized location. 

Procore's meetings solution helps ensure everyone is aligned and tracking important updates and decisions on their projects daily. As people continue to maintain social distancing best practices, Procore will continue to support construction teams in remaining aligned while working remotely. In light of the continuously evolving landscape and the challenges presented by the coronavirus, the company has developed two new video conferencing tool integrations.