Skip to main content

Thomas Concrete Group “growing in the US and Europe”

The Swedish Thomas Concrete Group says it continues to grow in the United States, with the acquisition of three concrete plants in North and South Carolina, complementing the group’s network along the Atlantic coast. At the end of 2016, the Group also acquired three concrete plants in northern Poland. “Through strategic acquisitions in the US states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, Thomas Concrete Group has over the years achieved a strong position as a key supplier of ready-mixed concre
February 17, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The New Zealand government has confirmed that it is considering the introduction of open road tolling in Auckland.

Finance minister Steven Joyce told a business audience the government could support tolling but would not support a regional fuel tax.

He said, “There is no getting away from the fact that central Auckland is built on a narrow isthmus which makes it hard to get around – and the available land transport corridors are rapidly being used.

“So beyond the current building programme we are going to have to look at demand management to reduce the reliance on the road corridors, in favour of buses, trains and ferries.”

Joyce said the government is developing a work programme to look at demand management tools including electronic road tolling in the medium to long term. It would expect that any road pricing initiative on existing motorways and highways would predominantly be a replacement for petrol taxes and road user charges not in addition to them.

He said the government was keen to have a more detailed discussion about demand management tools and explore further options for longer term funding for new infrastructure, including the use of private finance for certain projects.

Related Content

  • NSW commits major funds to roads and maritime in 2013-2014 state budget
    June 20, 2013
    The New South Wales (NSW) Government will invest US$4.7 billion to build and maintain critical road and maritime infrastructure across the state in the 2013-2014 state budget, providing for new roads infrastructure, maintenance and road safety. Roads minister Duncan Gay says this new infrastructure fund, Restart NSW, will support the WestConnex Motorway, WestConnex enabling works in the Port Botany and Sydney Airport Precinct, the Pacific and Princes highways, Bridges for the Bush, and addressing congestion
  • Developments in signal head lens technology
    February 3, 2012
    Heads and tails Leading manufacturers of traffic signal systems discuss developments in signal head technology as well as some of the legacy issues which affect future deployments Transparent model of Dambach's ACTROS.line technology, showing the bus electronics in the signal head Cowls could be superseded by the greater use of lens technology
  • Tags or communication based toll payment systems?
    January 20, 2012
    Midland Expressway Ltd's Tom Fanning discusses deployment of Near Field Communicationbased payment on the M6 Toll facility The M6 Toll's introduction from early next year of Near Field Communication (NFC) is a pragmatic response to the relative scarcity of tolled facilities and the concomitant low levels of tag take-up in the UK, according to the road's operator, Midland Expressway Ltd (MEL). Nevertheless, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC)-based tags operating at 5.8GHz are still a key part of the
  • ATFI disputes toll survey findings
    September 15, 2014
    According to a recent poll by infrastructure group HNTB, 79 per cent of US residents would support "would support the addition of a toll on a non-tolled surface transportation facility if it resulted in a safer, congestion-free and more reliable trip." The poll also found 83 per cent of its respondents would also support tolls on highways that are currently free, which has been a source of contentious debate in Washington. HNTB Toll Services Chairman Jim Ely said the finding bolstered the argument o