- Governor Cuomo Rolls Out Cashless Tolling Plan for MTA Tunnels, Bridges
- FHWA Approves RI Truck Toll Plan. Agreement on Gantry Location Near Native American Burial Site Is Expected.
- KTA Changes Policy on Social Media Tornado Warnings to Avoid Public Confusion
- MassDOT to Dump Billions of E-ZPass, Fast Lane Records
- MassDOT to Keep Motorists AET Speed Data for 30 Days
- MassDOT Board Meets Today to Set New Toll Rates
- US Traffic Fatalities Surge in First Six Months of 2016
- Tolls Lifted in South Florida as Hurricane Matthew Approaches
- NJ Turnpike and Winery Head to Court in Logo Dispute
- Golden Gate Bridge Board Running Out of Time to Fund Anti-Suicide Barrier
- Bridgegate: Cuomo Denies Any Involvement, Witness Says State Office Became a "Virtual Arm" of Christie Reelection Campaign
- Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies Invest in Fencing to Protect Mountain Lions
- Ohio River Bridges to Host Twitter Chat on RiverLink
- Fitch on Chesapeake Transportation System Bonds
- Google's Self-Driving Cars Hit Two Million Mile Mark
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Governor Cuomo Rolls Out Cashless Tolling Plan for MTA Tunnels, Bridges
New York Daily News reports, “This toll change is too late for Sonny Corleone. Bridges and tunnels owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will get an automated ‘open road’ system that will mean no more tollbooths to tie up traffic, Gov. Cuomo announced Wednesday [October 5] at the New-York Historical Society.”
Newsday reports that the governor’s plan “to eliminate toll gates on New York City’s bridges and tunnels used by 800,000 motorists a day . . . would save commuters time and fuel. The electronic toll system, which would be implemented starting in January, was one of many improvements announced by Cuomo for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s bridges and tunnels, including a plan to transform the structures into luminescent works of public art.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York CityFHWA Approves RI Truck Toll Plan. Agreement on Gantry Location Near Native American Burial Site Is Expected.
Providence Journal reports, “The Federal Highway Administration has signed off on 13 of Rhode Island’s proposed tolls on tractor-trailers, the state Department of Transportation announced Wednesday [October 5].” The report adds, “Approval for a 14th truck toll, planned for the Providence Viaduct, ‘will be executed once the existing environmental mitigation requirements for the project are satisfied,’” according to a RIDOT news release. RIDOT plans to issue an RFP in November for creation and management of the new AET system.
WPRI News reports that a final gantry location is expected to be approved after the state reaches an agreement with the Narragansett Indian Tribe, which has a claim to ancient burial grounds that lie beneath the Providence Viaduct.
Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT)KTA Changes Policy on Social Media Tornado Warnings to Avoid Public Confusion
KAKE News reports that the Kansas Turnpike Authority tweeted a tornado warning on October 4 even though the National Weather Service did not. Turnpike CEO Steve Hewitt tells the station, ‘What we’ve seen recently is that we’ve created some confusion with the public. . . .” KTA uses information from AccuWeather, a private firm, to provide severe weather warnings to motorists, and AccuWeather forecasts sometimes differ from those of the National Weather Service. Hewitt says KTA will continue to post AccuWeather warnings on roadside digital signs, but it will not relay the warnings through social media to avoid confusing the public.
Kansas Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA)MassDOT to Dump Billions of E-ZPass, Fast Lane Records
The Boston Globe reports that MassDOT “has stored billions of toll records, covering every E-ZPass and Fast Lane tollbooth transaction for the past 18 years. Now, it wants to reduce the massive stockpile. The agency is seeking to delete records it no longer needs. And it is proposing standards for how long to keep them going forward, addressing privacy concerns as it prepares to deploy a new all-electronic tolling system later this month.” The report adds that, “The state Records Conservation Board on Wednesday [October 5] approved MassDOT keeping customer information for as long as an account is open, and for one year after it closes. The board also approved retention of seven years of toll transactions, including the location, date, time, license plate, and transponder number for each.” (Record Conservation Board?)
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Massachusetts TurnpikeMassDOT to Keep Motorists AET Speed Data for 30 Days
Boston Herald reports, “The Massachusetts Department of Transportation wants to keep and store electronic tolling gantries’ speed data for motorists for 30 days, according to recommendations submitted to the state Records Conservation Board. According to the recommendations, the state also wants to keep travel data stored electronically for up to seven years and videos of cars driving under the gantries would be kept for 180 days.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Massachusetts TurnpikeMassDOT Board Meets Today to Set New Toll Rates
The MassDOT Board of Directors meets today, and its agenda includes discussion and action on a proposed new rate structure and other AET conversion issues. October 28 is the scheduled launch date for the AET system.
WAMC News reports that State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier is pushing MassDOT to lower the proposed fee of thirty cents per gantry for turnpike drivers who do not have an EZ-Pass transponder.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Massachusetts TurnpikeUS Traffic Fatalities Surge in First Six Months of 2016
The Wall Street Journal reports that the recent surge in fatalities raises “fresh concerns over distracted driving and highlighting efforts to equip vehicles with technologically advanced safety gear at an accelerated pace. Traffic deaths rose 10.4% in the first half [of 2016], the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on [October 5], a steep increase following a surprising uptick in fatalities last year. The recent increases led government officials to announce . . . that they are partnering with the National Safety Council in an effort to end traffic fatalities within 30 years.”
Tolls Lifted in South Florida as Hurricane Matthew Approaches
ABC 10 News (Miami) reports, “Tolls have been lifted on all South Florida roadways as Hurricane Matthew approaches the area. Gov. Rick Scott announced the suspension of tolls on roadways that are being used in evacuation areas. The tolls affected in South Florida include the entire Florida’s Turnpike, Alligator Alley, and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.”
Florida Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX)NJ Turnpike and Winery Head to Court in Logo Dispute
NJ.com reports, “A small New Jersey winery has filed a lawsuit . . . seeking a judgement declaring that it has not infringed upon a New Jersey Turnpike Authority trademark. The authority claims that the ‘What Exit Wines’ logo, which the Old York Cellars winery said was created as a symbol of New Jersey pride, has infringed on the Garden State Parkway logo. The winery previously altered the logo at NJTA’s request, but the authority wasn’t satisfied with the changes, according to the complaint.”
Issues of Law New Jersey New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA)Golden Gate Bridge Board Running Out of Time to Fund Anti-Suicide Barrier
San Francisco Chronicle reports, “It was all smiles and hugs in June 2014 when, after decades of debate, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District board approved spending $76 million to install steel-mesh nets under the span to prevent suicide jumps. Since then, however, a big detour has come up that puts the whole project in doubt. That detour is the price: Two bids came in for the job, and the cheapest was $142 million — nearly double what the board expected.”
California Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD)Bridgegate: Cuomo Denies Any Involvement, Witness Says State Office Became a "Virtual Arm" of Christie Reelection Campaign
New York Daily News reports, “Gov. Cuomo said Wednesday [October 5] that attempts to link him to the Fort Lee traffic scandal are a bridge to nowhere. ‘I don’t know who raised it last year but the same gossip was spread last year,’ Cuomo said in response to testimony that he and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie concocted a scheme to cover up the Bridgegate debacle. ‘It didn’t happen.’”
NJ.com reports that the Christie administration’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs became “a virtual arm of the [Christie reelection] campaign, using public resources to help convince Democratic officials to endorse the governor,” according to a former staffer’s trial testimony. The report adds that Christopher Stark “talked about an operation within the governor’s office that sought to build relationships with agreeable Democrats with free passes to the governor’s box at MetLife Stadium for Giants and Jets games; tickets to the Prudential Center for Devils NHL games and Seton Hall basketball; breakfasts and dinners with the governor at Drumthwacket, and exclusive access to Ground Zero.”
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies Invest in Fencing to Protect Mountain Lions
KABC News reports that the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies have installed six-and-a-half miles of fencing — at a cost of $10 million – along both sides of the 241 toll road in Orange County to try to prevent mountain lions from trying to cross the road. The report notes that, “On the 241 toll road in Orange County, for example, 10 mountain lions have been killed since it opened in 1998.”
California Transportation Corridor Agencies (CA)Ohio River Bridges to Host Twitter Chat on RiverLink
The Courier-Journal reports, “RiverLink, the new all-electronic tolling system making the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project possible, will host Twitter chat sessions on Thursday, Oct. 6” for customers and potential customers with questions about the system, which is scheduled to begin operation in December.
Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River BridgesFitch on Chesapeake Transportation System Bonds
Fitch Ratings “has affirmed the ‘BBB’ rating on $150.7 million Chesapeake Transportation System (CTS) senior toll road revenue bonds, series 2012A and 2012B. The Rating Outlook is Stable.” Click here for information about the toll facilities of the City of Chesapeake, Virginia.
City of Chesapeake (Virginia)Google's Self-Driving Cars Hit Two Million Mile Mark
USA Today reports, “Google’s self-driving cars have hit another milestone on the road to the automotive future, notching two million miles on the autonomous-testing odometer. That mark, which the Alphabet-owned company announced Wednesday [October 5], was hit as other companies spent the summer dominating the self-driving headlines.”
Self-Driving Vehicles