- CFX Hands Off $800 Million SR 408 Extension Project to FDOT
- Environmentalists Move to Block Start of CTRMA's SH 45SW Project
- Changes Noted in Top Ten List of PANYNJ Salary Earners
- TxDOT Is Searching for Solutions to Mobility Problems in Metro Houston's I-45 Corridor
- Brazoria County (TX) Commissioners Approve Agreement Advancing the SH 288 Toll Project
- Dispute over Hampton Roads Bridge Toll-Sharing Is Settled
- "The Toll of Change" for a South Florida County Road Authority
- Florida Fights Divider Pole Damage Caused by "Lane Divers"
- PA Turnpike Now Accepts Credit Cards for Tolls
- Lafayette (LA) Leaders Make Case for the I-49 South Project
- Mass Turnpike Begins Toll Plaza Demolition on "Very Aggressive" Timetable
- MassDOT Will Review Enforcement of Turnpike HOV-3 Rule
- Outreach to Potential E-ZPass Users Continues in Massachusetts
- NY Lawmaker Cheers MTA Move to AET and Raises Red Flag on Potential "Toll Beaters"
- Canadian Government Advisory Group Studies Formation of National Infrastructure Funding "Institution"
- Higher Toll Charges Help Lift Transurban Revenue
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CFX Hands Off $800 Million SR 408 Extension Project to FDOT
Orlando Sentinel reports that FDOT and the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) have agreed that the state will take over and fully fund an eight-mile, $800 million extension of State Road 408. The project, which will be submitted for public review and comment, reportedly aims to relieve traffic congestion in the eastern section of the county and could be completed as soon as 2022. The new tollway will become part of the Florida Turnpike system. The newspaper adds that the project is on the agenda of this morning’s CFX board meeting (October 13). The agreement apparently resolves an earlier disagreement between FDOT officials and CFX over the highway extension.
Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE)Environmentalists Move to Block Start of CTRMA's SH 45SW Project
Austin American-Statesman covers an October 12 federal court hearing where a coalition of environmental advocates argued for a preliminary injunction to block the start of CTRMA’s SH 45 Southwest project. The group wants the court to prohibit any work pending a trial on its challenge to the project’s environmental approval. CTRMA reportedly told the court that its contractor is scheduled to begin removing trees and stumps from the project area no later than November 8, and an injunction would postpone the project start until 2017. District Judge Lee Yeakel’s ruling on the injunction request is expected within days, the newspaper reports.
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) TexasChanges Noted in Top Ten List of PANYNJ Salary Earners
NJ.com names the highest paid executives at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and reports that the top ten list “has changed dramatically since last year, with several substitutions, raises among most holdovers, and the agency’s head lawyer knocking the executive director off the top spot” with an annual salary of $295,000. The newspaper notes that one major list change results from the elimination of the deputy executive director position, a post-Bridgegate leadership reform.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)TxDOT Is Searching for Solutions to Mobility Problems in Metro Houston's I-45 Corridor
Community Impact Newspaper reports that TxDOT “is looking for long-term solutions to mitigate traffic congestion on the I-45 corridor in The Woodlands,” a planned community north of Houston. “The agency is under contract negotiations to conduct a Planning and Environmental Linkage study, which looks at transportation, environmental, community and economic goals of a specific corridor and takes those findings into consideration when planning for the future. The study is expected to begin in 2017 and could take up to two years.” According to regional transportation planning official Alan Clark, the corridor’s major mobility problems are “excessive congestion, severe crash experience and a lack of liability, meaning drivers must allow extra time for unforeseeable road conditions.”
Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)Brazoria County (TX) Commissioners Approve Agreement Advancing the SH 288 Toll Project
The Facts (subscription required) reports, “A project aimed at relieving congestion along Highway 288 in northern Brazoria County is moving along on the county’s end, officials say. County commissioners approved . . . a financial assistance agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation for a $10 million grant to cover development and design costs for the Brazoria County portion of the Highway 288 toll project.” A county attorney told commissioners, “This is the first step over about a four-year process of working on an agreement for the toll road.” The agreement now goes to the state transportation commission for review and approval.
Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)Dispute over Hampton Roads Bridge Toll-Sharing Is Settled
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the City of Chesapeake, Virginia, will begin to receive a portion of South Norfolk Jordan Bridge toll revenue (3.5 cents per paid toll) in 2017 under a settlement that ends a dispute between the private bridge operator and two neighboring municipalities. The city has agreed not to levy real estate taxes on the bridge.
City of Chesapeake (Virginia) Issues of Law South Norfolk Jordan Bridge Virginia"The Toll of Change" for a South Florida County Road Authority
Keysnews.com reporter Charlotte Twine presents a nostalgic picture of the vanishing toll collector and a concise justification for all-electronic tolling all in one article entitled “The toll of change.” Twine writes about Ken Murray, a twice-widowed, 25-year tollbooth veteran who met two wives while collecting fares. She also explains the factors that compel the Card Sound Toll Authority in Monroe County, Florida, to make a 2017 transition to cashless tolling.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Card Sound (FL) Toll Authority FloridaFlorida Fights Divider Pole Damage Caused by "Lane Divers"
Sun-Sentinel reports, “Throughout South Florida’s highways, thousands of plastic poles are falling like bowling pins as drivers zig and zag between toll lanes and free lanes,” a behavior sometimes called “lane diving.” Now, authorities are acting to mitigate lane divider pole damage, estimated to cost $1 million annually. Broward County is warning motorists that they face a fine of at least $165.00, if they damage a pole on I-95. And FDOT, the newspaper reports, will be using more resilient poles that are spaced closer together.
PA Turnpike Now Accepts Credit Cards for Tolls
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “The Pennsylvania Turnpike now accepts credit cards at toll booths throughout the state. That doesn’t mean drivers are encouraged to rely on plastic, though, said Carl DeFebo, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. ‘It’s a backup if you pull up to a toll booth and you don’t have cash,’ he said.”
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)Lafayette (LA) Leaders Make Case for the I-49 South Project
The Advocate reports, “Lafayette area leaders told a legislative transportation committee on [October 12] that completing Interstate 49 South is a critical infrastructure priority for the Acadiana region and the state as whole.” The report adds, “Estimated to cost as much as $1 billion, it would be among the largest state projects in recent history and dwarfs any other road project DOTD is considering for the Acadiana region.” Tolls are one funding mechanism for the project under consideration.
LouisianaMass Turnpike Begins Toll Plaza Demolition on "Very Aggressive" Timetable
The Berkshire Eagle reports, “Under an ‘accelerated, very aggressive’ timetable set by the state Department of Transportation, the first major phase of Massachusetts Turnpike toll plaza demolition is targeted for completion on Nov. 22, just ahead of the heavily traveled Thanksgiving holiday.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts TurnpikeMassDOT Will Review Enforcement of Turnpike HOV-3 Rule
CBS News Boston reports that about the 2,500 motorists enjoy a special Massachusetts Turnpike toll rate because they agree to carpool with at least two passengers. “However, in the past two years, none of the . . . carpool drivers ever received a fine for misuse of the program, according to records [obtained by CBS]. Since 2011, not one person has been removed from the program for failing to have the required number of passengers in the car.” State highway administrator Thomas Tinlin tells CBS “he has asked for a full briefing about the program from the statewide tolling director. ‘I think it’s a healthy time to reexamine the programs that we offer. . . . ‘Were we making sure that people were using it the way they should have been using it? And if not, does it make sense to continue?’”
Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Massachusetts TurnpikeOutreach to Potential E-ZPass Users Continues in Massachusetts
MassLive.com reports that outreach is continuing to get motorists to sign up for an E-ZPass transponder before the state turnpike’s AET system goes into effect. At an October 12 event in Springfield, people were also given the opportunity to register to vote, and bilingual state workers were on hand to explain the E-ZPass system to Spanish-speaking customers.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts Massachusetts TurnpikeNY Lawmaker Cheers MTA Move to AET and Raises Red Flag on Potential "Toll Beaters"
Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports that State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis ((R-C-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) is generally supportive of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to convert the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to an all-electronic toll collection system, but she “warned . . . she is concerned about the possibility of drivers trying to beat the system. The MTA, the agency that will be implementing the governor’s plan, needs to stay on top of it, she said. . . . ‘[W]e have had problems with toll beaters in the past and the MTA needs to ensure that this will not increase the risk of losing toll revenue to those who cheat the system. . . .’”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York CityCanadian Government Advisory Group Studies Formation of National Infrastructure Funding "Institution"
The Canadian Press reports, “The chair of the Trudeau government’s influential team of economic advisers says the group is exploring an ambitious plan to create a national infrastructure ‘institution’ to attract investor cash that will help boost the economy.” Dominic Barton, global managing director of the McKinsey consulting company, who chairs the government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, told a conference audience in Ottawa that “the idea is to create a vehicle with enough independence to lure private capital that could be pooled together with public investments. Canada, he added, offers investors the benefits of a safe, well-governed country. In return, Barton said the investments can help lift Canada’s productivity and close its infrastructure gap, which has been estimated at $500 billion.”
CanadaHigher Toll Charges Help Lift Transurban Revenue
The Australian Business Review carries news that Transurban “reported a 10.8 per cent jump in underlying revenue through the first quarter, with higher charges and improved traffic combining to lift sales. The September quarter update revealed traffic growth of 4.9 per cent across its broad network, which includes major roads in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.”
Australia