Daily News Briefs, November 7, 2016

PA Governor Wolf Signs Toll Enforcement Legislation

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, “The Pennsylvania Turnpike now has the tools to go after motorists who have racked up more than $49 million in unpaid tolls, but it shouldn’t plan on spending that money any time soon. Legislation signed by [the governor on November 4] gives the state the authority to place liens against the registration of vehicles that have a half dozen or more unpaid tolls or more than $500 in outstanding bills.” The report adds, “Since the law doesn’t go into effect for nine months, the agency will spend that time trying to arrange reciprocal agreements with other states, said Mark Compton, the commission’s CEO. Informing drivers of the new tools so they might settle up before the law goes into effect will be a major part of the effort, Mr. Compton said.”

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Another Attempt to Stop TX 45SW Fails. CTRMA Will Start Construction Tomorrow.

Austin American-Statesman reports, “A three-judge appellate panel on Friday [November 4] denied a request for an injunction in the Texas 45 Southwest case, clearing the way for construction on the tollway to begin next week. The decision came hours after a hearing in the federal lawsuit, in which lawyers for the environmentalists opposing the road had asked the judges to intervene.” Mike Heiligenstein, executive director of the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, tells the paper, “Our contractor will be on the ground Tuesday with equipment beginning construction.”

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MA Turnpike AET Conversion Is "Smooth Sailing"

The Boston Globe reports, “All-electronic tolling has arrived in Massachusetts, and the world hasn’t ended. In fact, it has been pretty smooth sailing so far, without the terrible traffic backups that many expected during the removal of the old toll plazas.” The newspaper provides answers to some frequently asked questions about the “brave new world,” starting with the one about “rental car blues.” AET’s impact on Canadian motorists also gets attention.

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Union Prepares to Fete Ex-Toll Takers as More Accept Retirement Incentive

Boston Herald reports on a “slight bump” (from 147 to 158) in the number of former MassDOT toll collectors who have accepted an “enhanced pension perks” offer. (About 200 are eligible.) The newspaper adds that Teamsters Local 127 is preparing a Friday, November 11, party for “past and ‘present’ toll takers — including those among the 477 full- and part-timers who worked the booths for the final time last month.”

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VDOT's New P3 Approach: No Bad Deals.

WTOP News reports, “New express toll lanes on I-66 between the Beltway and Gainesville, Virginia, are expected to open in 2022. And Virginia’s top transportation official is singing the praises of the public-private partnership agreement reached this week that will make it happen. ‘The Governor made it clear he would rather have no project than a bad deal, and I cannot overemphasize the ability for us to negotiate from that position,’ Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said. . . .” The report adds that under the deal with I-66 Express Mobility Partners, the state does not have to put up any money and the “companies have also agreed to give Virginia a check for $500 million.”

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Bridgegate: It Ain't Over Until . . . Who Knows? Appeals, Hearings and More Loom

NJ.com reports, “The Bridgegate trial ended on Friday [November 4] with guilty verdicts against two former Christie administration insiders. But the political scandal may be far from over. New Jersey legislators are already looking to hold new hearings into Gov. Chris Christie’s alleged involvement in the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge. Defense attorneys are readying motions for an appeal. The governor has a court date [link added] in Bergen County. And perhaps most significantly, federal regulators apparently have yet to drop their inquiry into the use of Port Authority funds for projects that were politically advantageous to Trenton . . . .”

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Bridgegate Fallout for Christie Is, Uum, Not So Great. He'll Make His Case on Charlie Rose's Show.

The Washington Post’s “The Fix” column hits Governor Chris Christie hard, contending that his political career “was probably over the second he endorsed Trump. Or maybe when he decided to go fully into Trump world as a transparent attempt to curry favor for a potential cabinet post. But the Bridgegate trial seals it: Christie has no future in Republican Party politics. Unless, of course, Trump wins on Tuesday — a possible but far from likely prospect.”

CNN, on the upside for Christie, reports, “Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence says New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will still lead Donald Trump’s transition team despite the swirling Bridgegate controversy.”

NJ.com reports, “Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to sit down with Charlie Rose to discuss the Bridgegate trial verdict in the New Jersey governor’s first interview since two of his former allies were convicted.”

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Environmental Groups Cheer Judge's Ruling on the Illiana Toll Road

Daily Southtown (via the Chicago Tribune) reports, “Environmental groups that oppose construction of the Illiana toll road are celebrating a second federal court judge’s ruling that the Federal Highway Administration’s 2014 approval of the bi-state project was invalid. U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle ruled [last week] that portions of the project’s proposal that relied on its already legally invalidated foundation also were invalid.” Indiana’s DOT tells the newspaper it is still ready to proceed with the project once Illinois is on board. An Illinois DOT spokesman told the newspaper, “We will continue to work with the court on a solution,” following Judge Norgle’s ruling.

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407 ETR Agrees to $8 Million Settlement over Freezing License Plate Renewals of Bankrupt Drivers

Toronto Star reports, “The private company that maintains the 407 toll highway has agreed to pay almost $8 million to settle a class action lawsuit over bankrupt drivers who have had their license plates denied” because of unpaid tolls and fees incurred before bankruptcy. . . . The class action suit challenged the 407 ETR’s practice of denying license plates post-bankruptcy.” The terms of the agreement are still subject to court approval.

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CFX Warning System Reveals Increase in Wrong-Way Driving Incidents

WKMG News reports that a detection system installed by the Central Florida Expressway Authority on SR 408 and SR 417 ramps shows that “wrong-way driving is soaring.” The report adds, “The detection system warns drivers with high-intensity flashing lights that he or she has entered the highway going the wrong way. If the driver continues onto the highway, cameras capture an image of the vehicle and instantly alert law enforcement in order to dispatch patrols to the area.” A state highway patrol spokesperson tells the station that since October 2014, her agency has received 452 reports of wrong-way drivers on various roadways in central Florida.

CFX recently won national recognition for its “Wrong-Way Driving (WWD) Prevention and Detection Pilot Program.”

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NTTA Continues Its Focus on Wrong-Way Drivers

WFAA News, in a lengthy report about wrong-way drivers, notes that the North Texas Tollway Authority has been using cameras to help spot those drivers more quickly. Eric Hemphill, NTTA’s Director of System and Incident Management, tells the station that some incidents involve drivers “who are going against traffic on purpose, ‘They missed a ramp. They realize instead of exiting I don’t know where I am going. They will pull over do a U-turn, go back to the next ramp and try to exit.  But they’ll go a mile or two trying to get back to that ramp.’”

CBS News Dallas-Fort Worth reports, “The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating an accident where investigators say a vehicle was traveling on the wrong side of the Dallas North Tollway early Saturday morning [November 5].”

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CCRMA Asks County Commission for SH 550 Financing Amendment as Toll Revenue Falls Short

Port Isabel-South Padre Press (subscription required for full access) reports, “The Cameron County Regional Mobile Authority (CCRMA) came before the Cameron County Commissioners Court [on November 1] to request an amendment to the trust agreement for State Highway 550 [link added] after revenues from the toll road fell short of projections by as much as 40 percent.”

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Mid-Bay Bridge Authority (FL) Starts Installation of Cable Barrier System

Northwest Florida Daily News reports that construction of a new “high-tension cable barrier system” in the median at the north end of Florida’s Mid-Bay toll bridge will start this week. The bridge authority ordered the installation earlier this year to prevent crossover accidents.

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GDOT and SRTA Demonstrate I-75 Reverse Express Lanes Warning Gates

Henry Herald reports, “The State Road and Tollway Authority and the Georgia Department of Transportation hosted a demonstration [on November 4] of warning gates that will be set at the entrance points to the new Interstate 75 reverse express lanes to prevent drivers from accessing the lanes when they are closed. The gates will keep drivers off the lanes while they are closed to prepare for the reversed flow of traffic and ensure drivers do not access the lanes travelling in the wrong direction, according to the agencies.”

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