- FDOT Predicts Spring 2025 Opening Of New Howard Frankland Span
- Compromise Continuing Resolution May Avert October 1 Federal Government Shutdown
- Philippine Government Announces Second Postponement Of ETC Penalties Policy
- Four Firefighters Critically Injured In Orange County Toll Road Crash
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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FDOT Predicts Spring 2025 Opening Of New Howard Frankland Span
WTVT reports, a Florida DOT engineer says the new $865.3 million Howard Frankland Bridge is on track to open this coming spring, and the overall construction project is expected to be complete by early 2026. Crews are currently completing concrete deck pours and expect to join the two sides before the end of this year. The facility will have four general purpose lanes and four tolled express lanes, as well as a separate pedestrian and bike path. It will partially replace the current I-275 crossing of Tampa Bay
WFLA and WTSP were among the media outlets permitted to record a tour of the bridge structure and construction site at the end of last week. WFLA notes that the 60 year-old span that this project is replacing is the most traveled bridge connecting St. Petersburg and Tampa.
Previous TRN items look at how the bridge ties into the larger Tampa Bay Next suite of infrastructure projects.
Compromise Continuing Resolution May Avert October 1 Federal Government Shutdown
The Washington Post reports, US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA 4) and Congressional Democrats have negotiated a stopgap funding bill to avert an October 1 federal government shutdown. The proposed continuing resolution “extends federal funding at current rates until Dec. 20. It includes an additional $232 million to boost security around the presidential election after agents thwarted a recent suspected assassination attempt on (Donald] Trump, and it green-lights faster spending from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to aid natural disaster victims.”
Most Republicans are expected to vote against the measure, which doesn’t contain voter registration restrictions Trump wanted it to include and without which he was prepared to see the government close down just weeks before the election.
Associated Press and POLITICO also cover this story.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Gov't Transportation FundingPhilippine Government Announces Second Postponement Of ETC Penalties Policy
Malaya’s Business Insight reports, yesterday, the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) once again postponed the effective date of a controversial new policy on penalizing motorists who use a tollway without a toll sticker or without a sufficient toll account balance. The announcement by the DOTr secretary indicates that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., influenced the decision. The deferment — the second this year — “is seen to give concerned agencies and tollway operators time to prepare for the implementation of the full cashless toll collection system and further intensify the public information campaign to allow users to comply with the new guidelines,” and thereby avoid confusion and congestion at toll points. The secretary said the penalties “may take effect” in January 2025. A Philippine P3 analyst comments on the successive implementation delays.
According to BusinessWorld, Philippine tollway operators view the penalties policy as a prerequisite to the implementation of two national initiatives, cashless toll collection and toll system interoperability, both of which are pending. The Philippine Toll Regulatory Board was aiming to introduce “a unified RFID wallet system or interoperability between Easytrip and Autosweep by [next month].” Easytrip is Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation’s RFID-based collection system, while Autosweep is the system used on San Miguel Infrastructure’s network of toll facilities.
Philippine Daily Inquirer covers this story, noting that DOTr is still “collating inputs” that could be the basis for amendments of the penalties policy.
Rappler also reports on the reasons for the latest postponement of the policy.
Daily Tribune reports, according to the Toll Regulatory Board, only about 4.8 percent of the vehicles using Philippine tollways don’t already have an electronic toll account. That’s “[a]bout 100,000, so the number of vehicles without RFIDs is still big. So we are asking our tollway express users who do not have RFID yet, to install RFID as soon as possible,” the board’s executive director states.
The article adds that after the national transition to cashless tolling, there will still be an accommodation for drivers without toll stickers. Toll points will have “exceptional transaction” lanes where drivers without toll accounts will be permitted to pay.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) ETC Systems Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation Philippines San Miguel Corporation (South Luzon Tollway) ScofflawsFour Firefighters Critically Injured In Orange County Toll Road Crash
San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports, four members of the Orange County, California, regional fire authority were critically injured last Thursday evening when their transport truck crashed on 241 Toll. Four other firefighters were less seriously injured in the incident. The truck was taking a crew that had just finished a 12-hour shift battling the 23,500-acre Airport fire to their commend post when the driver lost control for an unknown reason and hit a guardrail, causing the truck to overturn several times.
According to KABC, the California Highway Patrol has determined that a vehicle ahead of the fire authority truck swerved to avoid a ladder lying in the roadway. The truck driver also swerved before striking the guardrail on the right shoulder of the tollway.
California Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Transportation Corridor Agencies (CA)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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