Daily News Briefs, November 1, 2024

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Michigan DOT Will Introduce Blue Water Bridge Toll Increase, The First Since 2010

The Times Herald reports, Michigan DOT is publicly reviewing a proposal to increase the toll rate for crossing the Blue Water Bridge eastbound span from Port Huron to Ontario. One option under consideration would add $2.00 to the toll starting this December 1, 2024. The other would phase-in an increase, starting with a $1.50 jump on December 1 followed by a 50-cent increase on December 1, 2025.

A virtual public engagement session will be held November 12, and an online public survey is already active. Currently, two-axle passenger cars are charged US$3.00 per crossing plus  $3.00 for each additional axle. Trucks and buses pay $3.25 per axle. A 50-cent discount is available for EDGE Pass holders.

TRN notes, the Blue Water Bridge is one of two spans between Michigan and Ontario with a unique interoperable toll collection system “involving three independent international bridge operators with different ownership structures.”

Canada Michigan Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Ontario Public Outreach And Communication Toll Rate Changes

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Pennsylvania Turnpike Again Earns A Perfect “GreenGov” Score From State Council

For the third year in a row, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) has received a perfect 100-percent score in the PA GreenGov Council’s certification process. A PTC news release notes it is the only state agency to achieve the distinction in three consecutive years. Recent commission sustainability initiatives recognized by the council include reduced energy usage and mowing schedules, pollinator gardens, and several major solar investments.

PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said, “We’ve created an organization-wide culture where environmental sustainability practices are incorporated throughout our infrastructure, construction, and maintenance projects. The result has led to some of the most progressive steps taken by a government entity in the state.” The PTC release notes that many sustainability initiatives also have yielded “successful financial gains” for the commission.

Formed in 2017, the mission of the GreenGov Council is to help state agencies “integrate sustainability into the Commonwealth’s policies, planning, operations, procurement and regulatory functions” in support of Pennsylvania’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

Climate Change & Infrastructure Resilience Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)

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AASHTO Announces Annual Award Recipients

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) wraps up its 2024 annual meeting in Philadelphia today. During yesterday’s program, it announced the recipients of individual and team recognition awards, and the final results of the 2024 America’s Transportation Awards competition.

An association news release lists 10 individuals and transportation programs given special recognition for their contributions to the industry. The honorees included former Louisiana DOTD secretary and AASHTO president Dr. Shawn Wilson, recipient of the George S. Bartlett Award for exceptional leadership; North Carolina DOT Secretary Joey Hopkins, who received the Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award; and Teri Soos, the Maryland State Highway Administration’s deputy chief operations, honored with the Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award.

A separate news release announced the top honorees in the America’s Transportation Awards contest. PennDOT received the Grand Prize for the I-95-Cottman Avenue Emergency Response Project that swiftly repaired and reopened “a key national north-south highway corridor” after it was badly damaged in a 2023 commercial truck crash and fire. West Virginia DOT won the competition’s People’s Choice Award for its Wellsburg Bridge Project, which reconnected two communities after a river ferry service was ceased operation.

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance Industry Awards & Recognitions Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) West Virginia West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT)

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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