- AAA: Use of Brine for Snow, Ice Removal Hits Drivers' Wallets
- THEA Is "Reeling and Dealing" in Wake of CFO's Death Earlier This Month
- PANYNJ Continues Streak of Record Earnings in 2016
- Bridgegate Defendants Due in Court for Sentencing This Week
- Miami Herald Looks at MDX's New Diverging Diamond Interchange
- Officials Announce Plan for Launch of OTA's Gilcrease Expressway Extension Project
- $1.4 Billion, 91 Freeway (CA) Toll Lanes Project to Open Next Week
- Early I-75 Express Lanes Usage Exceeds SRTA Expectations, but Long-Term Picture Is Unclear
- Elgin-O'Hare Traffic Decreases with Start of Tolling, but Less Than Anticipated
- Maine Lawmakers to Review Bill Authorizing Turnpike to Build Five-Mile Spur
- Pocahontas Parkway (VA) Tolls Going Up for Second Time in 15 Months
- PA Turnpike's Reconstruction Continues with $89.9 Million Project in Western PA
- PA Turnpike's Cashless Tolling Project Advances to Western PA
- Infrastructure Grant Programs Could Be Cut, Despite Trump Administration's Promise to Rebuild . . . Infrastructure
- Village Officials to Fight IL Tollway's I-294 Widening Project on "Multiple Fronts"
- CFX and FDOT Will Open Newest Section of $1.6 Billion Wekiva Parkway in June
- Asbury Park Press Looks at a NJ Toll Road That Was Never Built
This is a Subscribers-Only area. If you are a subscriber, please login. If not...
Become a Subscriber Today »
AAA: Use of Brine for Snow, Ice Removal Hits Drivers' Wallets
New Hampshire Union Leader reports, “The use of brine solutions to remove snow and ice from roadways has proven even more effective and more economical than rock salt, but for all motorists this has come at an increased cost.” The report adds, “Engineering experts with AAA have concluded these road-clearing materials have cost U.S. drivers an estimated $15.4 billion in rust repairs over the last five years, or approximately $3 billion annually. The average fix for motorists costs $500, the report concluded.”
THEA Is "Reeling and Dealing" in Wake of CFO's Death Earlier This Month
Tampa Bay Business Journal reports, “Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority Chief Financial Officer Lynne Paul, 58, died unexpectedly March 1. The agency, still reeling from her death, is searching for a replacement. [Link added.] ‘Lynne was definitely integral in the sea of growth and helping get us to where we are today,’ said THEA Director of Communications Sue Chrzan. ‘We are looking for a CFO who can continue that legacy.’” The report adds, “Paul had been with THEA since 2005. She originally served as chief accountant and was promoted to CFO in 2007. During her tenure, she was a finalist for the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s CFO of the Year award in 2016.”
Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA)PANYNJ Continues Streak of Record Earnings in 2016
NJ.com reports that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey continued a streak of record-breaking earnings years in 2016. “Last year saw millions more vehicles and passengers use the agencies bridges and tunnels, ride PATH trains and travel through the agency’s five airports. That helped the agency earn $5.2 billion more than the $4.8 billion earned last in 2015.”
PANYNJBridgegate Defendants Due in Court for Sentencing This Week
NJ.com reports, “Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, once members of Gov. Chris Christie’s inner circle who were convicted in November of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the Bridgegate scandal, are due to return to court Wednesday morning [March 15] for sentencing.”
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)Miami Herald Looks at MDX's New Diverging Diamond Interchange
Miami Herald reports, “It’s called the Diverging Diamond Interchange. Some highway experts call it efficient. Some drivers call it confusing. Whatever it’s called, the new design is coming to State Road 836, one of the busiest highways in South Florida, this summer. The DDI . . . is part of the ongoing $799 million overhaul of the Dolphin Expressway. . . . The design marks new efforts by transportation planners to improve the flow of traffic on the congested highway, part of the network of toll roads operated by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. . . .”
Florida Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX)Officials Announce Plan for Launch of OTA's Gilcrease Expressway Extension Project
News On 6 reports that officials held a news conference on March 10 to discuss the plan to complete the Gilcrease Expressway around Tulsa. “The route for the road was set in 1961, with the expectation the City could build it. The City got things started, but was still decades from finishing until the deal came together.”
As Sand Springs Leader reports, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is now set to manage the $240 million project, made possible by a partnership involving OTA, the City of Tulsa and the state, as part of the Driving Forward initiative.
Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA)$1.4 Billion, 91 Freeway (CA) Toll Lanes Project to Open Next Week
The Press-Enterprise reports, “After three years of closures and construction, commuters on the 91 Freeway in Corona will finally see some relief. The new toll lanes and general lanes are opening Monday, March 20. The $1.4 billion project on one of the region’s most congested freeways has added two toll lanes and one general-use lane in each direction on an 8-mile stretch from Interstate 15 west to the Orange County line.”
California Express Lanes Riverside County (CA) Transportation Commission (RCTC)Early I-75 Express Lanes Usage Exceeds SRTA Expectations, but Long-Term Picture Is Unclear
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at the encouraging trend in traffic volume on the new I-75 express lanes, quoting SRTA Director of External Affairs Matt Markham, as saying, “Overall, we have been pleased with the usage of the lanes so far. We have expected all along that it will take time for commuters in that corridor to get comfortable with a new travel option and so we know that it will take time for the usage to grow.” The report adds, “The jury is still out as to whether the lanes are necessary and are improving traffic. The conditions simply have not been in place to stress test them.”
Express Lanes State Road and Tollway Authority (Georgia)Elgin-O'Hare Traffic Decreases with Start of Tolling, but Less Than Anticipated
Daily Herald reports, “Since tolls descended on Route 390, there has been an exodus of cars and trucks from the former Elgin-O’Hare Expressway. Vehicles decreased between 38 percent and 28 percent on sections of Route 390 between Lake Street and I-290, according to Illinois tollway data comparing usage before construction and in February.” Illinois Tollway officials anticipated some traffic reduction, but spokesman Dan Rozek tells the newspaper, “[f]ewer people than we anticipated chose to try alternate roads, indicating that our customers recognize the value of the convenience and faster travel times provided by the new Route 390.”
Chicago Metro Area Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)Maine Lawmakers to Review Bill Authorizing Turnpike to Build Five-Mile Spur
WCSH reports that the bill (HP633/LD905) authorizing the Maine Turnpike Authority to build a five-mile spur between South Gorham and South Portland is now scheduled for review by the state legislature’s joint transportation committee.
Maine Turnpike AuthorityPocahontas Parkway (VA) Tolls Going Up for Second Time in 15 Months
NBC12 reports, “Tolls on the Pocahontas Parkway are going up for the second time in 15 months,” effective today, March 13. The report adds, “The Parkway is privately owned and receives no taxpayer support. NBC12 reached out to representatives to see if more toll changes could be on the way, but we have not heard back.”
Pocahontas Parkway (VA) Toll Rate ChangesPA Turnpike's Reconstruction Continues with $89.9 Million Project in Western PA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, “Construction is expected to begin this spring on the next section of expansion on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, about four miles near the Butler Valley (Route 8) exit. The turnpike commission last week awarded an $89.9 million contract to Trumbull Construction Co. to rebuild the toll road.” The report adds, “The project will involve increasing the highway from two lanes in each direction to three lanes and expanding the median from 10 feet to 26 feet.”
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)PA Turnpike's Cashless Tolling Project Advances to Western PA
Beaver County Times reports, “As part of a pilot program that could eliminate toll collectors throughout the Pennsylvania Turnpike system, state authorities plan to adopt cashless tolling next month on parts of Interstate 376 in Beaver and Lawrence counties.” Click here for more information on PTC’s cashless tolling program.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)Infrastructure Grant Programs Could Be Cut, Despite Trump Administration's Promise to Rebuild . . . Infrastructure
The Hill reports, “Infrastructure grant programs are expected to be on the chopping block in the White House budget, according to one GOP senator, despite President Trump’s promise to revitalize U.S. roads, bridges and airports.”
Village Officials to Fight IL Tollway's I-294 Widening Project on "Multiple Fronts"
The Doings (via Chicago Tribune) reports, “Hinsdale officials believe the village can and should fight the Illinois tollway’s plan to widen Interstate 294 on multiple fronts. For starters, ‘Why are they doing it in the first place?’ asked Village President Thomas Cauley, Jr. There are a lot of roads in Illinois that are in worse shape than the part of the tollway that passes between Hinsdale and Western Springs, Cauley said.”
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)CFX and FDOT Will Open Newest Section of $1.6 Billion Wekiva Parkway in June
WFTV runs a feature (drone video included) on the newest section of the Wekiva Parkway (Toll 429), scheduled to open in June. Project spokeswoman Mary Brooks tells the station, “It’s going to be a different roadway from what Central Florida has seen before.”
Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)Asbury Park Press Looks at a NJ Toll Road That Was Never Built
Asbury Park Press looks back at a New Jersey toll highway proposal that never came to fruition, “a 38-mile long superhighway between the Garden State Parkway in Toms River and the New Jersey Turnpike in South Brunswick.”
New Jersey