- Rhode Island Truck Tolling to Start at Two Locations by Year's End
- CT Officials Eye Massive I-84/I-91 Interchange Project, Tolling
- Transurban Sees Opportunities for US Expansion from Anticipated Trump Policy
- Transurban's CEO Charlton Raises a Warning about "Dangers" of Investors Overpaying for Infrastructure Assets
- WSDOT Says Puget Sound HOT Lanes Are Delivering Benefits for Commuters
- FDOT's Two-Year Pause on TBX Is All About Public Engagement
- Would Congestion Pricing Work in Seattle?
- FDOT's I-95 Interchange in Boca Raton Nears Finish Line (Express Lanes Cited)
- Breaking Down the Math Behind NTTA Toll Dollars, Capital Investment
- VDOT Plans Public Meetings on I-66 Toll Lanes and Fairfax County Eyes Funding Stream
- A Look at the Bay Area's Largest Transportation Infrastructure Projects
- Bob Sikes Bridge SunPass Sales Spike after Fee Cut
- Backers of AET for Maine Turnpike Plaza Press for More Data in Advance of State DEP Hearing
- Say It Quickly Three Times and Then Click on the Link: "Wild Turkey Terrorizes PA Turnpike Trucker"
- Citizens’ Climate Lobby Backs Montreal Mayor's Congestion Pricing Idea
- Indonesia to Go All-In on AET
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Rhode Island Truck Tolling to Start at Two Locations by Year's End
Providence Journal reports, “Rhode Island plans to be charging truckers at the first two locations in its statewide truck-toll network — both on Route 95 in Washington Country — before the end of the year, Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. said this week. The state expects to hire a contractor to design, build and operate the 14-toll network by the end of this month. Six companies submitted bids for the job earlier in March.” [Link inserted.]
Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT)CT Officials Eye Massive I-84/I-91 Interchange Project, Tolling
Hartford Courant reports, “As plans for a multi-billion dollar overhaul of Hartford’s aging viaduct take shape, transportation officials have turned their attention to another area of concern – rebuilding or even moving the I-84 and I-91 interchange. That could include rerouting I-84 into the North End and erecting a new bridge across the Connecticut River, tunneling it through the South End, or leaving the interchange in place but widening it to help ease congestion.” Some are suggesting tolls as a source of revenue for the project.
Connecticut Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT)Transurban Sees Opportunities for US Expansion from Anticipated Trump Policy
The Australian Financial Review reports, “Transurban is considering acquisitions and new partnerships in the US amid expectations the Trump administration may sell off state-owned tollroads when it unveils its $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The tollroad company is considering ‘a variety of paths’ to achieve its strategy of owning more roads in congested regions and establishing a stronger US network, Transurban’s group general manager for North America, Jennifer Aument, told The Australian Financial Review.” [Link inserted.]
Acquisitions and Mergers Infrastructure Investment Trends TransurbanTransurban's CEO Charlton Raises a Warning about "Dangers" of Investors Overpaying for Infrastructure Assets
The Australian reports, “Transurban chief executive Scott Charlton has warned of the dangers of financial buyers overpaying for infrastructure assets by making the same unrealistic assumptions on traffic and gearing levels that led to the collapse of a range of toll road projects in the aftermath to the Global Financial Crisis. Addressing the company’s investor day in Sydney, Mr Charlton questioned whether the current heady appetite for infrastructure assets from financial advisers and asset managers globally was leading to unnecessary risk taking.”
The Australian Financial Review also covers Charlton’s remarks on the “increase in risk appetite” and Transurban’s investment strategy.
Acquisitions and Mergers Infrastructure Investment Trends TransurbanWSDOT Says Puget Sound HOT Lanes Are Delivering Benefits for Commuters
KCPQ looks at Puget Sound HOT lanes, which are “a very effective tool in our toolbox,” a WSDOT spokesperson says. “On average, during peak times you can save 13 minutes for $2.50 on I-405’s Express Toll Lanes between Bellevue and Lynnwood, according to WSDOT. On SR 167, you can save about six minutes for $2.16 in HOT lanes between Auburn and Renton.”
Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)FDOT's Two-Year Pause on TBX Is All About Public Engagement
WFTS reports that FDOT is using the two-year hiatus in its Tampa Bay Express (TBX) project to do research and open “a two way conversation about transportation in the Tampa bay area.” FDOT is working with FHWA and “is committed to fund, lead, and manage a series of independently facilitated Community Working Groups (CWG) both in the urban core of Tampa and throughout the region,” the report adds.
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Tampa Bay ExpressWould Congestion Pricing Work in Seattle?
KIRO reports, “As traffic grows ever worse, we’re investigating an idea many drivers are sure to hate. What about charging a toll for anyone who drives a car into downtown Seattle?” Would congestion pricing work in Seattle? The station concludes that, well, it depends. . . .
Congestion Pricing Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)FDOT's I-95 Interchange in Boca Raton Nears Finish Line (Express Lanes Cited)
Sun-Sentinel reports, “Appearances to the contrary, construction on the Interstate 95 interchange at Spanish River Boulevard in Boca Raton is 91 percent complete, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.” The report adds, “The project was originally scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2016 for $67 million but the state wanted to widen I-95 for future express toll lanes which delayed the completion date one year.”
Express Lanes Florida Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)Breaking Down the Math Behind NTTA Toll Dollars, Capital Investment
WFAA breaks down the math behind North Texas Tollway Authority finances and looks at both the authority’s structured debt and its plans to spend $1 billion on future projects. “Approximately 19 percent ($125.6 million) of what customers paid in tolls last year is allocated to the Capital Investment Fund Deposit. Some of the planned projects include widening the Dallas North Tollway and a whole new tolled section of Highway 360 south of Interstate 20 expected to be completed next year. . . .”
North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) TexasVDOT Plans Public Meetings on I-66 Toll Lanes and Fairfax County Eyes Funding Stream
WTOP reports that VDOT has scheduled public meetings about its I-66 toll lanes outside the beltway for June 12, June 14, and June 15. The station adds that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is preparing “to recommend projects for funding through the initial payments from the private company that builds and operates the toll lanes.”
P3 & Privatization Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Washington (DC) Metro RegionA Look at the Bay Area's Largest Transportation Infrastructure Projects
San Francisco Business Times (subscription required) reports, “With San Francisco traffic congestion recently ranking as the fourth worst in the world and one poll showing 70 percent of locals are willing to pay higher taxes for a solution, it’s safe to say many Bay Area residents are fed up with their commute.” The article (which promotes a feature story coming tomorrow, May 5 on Bay Area transportation infrastructure) includes a snapshot of the largest projects in the regional pipeline.
California Caltrans (CA Department of Transportation) San Francisco Bay Area (CA)Bob Sikes Bridge SunPass Sales Spike after Fee Cut
WEAR reports, “At just $20, beach-goers can now purchase a Pensacola Beach annual public pass for half of what it used to cost.” The new rate went into effect on May 1, and as of the following day, the Bob Sikes Bridge Toll Plaza had sold more than 300 SunPass units, “surpassing their daily average of just one dozen,” the station reports.
Escambia County (FL) FloridaBackers of AET for Maine Turnpike Plaza Press for More Data in Advance of State DEP Hearing
Seacoastonline.com reports, “The town and citizens’ group Think Again believe data in a 2014 report that led the Maine Turnpike Authority to reject all-electronic tolling is outdated, and they have asked the state to require MTA to come up with updated figures. With less than three weeks to go before a state Department of Environmental Protection hearing on the MTA’s York toll plaza plan, the Coalition for Responsible Toll Collection seeks the updated information on grounds it will be fodder for discussion at the May 22 hearing.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Maine Turnpike AuthoritySay It Quickly Three Times and Then Click on the Link: "Wild Turkey Terrorizes PA Turnpike Trucker"
ABC 27 reports, “Douglas Brown of Kentucky was driving his rig westbound on the Turnpike in Upper Frankford Township, Cumberland County[,] last Wednesday afternoon when a wild turkey flew through his windshield.” (The details are worth a click.)
Based on a report in The Indianapolis Star, it seems the PA Turnpike isn’t the only tollway that’s recently seen turkey-vehicle collisions.
Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC) Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)Citizens’ Climate Lobby Backs Montreal Mayor's Congestion Pricing Idea
Montreal Gazette runs an op-ed column by a member of the city’s Citizens’ Climate Lobby who argues for Mayor Denis Coderre’s proposal to introduce a toll on driving downtown, writing, “The mayor suggested the toll could be a way to fund public transit. But there are other reasons to justify tolls,” one of which is “drivers [now] pay only a small percentage of the costs they impose on society.”
Canada Congestion PricingIndonesia to Go All-In on AET
Jakarta Globe reports, “The government will require all toll road users in the country to conduct electronic transactions beginning in October in an attempt to ease traffic flows on major thoroughfares. [Agus Martowardojo], governor of Bank Indonesia, said concentrated efforts must be made to realize President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s plan to mitigate traffic jams at major tolls.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Indonesia