- MDX Looks to Extend the Dolphin Expressway
- WSDOT's New I-405 Shoulder Lane Delivers Reduced Travel Times . . .
- And Reporter Apologizes (Enough Said!)
- Proposed Chicago Rail Line Project Draws Fire for Inclusion of Toll Road Component
- Mass Turnpike Motorists Start to Wonder When $132.8 Million Toll Plaza Construction Work Will End
- Local Officials Express Support for IL Tollway's $4 Billion Central Tri-State Tollway Rebuild
- As Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Toll Increase Nears, Toll Tag Sales Spike
- TransCore Provides Transportation Management Solution for Ecuador's Largest City
- Kane County (IL) Resumes Construction of $115 Million Longmeadow Corridor Road and Toll Bridge Project
- Wisconsin Assembly Republicans Back Funding Plan That Opens Possibility of Tolling
- Illinois Tollway's SmartRoad System Will Go Online Next Month
- NY Thruway Starts Selling E-ZPass Transponders at Public Libraries
- IL Tollway's Cassaundra Rouse Receives Recognition
- TV Station Provides Pointers on Using KTA Tornado Shelter Facilities
- PANYNJ Officer on Foot Patrol Nabs Toll Jumper
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MDX Looks to Extend the Dolphin Expressway
Miami Herald reports, “Miami-Dade’s toll authority [MDX] wants to extend the county’s busiest expressway” — the Dolphin (SR 836) — “into Southwest Dade, a move that would bring a speedier route to clogged suburbs and could expand the boundaries for urban development closer to the Everglades. The long-discussed proposal is inching closer to a concrete plan, and Miami-Dade commissioners could take their first vote on the idea next week by endorsing the concept in committee.”
Florida Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX)WSDOT's New I-405 Shoulder Lane Delivers Reduced Travel Times . . .
The Seattle Times reports, “One week in, the new shoulder lane on Interstate 405 — the first of several planned shoulder expansions on state highways in the coming years — has reduced travel times, although officials stress that it is too early to make any official conclusions.” The Times notes that the shoulder lane is “the first project to be funded with revenue from I-405’s express toll lanes, which brought in $15.6 million in their first year of operation, triple the expected amount.”
Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)And Reporter Apologizes (Enough Said!)
MYNorthwest.com traffic reporter Chris Sullivan writes, “We’re more than a week into the shoulder driving program on I-405, and I owe the Washington State Department of Transportation an apology. It looks like this is actually having a big impact on the daily northbound drive out of Bothell. I was sure this wouldn’t do much for the daily grind through Bothell and Canyon Park because the location of the shoulder driving was too far away from where the freeway decreases from five lanes to three. But I was wrong.”
Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)Proposed Chicago Rail Line Project Draws Fire for Inclusion of Toll Road Component
Post-Tribune (via Chicago Tribune) reports that several state and regional officials were unfamiliar with the toll road proposal put forward by Great Lakes Basin Transportation (GLBT) before it was reported in the press, and they are questioning whether it is feasible.
Beloit Daily News reports that Rock Against The Rail, a grassroots group opposed to GLBT’s proposal to build a new Chicago region freight rail line, claims that including a private toll expressway and an airport in the project is “underhanded and deceitful. The new additions change things substantially. We’re disappointed they did not divulge these things earlier.”
Rockford Register Star reports that “the federal government has not considered approval of a railroad of this size and scope in more than a century” and notes that a group of project opponents has asked the transportation board to extend the public comment period beyond the present June 5 deadline. The group’s lawyer “is also asking for more time to respond to Great Lakes’ proposal to keep its stockholders’ names confidential.”
Chicago Metro Area Illinois IndianaMass Turnpike Motorists Start to Wonder When $132.8 Million Toll Plaza Construction Work Will End
The Boston Globe reports, “The Massachusetts Turnpike toll booths are gone, replaced by an automated system of electronic gantries that lets drivers pay without slowing down. But their successors — dirt-filled construction zones — aren’t going anywhere fast. More than six months after the gantries made their debut, some drivers are wondering when the $132.8 million demolition project will be finished and the Turnpike will finally be free of construction equipment.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Massachusetts TurnpikeLocal Officials Express Support for IL Tollway's $4 Billion Central Tri-State Tollway Rebuild
The Regional News reports on local officials who are pleased with the Illinois Tollway Authority’s decision to move forward the $4 billion Central Tri-State Tollway (I-294) improvement project.
Illinois Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)As Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Toll Increase Nears, Toll Tag Sales Spike
The Times-Picayune reports, “Crossing the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is about to get more expensive. The long-discussed toll increase on the 24-mile bridge will be implemented at 4 a.m. Saturday (May 6), with the current $2 round-trip cost for a toll-tag customer rising to $3 and the $3 round-trip for cash customers moving to $5.”
WWL reports that the advent of the toll increase has set off a flurry of toll tag sales. “Bridge officials say a normal day will see 40-60 transactions that are usually on existing accounts. Wednesday [May 4], alone, saw 200 transactions, all brand new tag accounts.”
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (Metro New Orleans) Louisiana Toll Rate ChangesTransCore Provides Transportation Management Solution for Ecuador's Largest City
TransCore announced that it has “deployed its TransSuite® software solution in Ecuador to improve the coordination of multiple traffic management systems in Guayaquil.” The company’s news release adds, “TransSuite® is a family of transportation management software products specifically designed to meet a variety of traffic management needs, including managing traffic lights, providing real-time traveler information, and responding to roadway incidents.” The project’s first phase includes “a pilot implementation of an RFID-based bus priority system using state-of-the-art TransCore readers and tags.”
Ecuador TransCoreKane County (IL) Resumes Construction of $115 Million Longmeadow Corridor Road and Toll Bridge Project
The Courier-News (via Chicago Tribune) reports that the Kane County Division of Transportation “is restarting construction on [the] Longmeadow Parkway Corridor Project after a federal judge lifted a temporary restraining order late last week. But the group that sought the order vowed to continue its efforts to stop the project,” and it plans to go back to court on May 19.
Illinois Kane County (IL) DOTWisconsin Assembly Republicans Back Funding Plan That Opens Possibility of Tolling
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsin Assembly Republicans “embraced a plan [on May 4] to apply new taxes on fuel, cut a required markup on gas and raise registration fees for hybrid vehicles to help pay for roads — while dramatically scaling back income taxes over the next 12 years.” The newspaper adds that the plan also “begin[s] to clear the way for tolls.”
WisconsinIllinois Tollway's SmartRoad System Will Go Online Next Month
WLS reports that the Illinois Tollway’s new SmartRoad system’s 56 signs are expected to be in operation by next month. “A series of arrows will alert drivers to traffic conditions ahead, allowing them to safely merge away from incidents that are blocking lanes, well in advance,” the station adds.
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)NY Thruway Starts Selling E-ZPass Transponders at Public Libraries
The Spotlight reports that the New York Thruway Authority is expanding its E-ZPass On-the-Go retail sales program to public libraries.
E-ZPass New York State Thruway AuthorityIL Tollway's Cassaundra Rouse Receives Recognition
The Illinois Tollway announced that Chief Internal Auditor Cassaundra Rouse has been named one of the 2017 “Women of Excellence” by The Chicago Defender for her professional excellence and record of community involvement.
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway) Women in TransportationTV Station Provides Pointers on Using KTA Tornado Shelter Facilities
KSNT advises motorists how to react when they encounter a tornado while traveling and describes the shelter facilities the Kansas Turnpike Authority has provided for its employees and customers.
Kansas Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA)PANYNJ Officer on Foot Patrol Nabs Toll Jumper
The Record reports that a PANYNJ police officer on foot patrol attempted to stop a 52-year-old New Jersey motorist for allegedly jumping the George Washington Bridge toll. The man tried to flee, but after hitting a concrete divider and getting caught in traffic, he was apprehended.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Scofflaws