- Bill to Lower MDX Tolls and Require Agency to Surrender Parts of "Vast Cash Coffers" for Rail and Bus Projects Awaits FL Governor's Signature
- TCA Considers Designating New Parkway a Toll Road, Part of 241 Extension
- Opponents of TCA Toll 241 Extension Plan Worry about Damage to San Clemente's "Cool Beach Town" Character
- Officials Eye CA Highway 37 Solutions, Including Elevated Lanes, Private Toll Causeway
- WA Governor Inslee Signs Bill Calling for Study of I-5 Bridge Replacement
- "Worried Investors" in the Defaulting Garcon Point Bridge Explore Possible State Buyout
- Lawmakers Renew Push for NY Thruway to Convert Grand Island Bridges to Cashless Tolling
- The "Pittsburgh Left" and "California Stop" Are Some of the Local Driving Idiosyncrasies Causing Migraines for Self-Driving Vehicle Engineers
- TRIP Report on North Carolina Traffic Spurs at Least One Call for More Investment in Toll Roads
- Wisconsin Funding Bill Ensnarled in Budget Negotiations
- FDOT Updates Hillsborough County Leaders on TBX Reset
- ITR Road Crew Contains Damaged Truck's Diesel Fuel Leak into Stream
- Louisiana DOTD Schedules Hearing on Possible Tolling of Jimmie Davis Bridge Replacement
- WSDOT's I-90 Floating Bridge Is Spotlighted as Construction of the Span's Light Rail Line Begins
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Bill to Lower MDX Tolls and Require Agency to Surrender Parts of "Vast Cash Coffers" for Rail and Bus Projects Awaits FL Governor's Signature
Miami Herald reports, “Tolls on Miami-Dade expressways could drop 5 percent under legislation [CS/HB 1049] awaiting Gov. Rick Scott’s signature, and that might mean the end of yearly rebate checks for the county’s biggest toll payers. The law . . . drew praise from anti-toll activists, since it mandates lower toll rates on five expressways and requires [MDX] to surrender parts of it vast cash coffers for use on rail and bus projects.”
Florida Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX)TCA Considers Designating New Parkway a Toll Road, Part of 241 Extension
Daily Pilot (via Los Angeles Times) reports that the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency is considering the possibility of designating Los Patrones Parkway, a road currently under construction, as a toll road and part of its 241 extension. “Patrones is not among the 16 options for the 241 extension announced in December, but [a Rancho Mission Viejo community spokesperson] said TCA recently announced its intent to designate it a toll road.”
California Transportation Corridor Agencies (CA)Opponents of TCA Toll 241 Extension Plan Worry about Damage to San Clemente's "Cool Beach Town" Character
San Clemente Times reports on the growth of the grassroots campaign to prevent TCA from adopting a toll road extension option that residents fear will change San Clemente’s “cool beach town” character. The newspaper adds that the South Orange County Mobility Working Group will be bringing together local officials and TCA representatives for a discussion about the project, and a public forum is scheduled for June 5.
California Transportation Corridor Agencies (CA)Officials Eye CA Highway 37 Solutions, Including Elevated Lanes, Private Toll Causeway
Sonoma Index-Tribune reports, “The future of State Route 37 got a thorough examination from a panel of local, state and federal elected officials at a community forum in Sonoma Wednesday night [May 10]. . . .” The newspaper adds, “An elevated highway, more lanes, alternate routes and even a privately-funded toll causeway were on the table during the 90-minute town hall [meeting]. . . .”
California San Francisco Bay Area (CA)WA Governor Inslee Signs Bill Calling for Study of I-5 Bridge Replacement
The Spokesman-Review reports, “With a swipe of his pen, Gov. Jay Inslee made it official on [May 10]: Southwest Washington legislators will renew conversations around how to ease traffic on the congested Interstate 5 Bridge. With the implosion of the Columbia River Crossing project still fresh in legislators’ minds, Senate Bill 5806 treads lightly.” The report adds, “As Inslee stated while signing the measure into law, it launches a process to start planning how to replace the 100-year-old bridge. The governor said he’s hopeful it will be a process that includes both Washington and Oregon.” [Link inserted.]
Oregon Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)"Worried Investors" in the Defaulting Garcon Point Bridge Explore Possible State Buyout
Gulf Breeze News reports that the Garcon Point Bridge is in default and its “worried investors” have been unsuccessful in securing a toll increase. The newspaper adds, “A group of bondholders and a trustee are trying to find a way to negotiate with Florida to see under what conditions [the state] might have an interest in buying the bridge. . . .” The article adds that on May 8, “a feasibility study was added to the appropriations bill that deals with the structure. ‘The state is not interested in taking over the debt,’ [says one senator], ‘but we would be interested, under certain circumstances, in putting it under turnpike authority.’”
Florida Santa Rosa Bay Bridge AuthorityLawmakers Renew Push for NY Thruway to Convert Grand Island Bridges to Cashless Tolling
Niagara Gazette reports that a group of federal, state and local legislators are once again urging the New York State Thruway Authority to install a cashless tolling system on the Grand Island Bridges. According to one of the leaders, their campaign is “not about the buck. It’s about the pollution, the traffic jams, and the burden on our community. Cashless tolling will alleviate much of this and better connect a now prosperous Buffalo to Niagara Falls.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) New York State Thruway AuthorityThe "Pittsburgh Left" and "California Stop" Are Some of the Local Driving Idiosyncrasies Causing Migraines for Self-Driving Vehicle Engineers
Associated Press reports, “In just a few years, well-mannered self-driving robotaxis will share the roads with reckless, law-breaking human drivers. The prospect is causing migraines for the people developing the robotaxis.” The report adds, “Although autonomous cars are likely to carry passengers or cargo in limited areas during the next three to five years, experts say it will take many years before robotaxis can coexist with human-piloted vehicles on most side streets, boulevards and freeways. That’s because programmers have to figure out human behavior and local traffic idiosyncrasies.”
Self-Driving VehiclesTRIP Report on North Carolina Traffic Spurs at Least One Call for More Investment in Toll Roads
The Charlotte Observer reports, “A new study has an answer for all those drivers who think the Charlotte area’s traffic and road conditions are the absolute worst in the state: You’re right. The 27-page report released by TRIP . . . highlighted transportation troubles in the region and statewide and pushed for more funding to help fix those problems.” Charlotte Chamber President Bob Morgan tells the newspaper that “North Carolina needs to ‘invest comprehensively in a transportation infrastructure of all modes,’ which includes toll roads.”
North CarolinaWisconsin Funding Bill Ensnarled in Budget Negotiations
Associated Press reports, “Gov. Scott Walker joined Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald on Thursday [May 11] in denouncing separating transportation funding from the state budget, saying there’s no reason to take that unusual approach to break an impasse in the Republican-controlled Legislature over how to pay for roads.”
Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT)FDOT Updates Hillsborough County Leaders on TBX Reset
WFTS reports that FDOT officials earlier this week “updated Hillsborough County leaders on the so-called ‘Reset’ TBX plan, the $6-billion project that would expand the interstates by adding express toll lanes.” FDOT’s Ed McKinney told the gathering, “If we are going to continue to grow the way we are growing we are going to have to look at this problem from every possible angle.”
Florida Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Tampa Bay ExpressITR Road Crew Contains Damaged Truck's Diesel Fuel Leak into Stream
South Bend Tribune reports that a semi-tractor trailer truck “drove off the Indiana Toll Road this morning [May 11], spilling diesel fuel into a stream feeding Juday Creek. An Indiana Toll Road crew quickly dammed the creak to contain the fuel, and the driver was not injured in the crash,”
Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC)Louisiana DOTD Schedules Hearing on Possible Tolling of Jimmie Davis Bridge Replacement
KSLA reports that Louisiana’s Department of Transportation and Development has scheduled a May 25 public meeting to consider, among other things, “the continuing possibility of charging a toll on the [Jimmie Davis Bridge] replacement span to be built over Red River between Shreveport and Bossier City.”
Louisiana Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD)WSDOT's I-90 Floating Bridge Is Spotlighted as Construction of the Span's Light Rail Line Begins
The Seattle Times features a lengthy article about the evolution of WSDOT’s I-90 floating bridge as Seattle’s transit agency prepares to launch construction of an innovative light rail line across the bridge.
Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)