- Does New York City Have Authority to Impose Tolls?
- WYDOT Will Kick-Off Year-Long I-80 Revenue and Safety Study, Toll Lanes Included
- INDOT Moves Quickly on Study of Interstate Tolling
- Brevard County Joins CFX
- ERC Launches New Billing and Late Fee Policies
- Trump Administration to Launch Week-Long Infrastructure Push Today
- If Given a Do-Over, How Would Engineers Build the Golden Gate Bridge Today?
- Report: Self-Driving Cars Will Have a "Minimal or Negative" Impact on Traffic Congestion
- Who Was Jack the Ripper and, More Importantly, Why Don't Miami Drivers Use Turn Signals?
- Some Missouri Lawmakers Balk at Initiative to Bar Tolling of Interstates
- CT Senate Passes Bill to Study Use of Federal Funds for Possible I-84, I-91 Tunnel in Hartford
- CT House Speaker Blames GOP for Stalled Debate on Tolling Bill
- Plans for a New Mississippi River Bridge are Delayed -- Again -- after Gas Tax Increase Bill Dies in Legislature
- Bridge of the Gods' Busy Summer Start Heralds Substantial Changes to the Span
- Federal Transportation Board Directs Applicant for Private Railway and Toll Road to Disclose List of Stockholders
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Does New York City Have Authority to Impose Tolls?
WNYC reports, “Mayor Michael Bloomberg fought hard to implement so-called congestion pricing, only to see a bill fail to even get to the floor in Albany. But now, experts with the transit advocacy group Move NY believe they’ve found a legal loophole that allows the city to implement tolls on East River Bridges — without state approval.” New York City DOT denies that the city has the legal authority to impose tolls, and, as the report notes, “Mayor de Blasio has said congestion pricing is ‘not part of my vision.’” NY City Council will debate ways to reduce congestion at a hearing today.
New York New York CityWYDOT Will Kick-Off Year-Long I-80 Revenue and Safety Study, Toll Lanes Included
Casper Star-Tribune reports, “The Wyoming Department of Transportation is embarking on a yearlong study of ways to raise revenue to improve safety on Interstate 80, including the possibility of toll lanes, [WYDOT director Bill Panos] told lawmakers [last] week.” Panos said the $500,000 study is targeted for completion in the first half of 2018.
Wyoming Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT)INDOT Moves Quickly on Study of Interstate Tolling
The Journal Gazette reports, “The Indiana Department of Transportation on Friday [June 2] wasted no time looking at future tolling by requesting information for studies related to interstate tolling and the National Environmental Policy Act. The request covers several interstates but not I-69 or I-469 in northern Indiana. The move is the result of a massive road funding bill recently passed by legislators that required INDOT to study the possibility of tolling.” [Link inserted.]
Indiana Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT)Brevard County Joins CFX
Florida Politics reports, “Brevard County is officially joining the Central Florida Expressway Authority. The toll road agency that serves Orange, Osceola, Lake and Seminole counties . . . has no immediate plans to push any of those highways into Brevard County, or build any in the Space Coast area. But that is likely to change now. On [June 2,] Gov. Rick Scott signed House Bill 299 to make Brevard a place on the CFX Governing Board, effective July 1. Brevard County Commissioner Jim Barfield . . . will take a seat on the CFX Board for its July meeting.”
Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) FloridaERC Launches New Billing and Late Fee Policies
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Elizabeth River Crossings has changed its toll billing practices and late fees policy. On June 2, ERC implemented a one-statement-per-month, 30-day billing cycle — ending “the practice of sending multiple, sometimes confusing, invoices every month — and a single, $25 monthly late fee for each unpaid statement. According to CEO Philip Shucet, “We looked at our business and by changing our practices, we’re reducing the cost of operating the business and the cost of the fees.” The Virginian-Pilot previously reported that some motorists “had toll bills as high as $18,000, largely because of late fees,” and, ERC, responding to state pressure, “placed a $2,200 lid on first-time toll violators and hired Shucet as CEO.”
Elizabeth River Tunnels Virginia Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)Trump Administration to Launch Week-Long Infrastructure Push Today
The Washington Post reports, “President Trump will seek to put a spotlight on his vows to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system and spur $1 trillion in new investment in roads, waterways and other infrastructure with a week-long series of events starting [today] at the White House.”
Trump Administration Infrastructure PlanIf Given a Do-Over, How Would Engineers Build the Golden Gate Bridge Today?
Business Insider publishes a detailed look at the engineering behind the Golden Gate Bridge, which just turned 80, and reports, “Due to huge upkeep costs, some people have suggested reconstructing the Golden Gate Bridge in a way that would limit ongoing maintenance and operation bills. Setting aside the political feasibility, how would engineers design the bridge if they were going to build it from scratch today?”
California Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD)Report: Self-Driving Cars Will Have a "Minimal or Negative" Impact on Traffic Congestion
Business Insider reports, Self-driving cars might make your future commute a lot more pleasant, but they won’t eliminate traffic.” Why? “[E]xperts say the vehicles’ impact on traffic will either be minimal or negative. Lew Fulton, a co-director at UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies (ITP), told Business Insider that autonomous vehicles won’t fix congestion woes unless a pricing system is put in place that discourages zero-occupancy vehicles.”
Self-Driving VehiclesWho Was Jack the Ripper and, More Importantly, Why Don't Miami Drivers Use Turn Signals?
Miami Herald reports, “How was Stonehenge built? Who was Jack the Ripper? What happens to a star sucked into a black hole? Why don’t Miami drivers use turn signals? These are the great mysteries of the universe.” The report adds, “Turn signal neglect is an epidemic in South Florida.” The article cites a report by automotive engineer Richard Ponziani, who observed 12,000 turning vehicles. “Ponziani conducted his field study in Dayton, Ohio, which is in the Midwest, where people are nice. He predicted that the percentages would rise in the Miami metropolis, where people are aggressive or oblivious. Here, it’s Mad Max or Mr. Magoo behind the wheel,” the report adds.
Florida Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)Some Missouri Lawmakers Balk at Initiative to Bar Tolling of Interstates
KMBZ reports, “A Missouri advocacy group [A Better Road Forward] is enthusiastic about the possibility of a ballot initiative this fall that would prohibit the state from adding tolls to existing roadways,” but the idea is not as popular inside the capitol. State Representative Kevin Corlew (R-Kansas City) tells the station, “We have not had the political traction to move that in the house. I think it’s unwise to take any option completely off the table.”
MissouriCT Senate Passes Bill to Study Use of Federal Funds for Possible I-84, I-91 Tunnel in Hartford
WCVB reports, “The Connecticut Senate has given a boost to a plan to bury parts of Interstates 84 and 91 in Hartford underground in tunnels. It’s now up to the House of Representatives to pass legislation which allows the state Department of Transportation to consider using available federal funds to construct the tunnels. The bill passed the state Senate 30-to-6 on Friday night [June 2].”
ConnecticutCT House Speaker Blames GOP for Stalled Debate on Tolling Bill
WSHU reports, “Connecticut House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, a Berlin Democrat, is blaming the Republican minority for his failure [last] week to have the House debate a bill that could lead to the return of tolls on Connecticut’s highways. Aresimowicz says the return of tolls is needed to avoid the state’s Special Transportation Fund running out of money by 2020. But he had to withdraw the bill from debate twice this week . . . because he could not get any support from the Republican caucus.”
ConnecticutPlans for a New Mississippi River Bridge are Delayed -- Again -- after Gas Tax Increase Bill Dies in Legislature
WBRZ reports, “Plans for a new Mississippi River bridge are being pushed back again after the gas tax failed to gain support in the state’s legislature. . . . State officials said work could have started on a new bridge in 10 years if lawmakers had passed the gas tax this week. Adam Knapp with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber said the action to take no action on the bill has set the project back.”
LouisianaBridge of the Gods' Busy Summer Start Heralds Substantial Changes to the Span
Hood River News reports, “A burst of Memorial Day weekend traffic signaled a hectic summer for the Bridge of the Gods,” and the continuation of recent toll revenue increases. “Amid increasing crossings, the Port of Cascade Locks is poised to make short-term traffic management fixes as well as substantial changes at the bridge’s Oregon entryway (including a conversion to AET).
OregonFederal Transportation Board Directs Applicant for Private Railway and Toll Road to Disclose List of Stockholders
The US Surface Transportation Board issued a decision on June 2 on certain requests made by Great Lakes Basin Transportation, Inc. (GLBT), regarding its application for an interstate freight rail line and toll road around Chicago. Among several other rulings, the board rejected the “highly confidential” designation GLBT gave its list of principal stockholders, directed GLBT to supplement its application, and suspended the deadline for comments on the application.
Illinois