- MDX Is "Cutting Costs and Shedding Staff," but Doesn't Point to New Law Compelling Toll Reductions
- Social Media Video with Dancing Cowboy and Begging Kitten Spurs a Call from Governor Cuomo's Office to Bridge Toll Critic
- A Company Pitches Privatizing and Tolling for Two Bay City (MI) Bridges, but the Public Isn't Buying the Idea
- Montgomery County (MD) Council Prioritizes Extension of 495 Express Lanes to I-270
- FL Governor Scott Taps Former State Representative as State's New CFO
- Governor Scott Kicks Off $398 Million Pensacola Bridge Project and Earns Praise for Not Tolling the Span
- Colorado DOT to Pick P3 Partner for $1.2 Billion I-70 Expansion Project in the Next 60 Days
- WV Governor Justice Formally Signs Turnpike Toll Measure, Sets Date for Special Election on Transportation Bonds
- AP Catches Up with Florida Keys Tolling Study
- Caltrans Draws Fire for Failing to Disclose Full Price Tag on Controversial Highway 101 Bypass
- CT Lawmakers Halt Effort to Reinstate Tolls, as Newspaper Recollects 1983 Bridge Collapse That "Shocked" CT into Funding Bridge Repair
- WI Lawmakers Continue to Eye Tolling as Budget Deadline Looms
- WI Paper to Governor Walker, Lawmakers: Pass a Budget and Toll the Roads Already
- Newspaper Hammers Governor Cuomo for Sending Upstate Troopers to Enforce a Downstate AET System while Western NY Waits for AET
- Puerto Rico Tells BNY Mellon Not to Cover Payment on Highway Bonds
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MDX Is "Cutting Costs and Shedding Staff," but Doesn't Point to New Law Compelling Toll Reductions
Miami Herald reports that the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority board “is cutting costs and shedding staff as it faces a new state law demanding both lower fees for motorists and that some toll revenue be spent on county transit projects,” and it “has already laid off seven people this month from a headquarters staff of about 20. . . . The spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1 includes an 8 percent cut in the toll-operations division and a 10 percent cut in administration.” An authority official tells the newspaper the cuts are not driven by the toll reduction bill Governor Rick Scott signed on June 26, CS/HB 1049, citing an exception in the new statute.
Florida Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX)Social Media Video with Dancing Cowboy and Begging Kitten Spurs a Call from Governor Cuomo's Office to Bridge Toll Critic
The Buffalo News reports, “Pleas from advocates asking to eliminate the Grand Island Bridge tolls or install a high speed cashless tolling system had gone unanswered by Albany officials. But after Grand Island Supervisor Nate McMurray posted on social media a video . . . Cuomo’s staff contacted him almost immediately to talk about the tolls. McMurray’s video, seen by more than 10,000 people on Facebook, was a plea for the governor to meet to talk about toll concerns, interspersed with silly clips that range from a dancing cowboy and a begging kitten.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) New York New York State Thruway AuthorityA Company Pitches Privatizing and Tolling for Two Bay City (MI) Bridges, but the Public Isn't Buying the Idea
MLive.com reports, “For the second time this month, a private company [United Bridge Partners] pitched Bay City on privatizing Independence and Liberty bridges and charging a toll to cross the spans, but this time, the public had an opportunity to ask questions and offer opinion. A majority of those in attendance weren’t having it.”
Michigan P3 & PrivatizationMontgomery County (MD) Council Prioritizes Extension of 495 Express Lanes to I-270
WTOP reports, “New toll lanes along Interstate 270, additional money for Metro, and changes to ideas for bus rapid transit are all among the Montgomery County Council’s priorities for billions in future transportation projects.” The article adds, “The council Tuesday [June 27] approved a letter to the Maryland Department of Transportation changing the county’s priorities for major transportation construction and planning projects. Before the vote, members highlighted the need to improve commutes along I-270 by extending the 495 Express Lanes across the Legion Bridge and up 270.”
Express Lanes Maryland Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT)FL Governor Scott Taps Former State Representative as State's New CFO
The News Herald reports that Florida Governor Rick Scott selected Jimmy Patronis, a political ally and former state representative, to be the state’s new chief financial officer. Patronis will fill the unexpired term of Jeff Atwater.
Appointments-Promotions-Retirements FloridaGovernor Scott Kicks Off $398 Million Pensacola Bridge Project and Earns Praise for Not Tolling the Span
Pensacola News Journal reports that Florida Governor Rick Scott and FDOT secretary Mike Dew were in Pensacola to kick off the $398 million Pensacola Bay Bridge replacement project and notes, “Pensacola area leaders praised the governor and others in Tallahassee for funding the bridge without collecting tolls.” State Sen. Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, tells the newspaper, “We couldn’t have done this without the governor and his commitment to the Panhandle. When this project is finished, we will have a bridge that is not tolled. That is not typical anywhere else in this state.”
Florida Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)Colorado DOT to Pick P3 Partner for $1.2 Billion I-70 Expansion Project in the Next 60 Days
CBS Denver reports, “In the next 60 days, one of four teams of developers will be selected to design, build, operate and maintain Interstate 70 between Chambers Road and Brighton Boulevard. It will be a Public Private Partnership under the supervision of the High Performance Transportation Enterprise.”
Colorado Colorado Department of Transportation P3 & PrivatizationWV Governor Justice Formally Signs Turnpike Toll Measure, Sets Date for Special Election on Transportation Bonds
West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports on Governor Jim Justice’s formal signing of SB 1003, “legislation allowing the West Virginia Parkways Authority to increase the tolls on the state turnpike and create a new single fee program in the name of a bond to fund new road projects in southern West Virginia.” The network adds that Justice also signed a proclamation declaring an October 7 special election on a separate transportation bond initiative.
West Virginia West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)AP Catches Up with Florida Keys Tolling Study
Associated Press reports, “Local officials in the Florida Keys are launching a study into whether a toll could be placed on the highway that connects the chain of islands to the Florida mainland. The Miami Herald reported Sunday that Monroe County Commissioners have endorsed a resolution calling for a study. The resolution says the tolls would apply to non-residents only.”
Florida Monroe County, FloridaCaltrans Draws Fire for Failing to Disclose Full Price Tag on Controversial Highway 101 Bypass
The Press Democrat reports, “The controversial 6-mile Highway 101 bypass around Willits cost 50 percent more than what was reported by Caltrans when it opened the freeway last year, raising its total price tag to $459 million and fueling pointed criticism of the state agency. Caltrans officials say the $159 million discrepancy stems from unintentionally failing to include the department’s own staff time in publicly released financial reports.”
California Caltrans (CA Department of Transportation)CT Lawmakers Halt Effort to Reinstate Tolls, as Newspaper Recollects 1983 Bridge Collapse That "Shocked" CT into Funding Bridge Repair
WSHU reports that Connecticut House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said lawmakers have abandoned the reintroduction of highway tolls “as an immediate revenue option” in the negotiations over a state budget. “We always had the hope of having tolls available to us for transportation funding here in the state of Connecticut,” the speaker told reporters. “That process is going to be a little slowed down. We did the lockbox, but we are going to have to come back next to do some sort of action to get the tolls moving.”
Meanwhile, Greenwich Time reports, “On Wednesday, if you’re traveling across the I-95 bridge over the Mianus River in Greenwich, say a little prayer. A prayer for the three people who were killed 34 years ago when a 100-foot section of the bridge fell 70 feet into the river. More than three decades since the collapse shocked the state into setting aside funds for bridge repair and maintenance, Connecticut is still looking to find new ways to get the money to replace — or fix — its aging infrastructure.”
ConnecticutWI Lawmakers Continue to Eye Tolling as Budget Deadline Looms
WIZM reports, “The idea of charging tolls on Wisconsin highways remains alive in the legislature. The legislature is up against a Saturday [July 1] deadline for passing the state budget. Lawmakers are even reconsidering the idea of toll roads, as a way to finance road construction without raising taxes directly on the state.”
WisconsinWI Paper to Governor Walker, Lawmakers: Pass a Budget and Toll the Roads Already
The Wisconsin State Journal editorial board writes, “Wisconsin isn’t getting its state budget done on time. That’s largely because Gov. Scott Walker and the state Senate disagree with the Assembly on how to pay for transportation needs. . . . We’re rooting for the Assembly to prevail in its push for fiscal responsibility and a strong transportation system. . . . We also urge both sides . . . to seek permission from the federal government for open-road tolling on the interstate highways in Wisconsin. Leaders in both houses and Gov. Walker are close to agreeing on the need for limited toll roads. . . .”
WisconsinNewspaper Hammers Governor Cuomo for Sending Upstate Troopers to Enforce a Downstate AET System while Western NY Waits for AET
The Buffalo News editorial board writes that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to redeploy several hundred state troopers is “bound to raise the hackles of upstaters once they realize that the troopers are being sent downstate in part to monitor the cashless toll system that is in place there and that upstate apparently has no hope of getting anytime soon. We lose protection to help secure a system that a.) shouldn’t need that kind of attention and b.) Western New Yorkers desperately need.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) New York New York CityPuerto Rico Tells BNY Mellon Not to Cover Payment on Highway Bonds
The Bond Buyer reports, “Puerto Rico instructed Bank of New York Mellon Corp. not to cover a payment coming due on its Highways and Transportation Authority bonds, saying the money belongs to the agency as it works through bankruptcy proceedings to reduce its debt. BNY Mellon serves as trustee for bonds issued by the highway authority.”
Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority