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Intense Rainfall And Clogged Drains Cause Boston Toll Tunnel Flood

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The Ted Williams Tunnel is safe for travel, Massachusetts DOT is assuring motorists after video of flooding in the tunnel went viral this week. As CBS News reports, “The floodwaters reached 3 feet deep and stretched across two lanes as the torrential rain came down at the tail end of rush hour traffic Wednesday.” State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said a blockage thought to be 15 to 20 feet deep in the drain pipes caused heavy rain to back up, but crews with pump trucks eventually were able to clear the floodwaters. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attributed the problem to both aging infrastructure and climate change that now makes such flash flooding predictable. MassDOT stated it is deploying crews to check for other blockages and test water pump systems inside city tunnels.

The Boston Globe reports, despite his quotidian explanation for Wednesday’s flood, Mr. Gulliver acknowledged that state infrastructure needs to be made more resilient in the face of climate change conditions.

San Francisco Holds First Place In 2024 “Urban Mobility Readiness Index”

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Bloomberg CityLab reports, “The city’s adoption of electric vehicles and other high-tech innovations overshadowed its reliance on private cars, ultimately earning it the top spot in a ranking of 70 global cities by the Oliver Wyman Forum, the consulting firm’s social action arm, and the University of California, Berkeley.” Each year, researchers “weigh[ ] dozens of factors like walkability, air quality and the use of zero-emission buses to come up with an Urban Mobility Readiness Index that analyzes how well people and goods can move through a city and to surrounding population centers. Other cities in the top five, including Paris, Munich and Amsterdam, saw robust public transportation systems and strong universities that collaborate successfully with the private sector. Singapore, which came in third, extended its tax rebate incentive for early EV adoption through 2025 and boasts some of the safest roads in the world, with few road fatalities and low traffic.”

“The focus on technology and innovation this year shifted the ratings in favor of US cities, which performed well despite lagging in public transit and infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians.” Besides San Francisco, New York City made the top ten, taking eighth place. Boston and Los Angeles were among the top 15 cities. LA earned some points for its preparations to host a “car-free” Summer Olympics in 2028.

Washington State DOT Reports On Experiment Using Drones And Cameras To Abate Graffiti

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The Washington legislature directed WSDOT to conduct a pilot to evaluate the use of technology — paint-spraying drones, in particular — to abate roadside graffiti, a growing nuisance in the view of some observers. In a report submitted to lawmakers this month, the department states that early evidence from a drone-based cleanup campaign shows the technology “is safer and more efficient than traditional anti-graffiti methods, especially in hard-to-reach areas or places that could put workers in danger,” according to MyNorthwest.com. WSDOT calls on lawmakers to provide more funding for the program, for drone acquisition and pilot training.

The pilot project, which is set to continue through next June, received $60,000 in funding. To date, WSDOT has spent $22,000 and executed 21 missions in the Tacoma area. The department is also conducting tests of real-time tagger detection systems. It states traffic management centers have had some success using these camera systems to alert the Washington State Patrol to in-progress tagging.

Michigan Governor Signs Work Zone Camera Legislation

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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed House Bills 4132 and 4133 into law yesterday, bringing the list of states that employ work zone safety cameras up to 23, WOOD reports. “The system will take pictures of speeding cars and their license plates and record the date, time and location. A driver could face penalties for going more than 10 mph over the speed limit in a construction zone with workers present.” Twenty-four people were killed in more than 8,000 Michigan construction zone crashes last year.

A Year After Opening, 405 Express Improves Mobility Along Busy SoCal Freeway Corridor

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“One year after the completion of the I-405 Improvement Project, drivers are experiencing easier and quicker commutes along one of the most heavily traveled stretches of highway in the nation,” according to New Santa Ana. The Orange County (California) Transportation Authority led the $2.1 billion project in partnership with Caltrans. The project created one new general-purpose lane in each direction and two new express lanes in each direction along a 16-mile stretch between Costa Mesa, in Orange County, and the Los Angeles County line. (TRN inserted links in quoted text.)

“Travel times have been reduced by up to 12 minutes during the northbound weekday evening rush hour between SR-73 and I-605,” the article states. “Drivers traveling northbound in the 405 Express Lanes can save more than 20 minutes during weekday evening peak hours compared to using the carpool lanes that existed prior to the project’s construction in 2018.” And driving the full length of the express lanes is reportedly a reliable 15 -minutes trip.

As little as two weeks after the December 1, 2023, opening of 405 Express, The Orange County Register reported that the facility was benefitting all drivers, not just toll payers.