Public

Houston Chronicle Launches Online Highway Construction Tracker

Posted on

Houston Chronicle (subscription may be required) yesterday introduced an article format designed for tracking metro Houston’s 11 major highway construction projects. The clarity and comprehensiveness of the presentation is so unique, in TRN’s view, that the article deserves special attention. The Chronicle pledges to maintain the format and keep the project information updated. If it follows through, the task of tracking the history, scope, cost and progress of TxDOT, Houston METRO and Harris County Toll Road Authority projects will become much simpler.

The projects are categorized and color-coded by when they’re expected to be finished. A table graphic incorporates hyperlinks to a profile of each project, including its high-level focus, a succinct description, a high-level recap of anything noteworthy about its progress, a timeline, a budget graphic, links to related newspaper articles and an image gallery. A static map of the project’s route is one of the included images.

Colorado DOT Expects Fall Opening Of Affordable Housing Project For Employees

Posted on

CBS News Colorado reports, some Colorado DOT workers could move into new affordable housing the agency is co-developing on the I-70 corridor by September or October. CDOT and the town of Frisco, which are jointly funding development of the 22-unit Granite Park apartment complex, will divide the facility rental rights. The department seeks local housing for its crew members who keep the corridor open during winter storms, and the city hopes the affordable rentals will draw workers who couldn’t otherwise afford to live in pricey Summit County. Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) said the project aligns with his vision for affordable housing statewide, especially in tourist destinations where essential workers often can’t afford to live. CDOT, in particular, is hoping the housing will improve worker retention, as well as response times during winter emergencies.

PA Turnpike Spotlights ORT Conversion Progress

Posted on

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is well on the way to converting the entire eastern half of its network to open-road tolling (ORT). However, some major work remains to be completed before the January 2025 implementation date, work that’s the topic of a recent post appearing on PTC’s “Stories from the Turnpike” blog. Now that most tolling gantries have been erected, the focus is on connecting electronic tolling gear to fiberoptic lines that have been laid underground along the roadway shoulder. A small building situated next to each gantry will house IT equipment and generators for the new tolling system. PTC vendors are now splicing cable connections from each building into the main fiberoptic line. When that step is complete, several months of toll system testing will begin. After the January launch, the process of converting the western half of the PTC network to barrier-free collection will start.

PTC provides information on the ORT conversion process in a short video. In a recent magazine article, chief engineer Brad Heigel, PE, discusses the expected benefits of the new tolling system.

Oklahoma DOT Seeks Public’s Critique Of Community Engagement Processes

Posted on

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation announced Friday it is “assessing its community engagement efforts and wants to hear from people across the state about their experiences. The input will be used to improve ODOT’s community engagement efforts. The public is encouraged to respond to the [anonymous online survey] by April 30, 2024.” Public consultation is the latest phase of a comprehensive internal review process that began in August 2023. ODOT defines engagement broadly to include providing information and responding to questions “in an easy-to-understand manner,” as well as “listening to public input” and “collaborating with communities to solve transportation problems.” ODOT Deputy Director Dawn Sullivan commented, “Providing exceptional customer service is a guiding principle of ODOT, and having an honest assessment of how we’re performing is critical for helping us better engage with communities going forward.”

FBI Issues Alert About Text Scams Targeting Electronic Toll Account Customers

Posted on

On Friday, the FBI issued a public service announcement about the recent wave of fraudulent attempts to obtain money and personal information from electronic toll collection service customers. The bureau said its Internet Crime Complaint Center has received over 2,000 reports since early March about “smishing” texts sent by actors purporting to represent toll agencies. The complaint information suggests the scam “may be moving from state-to-state.” The FBI adds, “The ‘outstanding toll amount’ [requested in each fraudulent text] is similar among the complaints,” although “the link provided within the text is created to impersonate the state’s toll service name, and phone numbers appear to change between states.”

A Forbes.com article following up on the FBI announcement looks at the reasons behind the global upsurge in text-based scams that cause $300 million in annual losses in the US alone.