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Pennsylvania Turnpike Again Earns A Perfect “GreenGov” Score From State Council

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For the third year in a row, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) has received a perfect 100-percent score in the PA GreenGov Council’s certification process. A PTC news release notes it is the only state agency to achieve the distinction in three consecutive years. Recent commission sustainability initiatives recognized by the council include reduced energy usage and mowing schedules, pollinator gardens, and several major solar investments.

PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said, “We’ve created an organization-wide culture where environmental sustainability practices are incorporated throughout our infrastructure, construction, and maintenance projects. The result has led to some of the most progressive steps taken by a government entity in the state.” The PTC release notes that many sustainability initiatives also have yielded “successful financial gains” for the commission.

Formed in 2017, the mission of the GreenGov Council is to help state agencies “integrate sustainability into the Commonwealth’s policies, planning, operations, procurement and regulatory functions” in support of Pennsylvania’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

Michigan DOT Will Introduce Blue Water Bridge Toll Increase, The First Since 2010

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The Times Herald reports, Michigan DOT is publicly reviewing a proposal to increase the toll rate for crossing the Blue Water Bridge eastbound span from Port Huron to Ontario. One option under consideration would add $2.00 to the toll starting this December 1, 2024. The other would phase-in an increase, starting with a $1.50 jump on December 1 followed by a 50-cent increase on December 1, 2025.

A virtual public engagement session will be held November 12, and an online public survey is already active. Currently, two-axle passenger cars are charged US$3.00 per crossing plus  $3.00 for each additional axle. Trucks and buses pay $3.25 per axle. A 50-cent discount is available for EDGE Pass holders.

TRN notes, the Blue Water Bridge is one of two spans between Michigan and Ontario with a unique interoperable toll collection system “involving three independent international bridge operators with different ownership structures.”

AASHTO Announces Annual Award Recipients

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The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) wraps up its 2024 annual meeting in Philadelphia today. During yesterday’s program, it announced the recipients of individual and team recognition awards, and the final results of the 2024 America’s Transportation Awards competition.

An association news release lists 10 individuals and transportation programs given special recognition for their contributions to the industry. The honorees included former Louisiana DOTD secretary and AASHTO president Dr. Shawn Wilson, recipient of the George S. Bartlett Award for exceptional leadership; North Carolina DOT Secretary Joey Hopkins, who received the Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award; and Teri Soos, the Maryland State Highway Administration’s deputy chief operations, honored with the Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award.

A separate news release announced the top honorees in the America’s Transportation Awards contest. PennDOT received the Grand Prize for the I-95-Cottman Avenue Emergency Response Project that swiftly repaired and reopened “a key national north-south highway corridor” after it was badly damaged in a 2023 commercial truck crash and fire. West Virginia DOT won the competition’s People’s Choice Award for its Wellsburg Bridge Project, which reconnected two communities after a river ferry service was ceased operation.

CFX Gantry Activation Reflects Progress Of SR 417 Widening Project

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The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) activated a new toll gantry last night, converting the ramp from southbound SR 417 (the Florida GreeneWay) to Narcoossee Road into a cashless toll point. The gantry’s activation made a toll plaza and its coin basket equipment obsolete.

The interchange conversion is part of segment 4 of CFX’s ongoing SR 417 Corridor Capacity Improvements (International Drive to SR 528) Project. The project aims to widen and improve the busy toll road’s southern corridor, which will expand from four to six lanes (three lanes in each direction) to improve traffic flow. CFX is also widening and strengthening the roadway shoulders to create flex lanes that can temporarily accommodate traffic during emergency situations, including hurricane evacuations.

CFX spokesperson Brian Hutchings tells TRN segment 4 is on track for completion by the end of this year. CFX hopes to complete all sections of the SR 417 project by early 2025, if not sooner.

Another Irish Government Official Objects To Toll Rate Hikes

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Another member of Ireland’s government has spoken out against the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) announcement that some rates will increase effective January 1 for the ten toll facilities on the National Road Network, eight of which are operated by private concession companies.

According to The Irish Times, Paschal Donohoe, the minister responsible for budgeting and policy development, said he disfavors the rate increases for reasons similar to those expresses earlier by the housing minister, Darragh O’Brien. While acknowledging that rate adjustments are made by TII independent of the government, Donohoe said, “I think anything that further adds to the cost of living at the moment is something I’d be very reluctant to see happen.” He noted that commuters are already bearing additional costs due to changes in carbon taxation and fuel prices.