- New TEXpress Reversible Managed Lanes Open This Morning
- Report Says New I-580 Express Lanes Are Already Benefiting Bay Area Motorists
- South Carolina Debates I-73 Project as Public Comment Period Winds Down
- Orlando Relaunching Transportation Dep't with $45 Million Budget
- New Funding Propels CDOT's I-25 North Project
- GDOT Sets Groundbreaking for I-85 Express Lanes Project
- Morouns Talk Ambassador Bridge Sale with Canada Officials
- If Elected VP, Kaine May Lead Federal Infrastructure Efforts
- Newspaper Takes on PA Pike's Rising Debt and Transfers for Transit
- PA Pike Makes Push for Scofflaw Sanctions
- Consumer Advocate Argues for More Federal Transportation Infrastructure Spending
- Speed Limit Increase Coming to Segments of Chisholm Trail Toll Road
- Reevaluation of Longmeadow Project Environmental Factors Is Released
- Fitch Affirms Rating of Peace Bridge Authority's Revenue Bonds
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New TEXpress Reversible Managed Lanes Open This Morning
Dallas Morning News reports, “A 9-mile stretch of managed toll lanes along Interstate 30 running from Grand Prairie to Dallas will open to commuters [this morning, August 1], Texas highway officials announced Friday.” A TxDOT spokesperson tells the newspaper the new reversible TEXpress lanes will be open to free use from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. during August, and for the first six months of operation motorists will pay a fixed rate (43 cents to $1.14) that depends on time and direction of travel instead of the variable rates to be put into effect thereafter.
TexasReport Says New I-580 Express Lanes Are Already Benefiting Bay Area Motorists
The Mercury News (San Jose) reports, “Motorists took nearly 1.9 million trips on Interstate 580’s new express lanes in Alameda County in the first four months the lanes opened to vehicle traffic earlier this year, according to a recent report. [Link added.] The $345 million project opened on the notoriously congested Tri-Valley corridor in mid-February to solo drivers, who pay an extra toll to use the lane, and to carpoolers, who can drive for free.” The article includes data on traffic speed and toll rates in the new managed lanes.
CaliforniaSouth Carolina Debates I-73 Project as Public Comment Period Winds Down
Associated Press reports, “A decades-long proposal to build an interstate [I-73] to Myrtle Beach is back before the Army Corps of Engineers, which is weighing whether to permit construction of the four-lane, nonstop path to the heart of the state’s tourism industry.” The newspaper notes that a public comment period closes August 8, but 400 statements have already been submitted. If the COE issues a permit, funding will be the next issue, but state transportation commission chairman Mike Wooten maintains the $1.3 billion needed to build South Carolina’s segment of the highway can be obtained “primarily through tolls and local taxes if needed.”
South CarolinaOrlando Relaunching Transportation Dep't with $45 Million Budget
Orlando Sentinel reports, “From SunRail to I-4 Ultimate, Orlando is the epicenter for major projects that are changing the way Central Florida residents will get around town in the years to come. That’s why the city is launching a new transportation department that’s expected to debut next fiscal year with a $45 million budget.” Orlando had a transportation department from 2006 to 2011, an earlier period of intensive transportation development. Initially, the new department will have a staff of one, a director (estimated annual salary $140,000), who has not been chosen yet.
FloridaNew Funding Propels CDOT's I-25 North Project
Loveland Reporter-Herald notes, “The $15 million in federal money to help fund improvements to Interstate 25 in Northern Colorado is less money than local officials were hoping for but still enough to push the project forward.” The newspaper adds, “CDOT has prioritized bridge replacements and upgrades in the $237 million project and will replace two bridges and expand two, in addition to adding a third toll lane for 14 miles between [Colorado 14 and Colorado 402].”
The Coloradoan provides a primer on the project, reporting that, “For the toll-averse, the new lane will do little but siphon off traffic that’s happy to pay. The exact cost of the toll is part of an ongoing study.”
ColoradoGDOT Sets Groundbreaking for I-85 Express Lanes Project
The Times (Gainesville, GA) reports, “A $178 million project to extend Express Lanes up Interstate 85 to Hamilton Mill Road in North Gwinnett County is slated to get underway this month.” [Link added.] The Georgia Department of Transportation has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for Wednesday, August 3.
GeorgiaMorouns Talk Ambassador Bridge Sale with Canada Officials
Windsor Star reports, “Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority chairman Dwight Duncan, whose job is to get the new, multibillion-dollar Gordie Howe International Bridge built, is recommending the [Canadian] federal government investigate buying the competing Ambassador Bridge, owned by Grosse Pointe billionaire Matty Moroun.” According to the report, Duncan and the bridge authority CEO have already had two informal meetings with Moroun and his son Matthew, and Duncan is recommending that talks continue.
Canada MichiganIf Elected VP, Kaine May Lead Federal Infrastructure Efforts
The Hill reports, “Sen. Tim Kaine might be Hillary Clinton’s newly minted sidekick, but the Democratic vice presidential nominee is primed for the driver’s seat when it comes to infrastructure issues.” The article adds that “transportation advocates are excited by the prospect of having Kaine in their corner.”
Newspaper Takes on PA Pike's Rising Debt and Transfers for Transit
The Express-Times (Easton, PA) editorial board takes a look at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s rising tolls and debt, noting that, “Since 2007 the Legislature has required the turnpike to turn over $450 million a year for public transportation, and the turnpike is racking up massive debt as a result.” The report notes that, “almost two-thirds of [the turnpike’s] annual $980 million budget goes to debt service.”
PennsylvaniaPA Pike Makes Push for Scofflaw Sanctions
The Scranton Times-Tribune reports, “The increased use of electronic tolling in recent years has brought headaches for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. The commission faces problems trying to get toll scofflaws to pay up and would like more authority to go after them.” The article adds that legislation under consideration would allow PennDOT to suspend vehicle registrations of after six violations.
PennsylvaniaConsumer Advocate Argues for More Federal Transportation Infrastructure Spending
Cleveland.com guest columnist and Consumer Federation of America CEO Stephen Brobeck makes several arguments in favor of increased national spending on transportation infrastructure renewal and recommends creation of a national commission “to analyze and make specific recommendations about the most efficient and effective ways to spend funds on roads and bridges.”
Speed Limit Increase Coming to Segments of Chisholm Trail Toll Road
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, “After months of study by the North Texas Tollway Authority,” the speed limit on two segments of the Chisholm Trail Parkway is going to increase. The Fort Worth City Council and NTTA will review a staff report on the changes this week before any signs are replaced.
TexasReevaluation of Longmeadow Project Environmental Factors Is Released
Chicago Tribune reports that Kane County, IL, released a Reevaluation Environmental Assessment prepared by FHWA and IDOT for the proposed Longmeadow Parkway Corridor project. According to the newspaper, the original EIS (approved in 2002) was revised in 2009 when the county decided to toll the bridge included in the project plan. “The latest reevaluation was necessary as the county looks to start the next phase of the project.”
IllinoisFitch Affirms Rating of Peace Bridge Authority's Revenue Bonds
Fitch Ratings “has affirmed the rating on approximately $24.5 million of outstanding Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority . . . toll bridge system revenue refunding bonds, series 2014, at ‘A’. The Rating Outlook is Stable.” The authority operates the Peace Bridge international toll bridge facility.
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