- OTA Issues Caution about Third-Party Payment Service
- Illinois Seeks P3 Proposals for I-55 Express Lanes Project
- Groundbreaking on PA Turnpike "Zip" Ramp
- Rhode Island Truck Toll and Infrastructure Renewal Program Is Advancing
- After Toll Hike, NOLA Causeway Commission Likely to Face Bonds Controversy
- Massachusetts Governor Vetoes VMT Road Fee Pilot Program Funding
- CT Newspaper Hammers "Odious" VMT Fees
- A Primer on DelDOT's U.S. 301 Project
- A Q&A on I-66 HOT Lanes
- Texas Senator Robert Nichols: There are No Free Roads, People!
- WSDOT Schedules Open House on I-405 Express Shoulder Lane Project
- Will Austin Mobility Bond Help Ease Congestion? (Hint: More Tolling Might Be More Effective.)
- Delay in Making Temporary License Plate Law Effective Costs California $19 Million Annually
- Michigan Takes Advantage of Design-Build for $1.3 Billion I-75 Project
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OTA Issues Caution about Third-Party Payment Service
Tulsa World reports, “The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority issued a cautionary message on [August 11] to users who attempt to replenish their Pikepass accounts using a third-party service.” The report adds that OTA issued a news release that says doxo.com “has a website which may give OTA PIKEPASS customers the impression they are conducting business directly with the OTA.” The website is not affiliated with the authority, OTA states.
OklahomaIllinois Seeks P3 Proposals for I-55 Express Lanes Project
Daily Herald reports, “The Illinois Department of Transportation Thursday [August 11] asked construction firms to submit ideas on how to build two tolled express lanes on I-55 in DuPage and Cook counties.” The report adds, “The public-private partnership is a result of the state’s budget woes and absence of a capital plan, as well as the necessity of fixing chronic traffic jams on I-55.”
Chicago Tribune adds, “Private firms need to submit their ideas by Sept. 8, with a public forum scheduled for Sept. 20 at the Holiday Inn O’Hare. IDOT needs approval from the General Assembly for the I-55 toll project.”
Illinois P3 & PrivatizationGroundbreaking on PA Turnpike "Zip" Ramp
Montgomery Media reports, “State and township officials clad in hard hats lined up, shovels in hand, to mark the ground-breaking for a zip ramp from the Fort Washington exit of the Turnpike directly into the Fort Washington Office Park Aug. 2.″
PennsylvaniaRhode Island Truck Toll and Infrastructure Renewal Program Is Advancing
WPRI-TV News provides an update on RhodeWorks, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s $4.7 billion proposal “for a surge of infrastructure projects funded in part by a new toll on trucks.” The report adds, “RIDOT has estimated large trucks will pay $45 million a year in tolls on up to 14 bridges around the state once the system is up and running, providing additional funds for bridge repairs.” The station also reports, “It will be at least another year before trucks start paying tolls.”
Rhode IslandAfter Toll Hike, NOLA Causeway Commission Likely to Face Bonds Controversy
The New Orleans Advocate reports, “Normally, bond resolutions cruise through the St. Tammany Parish Council like a toll-tag commuter at a Lake Pontchartrain Causeway toll booth. . . . But when Causeway officials present their latest bond resolution — a plan to sell more than $100 million in bonds to add higher rails and safety bays — they can expect barricades in the form of skeptical questions from council members and vocal citizen opposition.”
The Times-Picayune looks at what’s ahead for the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway after this week’s vote to raise the tolls $103 million in improvements and offers readers five things they need to know, including the fact that, “If St. Tammany and Jefferson approve the bond issue, commuters would still have many months before being hit with higher tolls.”
Louisiana Toll Rate ChangesMassachusetts Governor Vetoes VMT Road Fee Pilot Program Funding
The Bond Buyer reports, “Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker used a line-item veto Wednesday [August 10] to kill a provision in the state’s new highway funding bill that would have set up a pilot program for testing a vehicle-miles-traveled road fee system.” The report adds that the governor said a VMT fee “would be a burden for motorists in rural western Massachusetts.” He took note of the pilot programs in California and Oregon, saying that, “We can certainly learn from those experiments.”
Massachusetts RUC & VMT ProgramsCT Newspaper Hammers "Odious" VMT Fees
Hartford Courant editors slam the state’s decision to enter a vehicle miles traveled pilot program, arguing that, “On the long list of bad ways to tax people, the state continues to consider one of the most odious: a mileage tax, where residents would be charged for every mile they drive. Both Democrats and Republicans have wisely panned the idea, saying such a tax would be dead on arrival if it were proposed in the legislature.”
Connecticut RUC & VMT ProgramsA Primer on DelDOT's U.S. 301 Project
The News Journal features a “here’s what you need to know” article about DelDOT’s new US 301 tollway construction project. “Delaware Department of Transportation contractors must finish work on the tollway by December 2018. The agency will begin to repay money it borrowed to build the highway after that date using toll,” the article notes.
DelawareA Q&A on I-66 HOT Lanes
The Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock fields reader’s questions regarding the I-66 high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. Issues discussed include peak period times, impact on traffic volume, the hybrid exemption and a change for drivers heading to Dulles Airport.
Virginia Washington (DC) Metro RegionTexas Senator Robert Nichols: There are No Free Roads, People!
Tyler Morning Telegraph reports, “Although Loop 49 may be the only toll road regularly traveled by some East Texans, . . . Sen. Robert Nichols [R-District 3, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee] said toll roads are something everyone in the region and the state should appreciate. ‘I hear people say, “I’d rather drive on a free road than a toll road,” Nichols said. ‘Well there is no such thing as a free road. You’re either using tax money, which is hard to come by, or you’re going to charge somebody for actually using a new road.’” The senator spread the tolling gospel to the Tyler Area Builders Association.
TexasWSDOT Schedules Open House on I-405 Express Shoulder Lane Project
Kirkland Reporter notes, “The Washington State Department of Transportation will host a neighborhood open house from 5-7 p.m. on Aug. 18, about the recently funded Interstate 405 Northbound Peak Use Shoulder Lane project. With funding from I-405 express toll lanes revenue, WSDOT plans to add new highway capacity between State Route 527 and Interstate 5 to help manage congestion.”
Washington StateWill Austin Mobility Bond Help Ease Congestion? (Hint: More Tolling Might Be More Effective.)
CBS News Austin reports, “The Austin City Council officially approved the mobility bond for the November election that one transportation expert [UT engineering professor Dr. Kara Kockelman] says focuses more on safety than congestion relief.” On reducing congestion, the professor tells CBS that “tolling cars will help, both on inner city roads and the bridges over the river.” The $720 million bond is on the November ballot.
TexasDelay in Making Temporary License Plate Law Effective Costs California $19 Million Annually
The Mercury News’ Mr. Roadshow explains the downside of delaying until 2019 the effective date of California’s new temporary license plate law designed to crack down on toll scofflaws. He writes, “This legislation could have been signed into law last year, and saved the state $19 million annually in lost toll receipts. Better late than never, eh?”
California ScofflawsMichigan Takes Advantage of Design-Build for $1.3 Billion I-75 Project
The Detroit News reports, “A $1.3 billion project that begins Monday [August 15] to rebuild an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 75 aims to curb fatal and severe accidents and will use a contracting practice designed to accelerate construction, state officials said Thursday.” The report adds, “MDOT is using a design/build contract, where prequalified contractors bid on the job with limited design documents; an engineering firm was hired to finish the plans and construction is done as the design progresses in an effort to accelerate the project.”
Michigan