- North Tarrant Express Project Has Potential to Grow by $1 Billion
- Louisiana Governor Focuses on Transportation Infrastructure Funding
- Colorado County Considers Tolling Road to Scenic, Eco-Sensitive Area
- MassDOT Again Closes Turnpike E-ZPass Lane to Fix Malfunction
- Jamie Fox Makes First Appearance in Court
- Public Safety Agencies Prepare for Opening of GDOT Reversible Express Lanes
- RiverLink Camera Testing Begins on the Lincoln Bridge
- Houston's Grand Parkway Segment C-1 Nears Completion
- Newspaper Advises Consumers to Avoid Rental Car Toll-Related Fees
- Construction Workers Feel Pain of NJ Transportation Battle, Project Shutdowns
- Editorial Says MTA Should Be Thinking Creatively about Tolling
- Tampa Bay Ferry Service Receives Approval
- Texas Christian Ranks Number 1 . . . in TollTag Sales
- FDOT's First Hundred Years
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North Tarrant Express Project Has Potential to Grow by $1 Billion
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that transportation officials and the private developers of the I-35 West expansion project (North Tarrant Express) are “considering adding new lanes, ramps and other features that would extend the project several miles to the north, south and west.” The newspaper adds, “The additional work, if approved, likely will add more than a billion dollars to the final price tag. . . . However, the state transportation department isn’t funding the bill entirely with tax dollars. Instead, North Tarrant Infrastructure and its partners are bringing private-sector dollars to the project, with the expectation that they will be repaid with toll proceeds.”
P3 & Privatization TexasLouisiana Governor Focuses on Transportation Infrastructure Funding
Associated Press reports, “With Louisiana’s budget gaps partially stabilized, Gov. John Bel Edwards is looking to make roads, bridges and other transportation needs a key initiative for next year’s legislative session.” Speaking at an August 4 event, the governor said, “It’s obvious that existing revenue sources aren’t going to get for us more than we’ve been getting, and if we wait for the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy to deliver these infrastructure projects, that’s never going to happen.” Edwards has appointed a task force to study transportation funding options, including toll roads and public-private partnerships.
Louisiana P3 & PrivatizationColorado County Considers Tolling Road to Scenic, Eco-Sensitive Area
The Clear Creek Courant (Idaho Springs, CO) reports that Clear Creek County staff are investigating the possibility of charging a toll on the Guanella Pass Road “both to pay for maintenance and help regulate visitors to the heavily traveled area.” [Link added.] The toll, says one official, could help manage the number of visitors, and provide revenue for parking upgrades or a shuttle bus service.
ColoradoMassDOT Again Closes Turnpike E-ZPass Lane to Fix Malfunction
WWLP-TV News (Springfield) reports that following the discovery of overcharges occurring at a Massachusetts Turnpike interchange, an E-ZPass toll lane was temporarily closed and customers were advised to check their monthly statements for errors. However, “[t]he problem might not be fixed after all. MassDOT is once again shutting down a possibly defective lane at the Exit 6 toll booth,” the station reports.
E-ZPass MassachusettsJamie Fox Makes First Appearance in Court
The Record (Bergen County) reports that Jamie Fox, former New Jersey transportation commissioner and PANYNJ official, made his first court appearance on criminal charges filed in July. “Fox, 61, . . . is accused of helping former Port Authority Chairman David Samson to pressure United Airlines to restore an unprofitable flight from Newark to an airport near Samson’s vacation home in South Carolina.”
Crime Beat New Jersey PANYNJPublic Safety Agencies Prepare for Opening of GDOT Reversible Express Lanes
Henry Herald (McDonough, GA) reports that as GDOT nears completion of its Interstate 75 South Metro Express Lanes project, it is helping Henry County public safety agencies prepare to serve the motorists who will use the facility. The reversible lanes will present several challenges for first responders, according to the article.
GeorgiaRiverLink Camera Testing Begins on the Lincoln Bridge
The Courier-Journal (Louisville) reports that the installation of two test cameras on the Abraham Lincoln Bridge marks the advance of the new RiverLink all-electronic tolling system. The newspaper adds that Ohio River Bridges tolling operations will not begin “until cross-river capacity is added to the area transportation system, probably not before December.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Indiana KentuckyHouston's Grand Parkway Segment C-1 Nears Completion
Community Impact Newspaper provides an update on the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority’s Grand Parkway Segment C-1 project. Construction is due to be completed in the fall. The newspaper also looks at the scheduling and funding of the remainder of Segment C.
TexasNewspaper Advises Consumers to Avoid Rental Car Toll-Related Fees
USA Today shares tips for avoiding rental car company fees, including the costs associated with toll road use.
Construction Workers Feel Pain of NJ Transportation Battle, Project Shutdowns
The Record (Bergen County) looks at the impact that New Jersey Governor Christie’s shutdown of all transportation projects has had on workers, reporting that “union bosses and trade-association leaders have complained to elected officials that the negative impacts of the gas-tax stalemate fall hardest on those who can least afford it, the construction workers who depend on summer wages to carry them through the lean times of winter.”
New JerseyEditorial Says MTA Should Be Thinking Creatively about Tolling
Poughkeepsie Journal’s editorial board, addressing MTA’s potential 2017 toll and fare increases, writes, “The state, City of New York, the MTA and other stakeholders should be thinking far more creatively about how to pay for essential public transportation services.” Among other things, the editors complain, “Long-touted, reasonable suggestions to pay for MTA services — such as putting into place tolls on some now-free crossings to and from Manhattan or charging drivers coming into the city’s core during the workweek’s rush hours — are consistently ignored.”
New YorkTampa Bay Ferry Service Receives Approval
Tampa Bay Business Journal reports, “St. Petersburg City Council issued its final approval for a water ferry service connecting its downtown to downtown Tampa. The vote means HMS Ferries will receive its notice [today] to proceed with the project.” According to the article, the company is expected to charge a one-way fare of $10.
FloridaTexas Christian Ranks Number 1 . . . in TollTag Sales
Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, “Texas Christian University is by far the most popular specialized TollTag being sold by the North Texas Tollway Authority. It is outselling the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Texas A&M and all others.” [Link added.]
TexasFDOT's First Hundred Years
Sun-Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale) charts the accomplishments of the Florida Department of Transportation since its founding as the State Roads Department in 1915.
Florida