- IL Tollway Advances $4 Billion Plan to Widen the Tri-State Tollway
- PA Turnpike's AET Conversion of Beaver Valley Expressway/Toll 376 Is on Track for April 30 Launch
- Cibolo (TX) Officials Will Revise Plan for Privately Funded Toll Road
- Tolling Concerns Contribute to Rejection of Intergovernmental Agreement for Salem, OR, Bridge
- RiverLink Toll Bridges' Traffic and Revenue Are Meeting Expectations
- OTA PIKEPASS Accounts with Zero Balance Will No Longer Work on KTA or NTTA Systems
- VP Pence Tells Australians Trump Administration Wants to Emulate Their Infrastructure Improvement Funding Model
- Pensacola Beach Businesses Push for Solutions to Traffic Woes. Bridge's Conversion to AET Is a Possibility.
- DRJTBC's Joe Donnelly to Make an Illustrated Presentation on Delaware River Crossings
- Details Emerge on Financing for Atlantia's Possible Acquisition of Abertis
- County Official Says Possibility of Compensation Event Hinders VDOT's Expansion of I-95 General Purpose Lanes
- The Bond Buyer Looks at Potential Impact of Additional Tolling in Indiana
- NY State to Host First "New York Harbor of Lights' Show" This Week
- Troopers Help Father Deliver Baby on Shoulder of NY Thruway
- NJ Newspaper Looks Back at 1956 Opening of the Then-"Most Expensive Road" in the World
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IL Tollway Advances $4 Billion Plan to Widen the Tri-State Tollway
Chicago Tribune reports, “The Illinois Tollway wants to widen the congested central Tri-State, an ambitious plan that began with an idea to rebuild the existing roadway but is now a larger project at more than double the price: $4 billion. On Monday [April 24], a tollway committee OK’d the proposal, advancing it to the full board, which is expected to take a final vote during its Thursday [April 27] meeting.”
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)PA Turnpike's AET Conversion of Beaver Valley Expressway/Toll 376 Is on Track for April 30 Launch
New Castle News provides a detailed update on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s conversion of the I-376/Beaver Valley Expressway to cashless tolling, scheduled to take effect on Sunday, April 30. The article notes that the technology and systems for the cashless tolling pilot project have cleared testing, according to a recent statement by turnpike CEO Mark Compton.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)Cibolo (TX) Officials Will Revise Plan for Privately Funded Toll Road
WOAI News 4 reports that a private proposal to build a toll road outside San Antonio advanced on April 24, but is due for some reworking. Cibolo, Texas, officials “are going back to the drawing board” to revise plans for the privately funded highway following their meeting with a metropolitan planning organization. The report notes that a feasibility study for the seven-mile toll road is due for consideration next month.
City of Cibolo (TX) P3 & Privatization TexasTolling Concerns Contribute to Rejection of Intergovernmental Agreement for Salem, OR, Bridge
Statesman Journal reports, “Opponents of a third Salem traffic bridge over the Willamette [River] claimed a victory [on April 24] as a majority of city councilors rejected an agreement with the state on the so-called Salem River Crossing project.” The report adds, “Part of the failed intergovernmental agreement said the city would have to include an analysis on ‘congestion pricing’ while it created a funding strategy for the project, highlighting concerns among opponents and councilors about bridge tolling.”
Congestion Pricing OregonRiverLink Toll Bridges' Traffic and Revenue Are Meeting Expectations
WDRB reports, “Traffic has increased on the RiverLink toll bridges after an initial decline this winter, according to figures released [on April 24]. There were almost 7 million crossings on the Lewis and Clark, Kennedy, Lincoln and bridges during the first three months of tolling. . . .” The article also notes that over 107,000 transponder accounts had been opened by the end of March 2017.
An April 24 RiverLink news release provides detailed first-quarter performance data for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project.
Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River BridgesOTA PIKEPASS Accounts with Zero Balance Will No Longer Work on KTA or NTTA Systems
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has announced, “Effective May 13, 2017, PIKEPASS accounts with a $0.00 or less balance will no longer be Interoperable on North Texas Tollway (NTTA) or Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) toll roads. Customers need to be aware that failure to have a balance above $0.00 prior to and during travel on NTTA and KTA toll roads will either be license plate billed or be required to pay cash at the time of travel.”
Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA)VP Pence Tells Australians Trump Administration Wants to Emulate Their Infrastructure Improvement Funding Model
The Australian reports, “Australian [industry pension fund managers], with more than $80 billion in assets, are eyeing big investment opportunities in the US as the Trump administration expresses interest in how Canberra’s ‘asset recycling’ scheme has helped drive major infrastructure projects in NSW. During his weekend visit, US Vice-President Mike Pence told business leaders the Trump administration was keen to emulate Australia’s model of funding upgrades of roads, airports and ports from the sale of old government-owned assets.”
Australia Infrastructure Investment TrendsPensacola Beach Businesses Push for Solutions to Traffic Woes. Bridge's Conversion to AET Is a Possibility.
Pensacola News Journal reports, “With summer approaching, some local business owners believe the clock is ticking on a solution to reduce traffic congestion on Pensacola Beach.” Several measures, including conversion of the Bob Sikes Bridge toll plaza to an AET system, have been recommended.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Escambia County (FL) FloridaDRJTBC's Joe Donnelly to Make an Illustrated Presentation on Delaware River Crossings
Bucks Local News reports that Joe Donnelly, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s communications director, is scheduled to make an illustrated presentation about bridges next month. The program will focus on several crossings, including “the soon-to-be expanded Scudder Falls Bridge.” The website notes that DRJTBC river and canal crossings “provide a diverse ‘loop trail’ system that visitors can use for convenient, roundtrip walking and biking trips.”
Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC)Details Emerge on Financing for Atlantia's Possible Acquisition of Abertis
Reuters (scroll down to “ATLANTIA”) picks up an Italian newspaper’s report that the “toll road operator could spend some 11 billion euros [US$11.95 billion] in cash for the tie-up with Spain’s Abertis, which could be financed with a bridge loan. . . . The investment vehicle of the Benetton family, Edizione, which currently controls Atlantia, could hold a 25 percent stake in the new company, the [newspaper] report added.”
Acquisitions and MergersCounty Official Says Possibility of Compensation Event Hinders VDOT's Expansion of I-95 General Purpose Lanes
Prince Williams Times publishes an op-ed column by county supervisor Ruth Anderson about local efforts to get VDOT to widen I-95 and add general purpose lane capacity. One potential obstacle, she notes, is that adding the lanes might depress express lane traffic, resulting in a “compensation event” under Transurban’s contract with VDOT.
Express Lanes I-95 Express (Metro Washington, DC) Transurban Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)The Bond Buyer Looks at Potential Impact of Additional Tolling in Indiana
The Bond Buyer (subscription required) reports on Indiana’s new highway budget law and the possibility that the state may do additional tolling.
IndianaNY State to Host First "New York Harbor of Lights' Show" This Week
Times Union reports, “The state will host its first what it calls ‘The New York Harbor of Lights’ show Thursday [April 27] with the grand opening of the new Kosciuszko Bridge that links Queens and Brooklyn. Last fall, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his plan to put light shows on New York City bridges and tunnels. . . . The announcement came along with plans to improve bridge tolling and tunnel flood control, along with implementing other infrastructure improvements.”
New York City New York State Department of Transportation (NYDOT)Troopers Help Father Deliver Baby on Shoulder of NY Thruway
Times Union reports that a woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl at the New York Thruway’s Exit 24 toll plaza on April 22.
New York New York State Thruway AuthorityNJ Newspaper Looks Back at 1956 Opening of the Then-"Most Expensive Road" in the World
The Jersey Journal (via NJ.com) publishes a retrospective on its coverage of the September 1956 inauguration of the Hudson County-Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike. At the time of opening, the newspaper “calculated the cost of the entire Hudson County extension at $2,765 per foot, making it most likely the ‘world’s most expensive road.’”
New Jersey New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA)