- Buffalo News: Trump's Executive Order Could Cost Millions, Cause Toll Hikes on International Bridges
- AET Conversion Momentum Grows
- Dallas Jury Awards $248,000 for Residence Damaged during LBJ Express Construction. 223 More Cases Await Trial.
- Veterans Bridge Opening Day Traffic Exceeds Projections
- Is Chicago Skyway's $5 Toll Worth It?
- WV DOT Secretary Promises to "Go Big" on New Projects, Cites Use of Toll Revenue for Non-Tolled Highways
- Missouri River Toll Bridge Might Be on Its Last Legs
- GDOT's I-75 Express Lanes Are No Longer Free
- ATA Renews Bestpass as a Featured Product Provider
- Self-Driving Cars Might Ease Commutes, But Not Anytime Soon
- KY Lawmakers Approve Ohio River Bridge Toll Dispute Rules
- New Bill Authorizes Construction and Tolling of the "Indiana Commerce Connector," a Long-Proposed Interstate Highway
- Oklahoma DOT and OTA Will Continue Upgrades to Bridges and Road Surfaces
- WV Lawmaker's Bill Would Merge Turnpike with Highways Department and End Tolling
- Homeless Camp Makes Way for I-77 Express
- BATA and DRJTBC Deals Top This Week's US Municipal Bond Transactions Calendar
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Buffalo News: Trump's Executive Order Could Cost Millions, Cause Toll Hikes on International Bridges
The Buffalo News reports, “The biometric scans of eyes or fingerprints that President Trump wants at border crossings could toss years of infrastructure planning on the scrap heap, warn officials running the area’s four international bridges. Trump’s executive order would necessitate major new facilities costing millions of dollars to implement the requirements. At the Peace Bridge, it might mean a toll hike, officials said.” The report adds, “A similar situation faces the three spans run by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission.”
Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority Canada New YorkAET Conversion Momentum Grows
Foster’s Daily Democrat reports that the industry is “moving at a significant clip toward an all-electronic future” as it further perfects the systems already available to support non-cash toll collection. “To collect cash, or not to collect cash. That is the question that looms over a showdown in York, Maine. . . . It’s also a question being raised on the Spaulding Turnpike in New Hampshire, where transportation officials recently put a proposed Dover toll plaza on hold,” the newspaper notes.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Maine Turnpike Authority New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT)Dallas Jury Awards $248,000 for Residence Damaged during LBJ Express Construction. 223 More Cases Await Trial.
The Dallas Morning News reports that a Dallas County jury has awarded a couple $248,723 “for damage caused to their home during construction of the LBJ Express project. . . .” The report adds, “This was just the first case to hit a courtroom. One down, 223 to go. [Plaintiffs’ attorney Dean] Gresham said earlier this week that if he wins them all, Trinity Infrastructure could be on the hook for ‘north of $60, $65 million.’” A spokesperson for Trinity (one of the LBJ Express project partners) tells the newspaper the company is disappointed with the verdict, has no interest in settling, and “stands behind the integrity” of its work.
Issues of Law LBJ Express (I-635/I-35E) TexasVeterans Bridge Opening Day Traffic Exceeds Projections
The Daily Advance reports, “Despite the tolling that began on [February 9], the traffic count on the first day motorists had to pay to cross the Dominion Boulevard Veterans Bridge was better than projected. . . .” A City of Chesapeake (VA) spokeswoman tells the newspaper a consultant had projected a first-day volume of 17,200 vehicles, while the actual total was 21,774.
City of Chesapeake (Virginia) VirginiaIs Chicago Skyway's $5 Toll Worth It?
Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn asks if it makes sense to pay the Chicago Skyway’s $5 toll, noting that on one of his recent trips, saving four minutes was not worth the investment. Zorn wades into Facebook and asks readers about their own “Skyway versus freeway” decision points.
Chicago Metro Area Skyway Concession CompanyWV DOT Secretary Promises to "Go Big" on New Projects, Cites Use of Toll Revenue for Non-Tolled Highways
MetroNews hosted a call-in program with West Virginia Highways Commissioner and Transportation Secretary Tom Smith, who said, “Gov. Justice has clearly challenged us to go big. . . . That’s what we intend to do. We intend to push projects out in an accelerated fashion.” smith added that one of the governor’s financing proposals “would be to increase the tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike by $1. Smith said such action would have to be approved with the framework now in place set by the Federal Highway Administration on the use of tolls, but he added toll revenue for construction outside of the tolled highway has been used in other states with success.”
West Virginia West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)Missouri River Toll Bridge Might Be on Its Last Legs
KMTV reports, “This summer, the Bellevue Bridge Commission will do a study to determine if and how long the bridge can stay open.” The report adds that toll revenue is insufficient to fund maintenance and some question whether bridge, which crosses the Missouri River connecting Nebraska and Iowa, is still needed.
Iowa NebraskaGDOT's I-75 Express Lanes Are No Longer Free
WSB-TV reports, “It will cost you this morning if you want to get through the commute a little faster south of the metro Atlanta. The new express lanes on Interstate 75 are no longer free.” The report adds, “The dynamic pricing is similar to the hot lanes on I-85 in Gwinnett, but one big difference here: everyone pays. It’s not free to carpools or motorcycles.”
Express Lanes Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)ATA Renews Bestpass as a Featured Product Provider
The American Trucking Associations announced it has “renewed Bestpass, an industry leader in toll solutions, as an ATA Featured Product provider.” ATA president Chris Spear says, “Trucking companies are encouraged to explore products that improve efficiency and productivity, like the tolling solutions offered by Bestpass.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling)Self-Driving Cars Might Ease Commutes, But Not Anytime Soon
NPR reports, “The promise of automated cars is that they could eliminate human-error accidents and potentially enable more efficient use of roadways. That sounds, at first blush, like self-driving cars could also mean traffic reduction and lower commute times. But researchers aren’t so sure.”
Self-Driving VehiclesKY Lawmakers Approve Ohio River Bridge Toll Dispute Rules
WDRB reports, “Drivers will now be able to dispute Ohio River bridge tolls. Kentucky lawmakers approved the new rules this week. Drivers will have 60 days to dispute charges. The toll system company then has 30 days to consider the protest and issue its decision.”
Indiana Kentucky Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges State Road and Tollway Authority (GA)New Bill Authorizes Construction and Tolling of the "Indiana Commerce Connector," a Long-Proposed Interstate Highway
Daily Journal (scroll down to “Indiana Commerce Connector” heading) provides a brief look at Senate Bill 453, a proposal calling for “tolling to be allowed on the Indiana Commerce Connector, an interstate first proposed more than a decade ago by former Gov. Mitch Daniels. . . .” The newspaper adds, “Under the legislation, the state would also be required to study high occupancy lanes on I-465 and whether using the Commerce Connector as a toll road for commercial traffic is feasible.”
IndianaOklahoma DOT and OTA Will Continue Upgrades to Bridges and Road Surfaces
The Lawton Constitution reports, “Gov. Mary Fallin’s proposals to address revenue shortfalls in the state budget will allow the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to stay on track with its plan to upgrade bridges across the Sooner State, Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley said.” He adds that the turnpike is keeping up with its bridge maintenance, but system-wide road surface work is needed. Tim Gatz, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority executive director, tells the newspaper that contractors are “about half-way through their year-long project to build a new toll plaza near Chickasha, a modern facility with a high speed PikePass lane under construction 12 miles south of the existing toll plaza.”
Oklahoma Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA)WV Lawmaker's Bill Would Merge Turnpike with Highways Department and End Tolling
The Register-Herald reports that Delegate Marty Gearheart (R-Mercer) has introduced HB 2027 to merge the West Virginia Parkways Authority and its assets into the state Division of Highways and discontinue turnpike tolls by July 1, 2020, provided bonds are paid off as scheduled.
West Virginia West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)Homeless Camp Makes Way for I-77 Express
The Charlotte Observer reports on NCDOT’s clearance of a homeless camp to make way for the I-77 express lanes. The article notes that many of the city’s approximately 200 homeless live outdoors in similar camps.
I-77 Express Lanes (NC) North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)BATA and DRJTBC Deals Top This Week's US Municipal Bond Transactions Calendar
Reuters reports that two toll bridge deals scheduled for pricing tomorrow, February 14, “will lead a U.S. municipal bond calendar . . . that features around $5.85 billion in total sales” for the week. The Bay Area Toll Authority “will issue the week’s biggest deal, pricing . . . $552 million in negotiated refinancing bonds to reduce borrowing costs. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission . . . will price a $438 million negotiated bond, to fund the bulk of a $512 million reconstruction of the Scudder Falls Bridge.” [Links added.]
Bay Area Toll Authority (San Francisco) (BATA) Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)