Daily News Briefs, February 21, 2024

Opposing Highway Expansion Emerges As The Next Frontier For Environmentalists

“Last week, a coalition of almost 200 groups called for a nationwide moratorium on expanding highways — citing their environmental harm and the forced relocation of nearby low-income communities of color,” The Washington Post reports. Calling themselves the “Freeway Fighters,” the groups are organizing under the nonprofit America Walks. The article explains that their principal aim, largely informed by the concept of “induced demand,” is to challenge the notion that traffic congestion is relieved by expanding highways. In order to reduce emissions for climate goals and for the sake of public health and social justice in communities near highways, the groups argue that more money should be going to maintaining existing roads and investing in public transit. Relatedly, they take issue with the proportion of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding that is being invested in new and expanded highways. In the course of banding together, the diverse collection of interest groups also is creating a platform for sharing their strategies. One success spotlighted is opposition to an expansion of I-25 in Colorado, which was thwarted with the help of a state law that set strict limits on emissions. Opposition to pending projects in Houston and Portland, Oregon, are also cited. The article includes IIJA spending data and the Biden administration’s response to critics of its investment decisions.

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Biden Administration May Extend US Timeline For EV Transition

The Washington Post reports, “The Environmental Protection Agency is considering relaxing one of its most significant climate change rules — tailpipe emissions limits for cars and trucks — by giving automakers more time to boost sales of electric vehicles, according to two people familiar with the matter. Rather than mandating a rapid increase in electric vehicle (EV) sales in the coming years, the agency could delay these requirements until after 2030, the two people said.” According to the article, the policy change is under consideration because EV sales have declined and the US doesn’t yet have enough dependable charging stations. However, the Biden administration also faces election year pressure from some automakers and from the autoworkers union to slow the pace of a transition that has significant economic consequences for management and labor. Environmental groups concerned about transportation’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions are opposed to a rule change.

The New York Times also covers this story.

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Solar Installations Now Power Fourteen Sites Along Indiana Toll Road

The Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC) announced last week that it has constructed solar installations at 14 sites along the tollway, each with the capacity to supply all the electricity needed at its location, buildings, maintenance barn and toll plaza included. “The project, known as Project Soleil, is designed to generate enough solar energy to service over one-third of the Toll Road’s electricity needs and is expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by approximately 900 metric tons.” Ohio-based Solscient Energy provided the solar generation solutions. The project is the biggest step ITRCC has so far taken toward reaching a sustainability goal consistent with the Paris Agreement of cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Solscient Energy co-founder Granger Souder said of the collaboration, “What comes across loud and clear through our work with ITRCC over the past year is how seriously they are taking their own role in the energy transition.”

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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