Daily News Briefs, July 12, 2017

This is a Subscribers-Only area. If you are a subscriber, please login. If not...

Become a Subscriber Today »

Florida AG Reaches Settlement with Three Car Rental Companies over Electronic Toll Fees

WJXT reports, “Avis, Budget and Payless rental-car companies can charge $3.95 a day to cover electronic tolls but must clearly state the fee on websites, in emails and at the counter, as part of a legal settlement announced Tuesday” by Florida’s attorney general. The station adds that the agreement “was a result of an investigation into allegations that the companies failed to sufficiently disclose to customers a daily fee for e-Toll services.”

Florida Issues of Law

Top


AAA Calls It Unfair: MTA Charges Out-of-State E-ZPass Customers More Than Its Own. (But MTA's Not Alone.)

New York Post reports, “Duped out-of-state E-ZPass drivers are being charged several dollars more than New Yorkers at MTA bridges and tunnels, an AAA study said Tuesday. Thanks to a little-known MTA rule, the agency is unfairly favoring New Yorkers at the expense of others, AAA officials said.” The report adds, “More than 92 million out-of-state E-ZPasses were charged the higher cash rate . . . between 2012-2016, according to the AAA.” The report notes that agencies in eight other states also charge out-of-state E-ZPass customers at higher rates.

E-ZPass Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York New York City

Top


Wide Majority of Greater Cincinnati Voters Support $1 Toll to Improve the Brent Spence Bridge

WCPO reports “A majority of voters would be fine with a $1 toll to improve the Brent Spence Bridge. A survey, released Tuesday from the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, shows 61 percent would find the toll ‘acceptable,’ with 33 percent opposed.” The station adds, “Voters of all political affiliations are likely to back an elected official who supports completing long-promised Brent Spence Bridge improvements.”

Brent Spence Bridge (Cincinnati OH-Northern KY) Kentucky Ohio

Top


Five Are Dead in Fiery Crash Near Kansas Turnpike Toll Plaza

The Wichita Eagle reports, “A fiery collision in northeast Kansas has killed five people, injured another and forced authorities to divert traffic off of I-70. The collision occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. [on July 11] in the westbound lanes of I-70 not far from the Kansas Turnpike toll plaza, said Rachel Bell, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Turnpike Authority.”

Kansas Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA)

Top


Powerful NJ Congressman Pushes to Get $900 Million for the Gateway Program by Sacrificing TIGER Grants

Associated Press reports, “A huge railroad and transit project to build new bridge and tunnel capacity for travel between New York and New Jersey would receive a whopping $900 million next year if a senior New Jersey Republican has his way. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen is moving to boost the New York and New Jersey Gateway project in large part by eliminating a popular $500 million infrastructure grant program championed by former President Barack Obama.” [Link inserted.]

New Jersey New York PANYNJ

Top


WV Governor Says Any Voter Who Rejects Road Bond Referendum "Would Have to Be from Planet Mongo"

Charleston Gazette-Mail reports, “Gov. Jim Justice said Tuesday he is confident that voters will overwhelmingly approve an Oct. 7 road bond referendum, saying anyone who would vote against it would have to be from the planet Mongo. ‘I really and honestly believe West Virginians will do the right thing and will pass it going away,’ he said of the vote on the ‘Roads to Prosperity 2017’ amendment to the state Constitution” that would be financed by recent gas tax and vehicle fee increases. (Yes, you’ve heard of planet Mongo.)

West Virginia

Top


MTC Cites Lost Purchasing Power and Lack of Action in DC in Case for Toll Hike

The Daily Journal reports that Bay Area motorists who are already facing a gas tax hike may see more transportation cost increases (including higher bridge tolls) coming. “Bridge tolls haven’t been raised since 2004 and since toll revenue hasn’t kept with inflation, it’s essentially pumped the breaks on purchasing power, said Randy Rentschler, MTC’s director of legislation and public affairs. With bipartisan prospects grim in the nation’s Capitol, the Bay Area’s can-do attitude is now sought to address a backlog of repairs and congestion-relief projects.”

California Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) San Francisco Bay Area (CA)

Top


Facebook Post Raises Questions About Tech "Titans'" Lobbying for $3 Toll Hike on Bay Area Bridges

KXTV reports, “A popular Facebook post has been turning heads claiming that the social media juggernaut is working with Google to lobby for a $3 toll increase on Bay Area bridges. While the tech titans aren’t directly involved, they are among a coalition of Bay Area companies lobbying for the increase.” MTC’s Randy Rentschler confirms that business groups have been involved in discussions about the possible increases and notes that transportation hassles are making it difficult for major Bay Area employers to retain workers.

California Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) San Francisco Bay Area (CA)

Top


WSDOT's New I-405 Shoulder Lane is Delivering Faster Commutes, Lower Evening Tolls

The Herald reports, “Drivers who commute along I-405 are seeing lower evening tolls thanks to the new shoulder lane. In April, [WSDOT] started allowing shoulder driving during the evening rush on a 1.8-mile stretch of northbound I-405. . . . Cars started traveling faster, and toll rates [in the highway’s express lanes] — which are tied to congestion — dropped accordingly.”

Express Lanes Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

Top


Congressman Issa Opposes TCA 241 Toll Road Extension Scenarios and Offers an Alternative

The Orange County Register reports that US Representative Darrell Issa (R-Vista) “says he agrees with residents in his district who don’t want their towns bisected by a toll road, and he is prepared to pursue a potential federal alternative – Camp Pendleton. A key question [says Issa] is whether the Transportation Corridor Agency’s [2016] lawsuit settlement with environmental groups can be set aside, allowing a 241 Toll Road connection to I-5 at San Onofre.”

California Transportation Corridor Agencies (CA)

Top


Vancouver Mobility Pricing Commission Will Look at All Options, Including Bridge Tolls

The Globe and Mail reports, “A commission appointed by Metro Vancouver mayors to look at mobility pricing in the region will be free to consider all options, including bridge tolls – even though the incoming NDP government campaigned on a promise to get rid of them during the recent provincial election campaign. But tolls will be just one of many options under consideration,” according to one mayor, a co-chair of TransLink’s mobility pricing commission.

British Columbia Canada Congestion Pricing

Top


TV Report: NCDOT's I-77 Express Project Has Some Businesses Packing Up

WSOC reports, “Channel 9 discovered some crashes in the I-77 toll zone skyrocketed as much as 120 percent after construction started in 2016. While the crashes are surging, a 9 investigation discovered that businesses are now leaving.” The report adds that Bill Russell, the head of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, “said he just got back from Raleigh, where he pleaded with lawmakers to buy the North Carolina Department of Transportation out of its 50-year toll contract with I-77 Mobility Partners. It’s estimated the penalty to break the contract would cost the state at least $82 million.”

I-77 Express Lanes (NC) North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)

Top


NCDOT Probes I-77 Express Construction "Mudslinging" Allegation Involving Real Mud

WSOC continues its vigilant, non-stop and sometimes, uh, breathless reporting on I-77 Express construction, informing viewers that NCDOT “is investigating after a driver told Channel 9 the company building the Interstate 77 toll lanes slung mud at her car. The driver said she was heading northbound on I-77 near Exit 31 when the contractors were slinging mud and dirt with a machine.”

I-77 Express Lanes (NC) North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)

Top


University of Texas Profs: P3s Are "Not a Blanket Cure for Infrastructure Ills"

Austin American-Statesman publishes an op-ed column by two University of Texas academics who take on P3s, and President Trump’s infrastructure plan, arguing that “P3s belong in the mix of remedies available to the government. However, clear heads realize that P3s are not a blanket cure for the nation’s infrastructure ills but a targeted remedy with limited effect on the larger problem: a lack of funding resources.”

P3 & Privatization Texas Trump Administration Infrastructure Plan

Top


Dallas' Proposed Trinity River Toll Road (or the "Underwater Zombie Tollroad," If You Prefer) May Be Days Away from Death

Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky writes, “I can’t believe I’m typing this — the giant Trinity River toll road may be days away from its final demise. This is not another tease. This is real. Almost surreal.” He adds, “[A]s early as Aug. 9, the Dallas City Council will finally vote on lopping off the noggin of the Trinity River toll road or the Trinity Parkway or the Underwater Zombie Tollroad or whatever you want to call that four-but-probably-six-lane, 9-mile slab of cement. . . .”

Dallas-Ft. Worth Metro Region (DFW) Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)

Top