- Trump Administration Pulls Out of Group Overseeing $24 Billion Project to Bolster Metro NYC Train Capacity
- Oregon State Agencies Will Staff Up to Implement Funding Bill
- New Poll Shows Bay Area Voters Support $3 Toll Hike on Bridges
- Heavy Hitters Including Google and Facebook Back the Proposed Increase in Bay Area Bridge Tolls
- Fireworks Explode in SUV on NY State Thruway
- WV Turnpike Tolls Will Rise to Fund "Massive" Road Improvement Program, but Amount Depends on T&R Study Results
- WV Newspaper: It's Time to Follow the Mass Turnpike's Lead and Switch to AET
- WV Toll Bridge Will Close for Two Weeks for Repairs, New Tollbooths
- I-77 Express Lanes Construction Is Causing "Blood Pressure-Raising" Delays
- CDOT Wins Honors in America's Transportation Awards Competition
- NCDOT Launches Condemnation Action for Mid-Currituck Bridge Project
- MD Newspaper Polls Readers on New Push to Add Toll Lanes to I-270
- Illinois Lawmakers Rename Part of I-55 for Former President Obama
- British Columbia Local Officials and TransLink Eye Federal Funds for Pattullo Bridge Replacement
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Trump Administration Pulls Out of Group Overseeing $24 Billion Project to Bolster Metro NYC Train Capacity
amNewYork reports, “The U.S. Department of Transportation has withdrawn from the group overseeing the Gateway Program, the massive regional project that aims to double rail capacity between New York and New Jersey. . . . [According to a USDOT spokesman,] the federal agency decided to leave the corporation ‘as a procedural matter to avoid potential conflicts’ and to ensure ‘there is no appearance of prejudice or partiality in favor of these projects ahead of hundreds of other projects nationwide.’ It is not indicative of the federal government’s support of the project. . . .” [Link inserted.]
A Daily News report suggests the Trump administration “wants to distance itself” from the huge federal funding commitment the Obama White House made to the program.
New Jersey New York Trump Administration Infrastructure Plan US Department of Transportation (USDOT)Oregon State Agencies Will Staff Up to Implement Funding Bill
Portland Tribune reports, “Three state agencies expect to hire 60 positions and spend $115.2 million to execute a proposed $5.3 billion statewide transportation funding bill. The spending plan is separate from the greater transportation funding legislation, House Bill 2017. Both bills are headed to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives later this week.”
OregonNew Poll Shows Bay Area Voters Support $3 Toll Hike on Bridges
The Mercury News reports, “With constant gridlock turning freeways into parking lots, BART trains packed to the gills and mounting concerns about how to accommodate continued growth in the region, more than half of prospective voters said they’d be willing to pay up to $3 more in bridge tolls [on seven state-owned bridges] to ease congestion, according to a new poll.”
Bay Area Toll Authority (San Francisco) (BATA) California Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)Heavy Hitters Including Google and Facebook Back the Proposed Increase in Bay Area Bridge Tolls
SFist reports that part of the estimated $125-million-per-year increase in revenue from the proposed toll hike would pay for Bay Area congestion relief projects including additional HOV freeway lanes. The blog adds, “It’s the congestion management part of this plan that presumably attracted its high-profile supporters,” which include Facebook, Google and the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals.
Bay Area Toll Authority (San Francisco) (BATA) California Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)Fireworks Explode in SUV on NY State Thruway
Fox 5 reports, “An SUV carrying fireworks burst into flames on the New York State Thruway Monday night [July 3, in Orange County], injuring five people. According to New York State police, all five passengers of the Lincoln Navigator were burned after an electrical problem ignited the fireworks in the trunk.” Charges are pending against all five passengers because fireworks are illegal in New York, the station adds. (Report comes with video.)
New York New York State Thruway AuthorityWV Turnpike Tolls Will Rise to Fund "Massive" Road Improvement Program, but Amount Depends on T&R Study Results
The State Journal reports, “Officials with the state Parkways Authority say it will be the end of the year” — when the results of a traffic and revenue study are in –“before they know how much tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike will have to be raised to pay for a massive road construction program,” and how much it will cost motorists to participate in the state’s new single-fee, annual E-ZPass plan.
West Virginia West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)WV Newspaper: It's Time to Follow the Mass Turnpike's Lead and Switch to AET
Charleston Gazette-Mail editors write, “Traffic should be able to flow quickly and safely through toll booths on the West Virginia Turnpike just as it does on modern toll highways in other states.” They maintain the turnpike should adopt a free-flow, electronic tolling system, citing Massachusetts’ recent conversion as a model.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) West Virginia West Virginia Parkways Authority (West Virginia Turnpike)WV Toll Bridge Will Close for Two Weeks for Repairs, New Tollbooths
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that the West Virginia city’s Memorial Bridge “will be closed for two weeks, and a construction crew plans to work around the clock to make sure it doesn’t last any longer than that. . . .” From July 10 to July 23, structural repairs, including deck resurfacing and pier rehabilitation, will take place, and the bridge will get new tollbooths.
Parkersburg (WV) Bridge Partners (Parkersburg Memorial Bridge) West VirginiaI-77 Express Lanes Construction Is Causing "Blood Pressure-Raising" Delays
The Charlotte Observer reports, “The typical 35-minute drive from uptown Charlotte to Mooresville has turned into a blood pressure-raising 1 to 2 hours because of nightly work on both ends for toll lanes. All 26-miles of the project are under construction, I-77 Mobility Partners said in a project update on Monday [July 3].”
Express Lanes I-77 Express Lanes (NC) North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)CDOT Wins Honors in America's Transportation Awards Competition
KXRM catches up with the news that the Colorado Department of Transportation won three of eight awards in the western regional America’s Transportation Awards competition. According to an AASHTO news release, “the competition attracted 30 project nominations from 12 western states.” Two of CDOT’s awards were for express lane projects, the I-70 Mountain Express and the US 36 Express Lanes.
Colorado Colorado Department of TransportationNCDOT Launches Condemnation Action for Mid-Currituck Bridge Project
Associated Press reports that North Carolina has started a condemnation action to take private property for the Mid-Currituck Bridge project. AP adds, “Drivers would pay a toll to cross the bridge, which would connect the Currituck mainland with the county’s Outer Banks.”
North Carolina North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)MD Newspaper Polls Readers on New Push to Add Toll Lanes to I-270
The Frederick News-Post reports on the Montgomery County Council’s 8-1 vote last week “to approve a list of transportation priorities to the state that includes a request that the state look into the possibility of adding toll lanes along I-270 in northern Montgomery among the county’s top concerns.” It also polls its readers on the proposal.
Express Lanes MarylandIllinois Lawmakers Rename Part of I-55 for Former President Obama
NBC Chicago reports, “The state Senate voted Tuesday [July 3] in favor a resolution passed by the House last week to designate the stretch of I-55 from the Tri-State Tollway south to mile marker 202 near Pontiac as the “Barack Obama Presidential Expressway.”
Illinois Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)British Columbia Local Officials and TransLink Eye Federal Funds for Pattullo Bridge Replacement
BCLocalNews reports, “The federal government has announced $2.1 billion in funding for the Trade and Transportation Corridors Initiative and Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner wants to see at least some of the money used to replace the aging Pattullo Bridge.” Although the provincial government’s stance is uncertain, current plans require the replacement bridge to be tolled.
British Columbia Canada