Daily News Briefs, July 7, 2017

Oregon Lawmakers Approve Funding Bill that Opens the Door for Tolling I-5, I-205

The Columbian reports, “The Oregon Senate on Thursday approved the $5.3 billion transportation bill approved by the Oregon House the day before and sent it to Gov. Kate Brown to be signed into law. The bill would create a transportation commission that would seek approval from the Federal Highway Administration by Dec. 31, 2018, to put tolls on I-205 and I-5. . . . The bill directs the commission to ‘implement value pricing to reduce traffic congestion. Value pricing may include, but is not limited to, variable time-of-day pricing.’”

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The Gateway Program's Proposed Hudson River Rail Tunnel Project Could Cost Nearly $13 Billion

The Hill reports, “An urgent tunnel project that is needed to rehab the passenger rail connection between New York and New Jersey could cost nearly $13 billion,” according to a draft environmental impact statement released by USDOT on July 6. The website adds that the statement estimates “it will cost $11.1 billion to build a new rail tunnel underneath the Hudson River and cost $1.8 billion to fix the current aging tube.” The proposed project is part of the multi-jurisdiction Gateway Program.

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PANYNJ's Foye Says Construction of the Gateway Program Tunnel Could Start by Late 2018

Crain’s New York Business publishes a letter by Port Authority executive director Patrick Foye rebutting a recent, critical op-ed about the Gateway Program’s pace. Foye writes that transportation agencies have done more in the past three years to advance projects than was done in the previous 30. He adds that “a combined final EIS and record of decision are targeted by end of year. This will pave the way for construction of [a new Hudson River rail tunnel] to begin by late 2018.”

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TransCore Wins Houston ITS Contract Award

TransCore announces that “Houston has awarded it a $33.6 million contract to design and build an Intelligent Transportation System that will be deployed across 489 intersections. . . .” According to TransCore’s news release, “Through real-time data collection and monitoring from roadside equipment, traffic engineers can stay abreast of current traffic conditions and even predict those locations and times that have a greater likelihood of incidents.” The system is scheduled for an early 2020 completion.

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Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Goes Cashless Tomorrow

SILive.com reports that cashless, open road tolling is scheduled to begin on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge tomorrow, July 8. The newspaper provides motorists with a primer on the new system.

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NJ Turnpike Opens New Garden State Parkway E-ZPass-Only Exit Tomorrow

Courier News reports, “The new E-ZPass-only exit connecting the southbound Garden State Parkway to Chevalier Avenue and Main Street Extension [in Sayreville] is expected to open to traffic” tomorrow morning, July 8. “The new exit ramp is part of a larger set of improvements being made at Interchange 125 in order to accommodate existing traffic and future growth resulting from the development of the Raritan River waterfront,” the article adds.

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Maine Turnpike Isn't Likely to Go Cashless Anytime Soon (Definitely Not Tomorrow)

WGME reports that the Maine Turnpike is not likely to follow the Massachusetts Turnpike’s lead and convert to a cashless, AET system anytime soon, noting that, “Executive Director Peter Mills says if the Maine Turnpike Authority switched, they would lose about half the revenue they used to collect in cash, meaning costs would be passed on to drivers. ‘That $3 toll for cash payers would have to go up to $6 to account for all the money that we would lose,’ Mills said.”

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Amid Legislative Gridlock, Wisconsin Speaker Asks Businesses for Advice

WSAU reports, “Republicans in the Wisconsin state Senate and Assembly have not met for a week, and remain at odds over funding for transportation and K-12 education. It’s an impasse that has stalled negotiations on the state budget.” The station adds, “Assembly Speaker Robin Vos sent a memo to the state’s largest business lobbying group, and other companies and organizations with a stake in the state’s roads” asking for ideas on solving the deficit challenge.

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Thee States Move Toward Paperless Plans, Smart Device Monitoring for Large-Scale Road Projects

“Government Technology” reports, “Agencies in three states are in the beginning stages of changing how large-scale road projects . . . will someday be done and redone, moving away from traditional paper plans, onsite staking and employee-based monitoring to automate processes and enhance precision and safety with smart devices.”

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Nebraska Announces Its First Design-Build Highway Project

Omaha World-Herald reports that construction on a four-lane, US 275 expressway will be Nebraska’s first design-build project. The state legislature approved the process in 2016 in a law (the Transportation Innovation Act ) that also authorized creation of a state infrastructure bank fund.

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Report on NJ Turnpike and AC Expressway Pothole Damage Claims

NJ 101.5 reports, “The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the Garden State Parkway and Turnpike, received 150 pothole damage claims in 2016, and paid 25 for a total of $8,657.76. In 2015, 29 of 268 claims were covered, and in 2014, six claims out of 226. The South Jersey Transportation Authority, which runs the Atlantic City Expressway, received zero claims for pothole in damage in 2016 or 2015, a spokesperson said. The one claim received in 2014 was paid out for $500.”

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School Board Joins Opposition to Possible TCA Toll Road Extension Alignments

San Clemente Times  reports that the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees, by a vote of 6-1, adopted a resolution opposing any TCA toll road extension alignment “that would adversely affect district school sites and students.” The issue attracted “dozens of community members,” including San Clemente Mayor Kathy Ward, to a school board meeting, the newspaper notes.

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CT Governor Malloy Pushes Transportation Lockbox Measure and Hopes for Discussion on Revenue Options

New Haven Register reports that Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy held a press conference to discuss next year’s transportation funds lockbox referendum. The article adds, “Malloy was asked whether he hoped this will reignite the discussion around tolls as a revenue stream. ‘We need income. That is the reality. Where that income comes from I think is a discussion that people have to have.’”

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Illinois Road Construction Workers Sent Home as Result of Budget-Related Shutdown

The State Journal-Register reports, “Road construction workers across [Illinois] were sent home Monday [July 3] — or not called in at all — with the budget-related shutdown of approximately 900 transportation projects totaling $3.3 billion, according to one of the state’s largest contractor associations. The Illinois Department of Transportation estimates 20,000 workers are affected.”

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Delaware's July 4th Traffic and Toll Revenue Misses Previous Year's Marks

Delaware Public Media reports, “Fewer motorists were on the road in Delaware during the Fourth of July holiday this year, according to DelDOT toll numbers. Last year, more than 1 million motorists passed through the First State’s three main toll plazas over the holiday weekend. This year, DelDOT said that number fell to just over 950,000 vehicles.”

Dover Post notes, “More than 63 percent of the counted trips utilized the convenience of E-ZPass. . . .”

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Irish Officials Play Hardball with Scofflaws, Seize Luxury Vehicles

Irish Independent reports, “Sheriffs have seized luxury motors including BMWs, Audis and Mercedes after their owners repeatedly failed to pay tolls on Dublin’s M50. New figures from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which operates the country’s busiest road, show that 170 vehicles have been seized to date, 65 last year alone, in a crackdown on offenders.”

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