- CT House Postpones Vote to Allow Electronic Tolling on Highways as Backers Scramble to Find More Votes
- IL Tollway, Canadian Pacific Railway Feud over Toll Road ROW Heads to Mediation
- TxDOT Omnibus Bill Includes Provision Eliminating SH 255 Tolls in Bid to Bolster International Trade
- Death of Golden Gate Bridge District Board President Reported
- RiverLink Rolls Out New Automated Customer Service System
- CTRMA Advances Interop, $5 Million in MoPac Contracts, and a $41 Million Agreement with TxDOT
- Utah Transportation Commission Nominee "Barely Survives" Confirmation Hearing
- NJTA Finalizes Plans for Cashless Exit Ramp from Garden State Parkway
- TCA Public Hearing on Proposed 241 Toll Road Routes Attracts a Sellout Crowd
- NY Thruway to Amp Up (Sorry for That) Electric Car Recharging Service with Route-Wide Stations
- DelDOT Reports Nominal Drop in Memorial Day Weekend Toll Traffic
- ITR E-ZPass Rates Increase Today and on July 1
- NCDOT to Refresh Striping in I-77 Construction Zone
- BC Party Leader Promises to Eliminate Port Mann and Golden Ears Bridge Tolls If He Becomes Premier
- Port Authority Police Nab Alleged Scofflaw
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CT House Postpones Vote to Allow Electronic Tolling on Highways as Backers Scramble to Find More Votes
Hartford Courant reports, “The state House of Representatives postponed a vote on controversial tolls Wednesday night [May 31] due to a lack of support, but leaders are changing the bill in an attempt to win more votes. The original bill would have authorized the state Department of Transportation to install electronic tolls on Connecticut’s highways, but the updated plan will be a two-step process with two votes by the legislature, lawmakers said.”
Two toll-specific measures appear on today’s House calendar (as of 8:15 am EDST), substitute bills for HB 6058 and HB 7317.
Connecticut Post also covers this story.
ConnecticutIL Tollway, Canadian Pacific Railway Feud over Toll Road ROW Heads to Mediation
Associated Press reports, “The U.S. Surface Transportation Board wants a mediator to resolve a dispute between the Illinois Tollway and a railroad over property sought for a new road near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The Daily Herald in Arlington Heights reports (http://bit.ly/2rcUxuq) that to build I-490, the tollway wants to construct bridges over Canadian Pacific [Railway] tracks near Bensenville and acquire part of its rail yard.”
Chicago Metro Area Illinois Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)TxDOT Omnibus Bill Includes Provision Eliminating SH 255 Tolls in Bid to Bolster International Trade
KGNS reports, “Drivers going down the Camino Colombia Road [SH 255] won’t have to stop to pay a toll anymore. Representative Richard Raymond’s bill to get rid of the tolls was passed by the state, and will be taking effect this September. KGNS spoke with Raymond, and he says the removal of the toll will help move international trade, create more jobs and help the Gateway City become a world leader in trade.” (The toll elimination provision was included in SB 312, the TxDOT reauthorization bill, approved last week.)
Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)Death of Golden Gate Bridge District Board President Reported
San Francisco Chronicle reports, “Dietrich Stroeh, president and longtime member of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Board of Directors, died in his sleep overnight, district officials said Wednesday [May 31]. He was 80.” Denis Mulligan, district general manager, tells the newspaper, “We’re all going to tremendously miss Diet. He was a statesman, which is unusual for an engineer. He was an amazing human being, with a great sense of humor, very accomplished, and an incredible ability to get things done.”
California Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD)RiverLink Rolls Out New Automated Customer Service System
News and Tribune reports, “RiverLink, the company responsible for handling the new [Ohio River Bridges] tolling system . . . , has introduced a new automated customer service system which representatives say will help streamline some of the processes. The automated phone system, which allows customers 24-hour access to their accounts to add funds, check the balance or pay an invoice, was put in place several weeks ago but was announced publicly just before Memorial Day.”
Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River BridgesCTRMA Advances Interop, $5 Million in MoPac Contracts, and a $41 Million Agreement with TxDOT
Community Impact Newspaper covers the May 31 meeting of the CTRMA board, during which members received an update on toll interoperability. “Plans are moving forward on agreements to use Texas tags in Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana by early next year. In a year,” CTRMA operations director Tim Reilly told the board, “he expects to have an agreement with E-ZPass, which includes 38 tolling agencies in the northeast. . . .” The newspaper adds that the board greenlighted the bidding process for $5 million in new MoPac contracts and a funding agreement with TxDOT for a $41 million connector of the Manor Expressway and southbound SH 130.
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) Interoperability Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)Utah Transportation Commission Nominee "Barely Survives" Confirmation Hearing
The Salt Lake Tribune reports, “After two hours of citizen complaints and grilling by legislators, Larry Ellertson barely survived a [committee] confirmation hearing [on May 31] toward becoming chairman of the Utah Transportation Commission — which oversees highway funding. ‘If you want scandals, he’s your guy,’ Mark Allen, founder of Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon, told a Senate transportation confirmation committee before it voted 3-2 to send Ellertson’s nomination by Gov. Gary Herbert to the full Senate.” The report adds that some senators “warned they will continue to investigate numerous allegations of misconduct or lax oversight when he served as chairman of both the Utah Transit Authority and the Utah County Commission.”
Appointments-Promotions-Retirements UtahNJTA Finalizes Plans for Cashless Exit Ramp from Garden State Parkway
NJ.com reports, “Drivers who use the new Exit 125 ramp from the Garden State Parkway south to Sayreville better bring their E-ZPass or risk a fine, after officials finalized a cashless toll plan. New Jersey Turnpike Authority board members voted last week to put a $1.50 toll on the new exit and ban cash payment. Drivers paying with cash will have to use the nearby Raritan Toll Plaza and double back, or receive a violation notice if they use the new Exit 125.”
New Jersey New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA)TCA Public Hearing on Proposed 241 Toll Road Routes Attracts a Sellout Crowd
The Orange County Register reports, “Four potential routes for extending the 241 Toll Road to connect with I-5 in south Orange County have generated so much angst among residents that an upcoming Transportation Corridor Agencies public forum on mobility has reached its seating capacity.”
California Transportation Corridor Agencies (CA)NY Thruway to Amp Up (Sorry for That) Electric Car Recharging Service with Route-Wide Stations
Times Herald-Record reports, “In two years, electric-car owners will be able to drive the Thruway’s entire 496-mile length — from New York City to Albany to Buffalo — without having to leave the highway to recharge their vehicles.”
New York State Thruway AuthorityDelDOT Reports Nominal Drop in Memorial Day Weekend Toll Traffic
WDEL reports, “Statistics from toll plaza collection areas during the five-day Memorial Day 2017 weekend showed a nominal drop from robust figures registered in 2016.” The report adds, “DelDOT also revealed that more than 65 percent of the counted trips were registered through the convenience of E-ZPass.”
Delaware Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)ITR E-ZPass Rates Increase Today and on July 1
South Bend Tribune reminds readers that today’s increase in Indiana Toll Road E-ZPass rates will be followed by a second, across-the-board toll rate increase on July 1. On that date, the charge for driving the tollway’s entire length will rise from $10.52 to $10.75.
Indiana Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (ITRCC) Toll Rate ChangesNCDOT to Refresh Striping in I-77 Construction Zone
The Charlotte Observer reports, “The N.C. Department of Transportation is starting work [on May 31] to refresh striping for lanes on a 5-mile span of Interstate 77 to help improve safety in a construction zone.”
I-77 Express Lanes (NC) North Carolina North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)BC Party Leader Promises to Eliminate Port Mann and Golden Ears Bridge Tolls If He Becomes Premier
Vancouver Sun reports, “[British Columbia New Democratic Party] Leader John Horgan said eliminating ‘unfair’ tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges will be part of the first budget he tables if he becomes premier” under a power-sharing agreement signed on May 30.
British Columbia CanadaPort Authority Police Nab Alleged Scofflaw
The Record reports that PANYNJ police stopped a truck driver for toll jumping and then discovered that his truck’s owner has over $71,000 in unpaid tolls and fees under three delinquent accounts. Police charged the 68-year-old owner with theft.
PANYNJ Scofflaws