- VA Gov. McAuliffe Uses "Public Shaming and Embarrassment" to Respond to Complaints against ERC
- Will Contractors Miss Another MoPac Completion Target?
- Toll-Backed Borrowing Might Be Necessary to Fund TxDOT's Plan for I-35 Expansion
- Approval of County-GDOT Agreement Would Kickstart I-75 Ramp Construction
- Why Don't Tampa Bay Area Lawmakers Step Up for Transportation Funding?
- Golden Gate Bridge Board Raises Transit Fares to Meet Multi-Year Budget Gap
- Illinois DOT Secretary Alerts Lawmakers to April 1 Deadline for I-55 Managed Lanes Project
- THEA Spends $1M on Cleaning and Inspecting the Ten-Year-Old Selmon Expressway
- NHDOT Awards Contract to Design and Install ITS for Turnpike
- LA Metro Votes to Study Putting Tolls on More HOV Lanes
- I-77 Toll Lanes Construction May Create a New Headache for Motorists
- Local Pol Pushes for Expanded Verrazano-Narrows Bridge E-ZPass Discount
- PA Newspaper Asks: "Should Tax Credits Be Available to Help Pay for Toll Roads?"
- Federal Judge Rejects Class Action Suit Involving Collection of NJ E-ZPass Debt
- EastLink Says Autonomous Vehicles Will Hit Melbourne's Highways in Two Years
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VA Gov. McAuliffe Uses "Public Shaming and Embarrassment" to Respond to Complaints against ERC
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the “ongoing Manhattan Project-like effort to find a crack – any crack – in the 58-year contract between Elizabeth River Crossings and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” is not succeeding, and so Governor Terry McAuliffe is using public “shaming and embarrassment” to respond to complaints of customer service lapses and toll collection abuses by the concession company. The newspaper notes that the governor, who has started calling out the concession’s corporate members (“Macquarie-Skanska”), told reporters last week, “I will make it very clear to every governor in the country that they should not do business with companies that treat their citizens this way.” An executive speaking for Skanska tells the newspaper “they take the complaints [by the governor and his transportation secretary, Aubrey Layne] ‘very seriously and are working to resolve the issues that have been highlighted.’”
Elizabeth River Tunnels Scofflaws Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)Will Contractors Miss Another MoPac Completion Target?
In the Austin American-Statesman (scroll down to “Will the MoPac toll project be open before my wife or daughter take away my car keys?”), Ben Wear explains why he doesn’t see contractors finishing work by June 15, the latest in a string of postponed completion deadlines.
Austin (TX) Metro Area Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA)Toll-Backed Borrowing Might Be Necessary to Fund TxDOT's Plan for I-35 Expansion
Austin American-Statesman also reports (scroll down to “Is there really $2 billion . . . .”) that TxDOT officials have suggested diverting a portion of sales tax revenue expected to go for a “hugely expensive reworking and expansion of I-35″ to other high-priority projects. Now, Wear writes, accomplishing the entire I-35 plan “would require huge chunks of money. I’ve heard something like $1 billion of it could be borrowed and paid back by tolls.” And he notes that TxDOT might require even more supplementary funding now that some lawmakers “are talking about grabbing back some of TxDOT’s expected $2.5 billion a year in money from the 2015 constitutional amendment [apportioning more tax dollars to highway projects].”
Austin (TX) Metro Area Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)Approval of County-GDOT Agreement Would Kickstart I-75 Ramp Construction
The Marietta Daily Journal reports, “The effort to put a ramp onto the Interstate 75 reversible toll lanes at Akers Mill Road could get the official go-ahead” if Cobb County commissioners approve a proposed $11 million intergovernmental agreement with GDOT tomorrow night, March 28. The county funding would permit GDOT to begin construction of the project’s first phase.
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)Why Don't Tampa Bay Area Lawmakers Step Up for Transportation Funding?
Tampa Bay Times reports, “Tampa Bay leaders aren’t shy about proclaiming the need for more transportation dollars. There’s $1.2 billion of unfunded road projects in Pinellas County. That number climbs to more than $4 billion in Hillsborough.” The report adds, “Local officials have considered everything from raising the sales tax to using BP oil spill settlement money to plug [the] transportation gap. Yet as they’ve scrambled to fill the void, Tampa Bay’s state lawmakers have taken a pass.”
Florida Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)Golden Gate Bridge Board Raises Transit Fares to Meet Multi-Year Budget Gap
Marin Independent Journal reports that the Golden Gate bridge district board, wrestling with a $51 million deficit over the next five years, voted to adopt a multi-year transit fare increase plan. Motorists, too, will pay more beginning July 1 in accordance with the bridge toll increase schedule the board approved in 2014.
Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District (GGBHTD) San Francisco Bay Area (CA)Illinois DOT Secretary Alerts Lawmakers to April 1 Deadline for I-55 Managed Lanes Project
Chicago Tribune features an op-ed column in which Illinois Secretary of Transportation Randy Blankenhorn writes, “For reasons that remain unclear, the General Assembly has ignored the Illinois Department of Transportation’s I-55 managed lanes project, and the cost of doing nothing has the potential to harm the state’s ability to do business for years to come.” [Link modified.] Blankenhorn adds, “Despite the interest from the investment community and the mounting travel times felt by commuters, the Illinois General Assembly has refused to vote on a joint resolution for almost a year. . . . Without a vote by April 1, the project no longer is feasible for the private sector. Investors will walk away.”
Chicago Metro Area Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) P3 & PrivatizationTHEA Spends $1M on Cleaning and Inspecting the Ten-Year-Old Selmon Expressway
WTVT reports that the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority is spending about $1 million to pressure wash the ten-year-old, five-mile-long Lee Roy Selmon Expressway structure. THEA acknowledges in the article that the project “is mostly about esthetics,” but spokesperson Sue Chrzan adds that “anytime you clean something, you can make sure you [don’t] see cracks forming. It’s easier to inspect it.”
Florida Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA)NHDOT Awards Contract to Design and Install ITS for Turnpike
WMUR reports, “New Hampshire highways are getting an upgrade after the state approved a new intelligent transportation system to create ‘smart roads’ along the Everett Turnpike.” NHDOT awarded two firms, Tilson and MobilityTech, a contract to design and build new message signs, closed-circuit cameras, roadway sensors and a wireless communications system along the turnpike. The article adds, “The Dover and Rochester tolling centers are also getting upgrades. ‘We have a 10-year plan, a $26 million project to convert Dover and Rochester to open-road tolling in 2021 and 2022,’ said Bill Boynton of [NHDOT].”
New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Open-Road TollingLA Metro Votes to Study Putting Tolls on More HOV Lanes
Los Angeles Times reports, “In an effort to improve sluggish speeds on the region’s freeways, Los Angeles County transportation officials have agreed to examine whether to impose tolls on more carpool lanes and a higher passenger requirement for such lanes. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s board of directors voted . . . to ask for a study of those options, as well as recommendations for cracking down on carpool lane cheaters.” The article notes that 2015 Caltrans data show that two-thirds of California’s HOV lanes did not meet the federal minimum average operating speed standard.
Caltrans (CA Department of Transportation) Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)I-77 Toll Lanes Construction May Create a New Headache for Motorists
WCNC reports, “Another change and possibly another headache could be looming for drivers on I-77 next month. As part of the I-77 toll lane construction project, the northbound HOV lane between I-85 and I-485 north of uptown will be closed.”
I-77 Express Lanes (NC) North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)Local Pol Pushes for Expanded Verrazano-Narrows Bridge E-ZPass Discount
The Brooklyn Paper reports, “The famously exorbitant toll for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge rose on March 19, and now fed-up Ridge Councilman Vincent Gentile is calling on the Metropolitan Transit Authority to extend the discount [E-ZPass]-using Staten Islanders have enjoyed for the last two years to drivers on the Brooklyn side of the span.”
E-ZPass Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York CityPA Newspaper Asks: "Should Tax Credits Be Available to Help Pay for Toll Roads?"
Reading Eagle reports, “Some commuters spend plenty of money on tolls as they head to work. A state lawmaker wants Pennsylvanians to have the chance to get a tax credit to cover part of the tolls. State Rep. Perry Warren, a Bucks County Democrat, is introducing a bill that would allow residents to qualify for a state income tax credit of up to 50 percent of the tolls. The credit would be capped at $500.” The report adds, “Pennsylvania has the fourth most toll-road miles, with 533, behind Florida (685.8), Oklahoma (595.5), and New York (567.6), according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.”
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike CommissionFederal Judge Rejects Class Action Suit Involving Collection of NJ E-ZPass Debt
Law 360.com (subscription required) reports, “A New Jersey federal court on Friday [March 24] tossed a putative class action against a debt collector over allegedly improper letters dealing with unpaid E-ZPass tolls and associated penalties, saying such obligations do not constitute a ‘debt’ under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.” Justia has posted the court’s opinion.
Issues of Law New Jersey ScofflawsEastLink Says Autonomous Vehicles Will Hit Melbourne's Highways in Two Years
Herald Sun reports, “Hands-off-the-wheel driving could become a reality on Melbourne’s crowded freeways in two years’ time, EastLink says.” (Melbourne’s EastLink describes itself as the second busiest tollway in Australia.)
Australia Self-Driving Vehicles