Daily News Briefs, March 6, 2024

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PennDOT And PA Turnpike Launch Permanent Work Zone Speed Camera Enforcement Program

PennDOT, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) and the Pennsylvania State Police have started enforcement of the statewide Work Zone Speed Safety Camera program, they announced yesterday. The program is an extension of a five-year pilot project made permanent by legislation passed last year. The pilot saw a 38 percent reduction in work zone speeding overall and a 47 percent reduction in excessive speeding (defined as 11 MPH or more over the speed limit). Work zones where speed cameras were active saw crash rates slashed in half. The announcement details the civil penalty fines for work zone speeding, as well as the few program adjustments adopted by the state after the pilot. It also underscores the serious threat posed by speeders, noting that 42 percent of work zone crashes in 2022 resulted in fatalities or injuries.

Automated Enforcement of Speed Limits Automated License Plate Recognition Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)

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Canadian And US Officials View Gordie Howe Bridge Construction Progress

Detroit Free Press reports, a tour of the Gordie Howe International Bridge construction site undertaken yesterday by Canadian and US officials spotlighted the CDN 6.4 billion (USD 4.8 billion) project’s recent advances and overall progress. Developments noted in the article include:

  • The bridges two 722-foot towers were completed as of December 2023.
  • The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and its private partner, Bridging North America, expect to connect the unfinished segments of the main span this summer.
  • Construction is expected to be complete by September 2025.

The article also takes note of the USD 15 million in community investments made by the project on both sides of the border. According to François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian minister of innovation, science and industry, that funding will “transform the economy of the region for generations to come.”

AECOM Aecon Canada Dragados Fluor Corporation Gordie Howe Int'l Bridge Michigan Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Ontario P3 & Privatization Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority

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Kodiak Robotics Autonomous Trucks Could Soon Make Regular Runs On I-35 In Southwest US

mySanAntonio.com reports, California-based autonomous transportation developer Kodiak Robotics, Inc., is working to start regular shipments of restaurant supplies via autonomous trucks on I-35 in Texas and Oklahoma.

According to a recent Kodiak news release, the firm is expanding a two-year-old partnership with Martin-Brower Company, a supply chain solutions provider, to begin delivering “time-critical refrigerated freight for quick service restaurants eight times per week between Dallas and Oklahoma City.” Kodiak trucks are already operating on the highway in a lane “where autonomous trucks shuttle full trailers between major hubs and local drivers handle distribution of goods to multiple restaurants, including two of the top five largest fast food chains in the United States. The companies are working together to explore additional shuttle lane opportunities that will optimize and future-proof Martin Brower’s network. . . .”

It isn’t clear whether the Kodiak vehicles will carry on-board human supervisors. A January Transport Topics article identified Kodiak as one of several companies planning careful expansion of fully autonomous truck shipping this year.

Dallas-Ft. Worth Metro Region (DFW) Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Oklahoma Self-Driving Vehicles Texas

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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