- TBX Plan Is Dead, but Its New Replacement -- TBN -- Includes 90 Miles of Toll Roads
- IL Tollway Board Committee Approves $25 Million for Environmental Impact Study of Route 53 Extension
- DRJTBC to Upgrade Iconic "Trenton Makes The World Takes" Sign with LED Color-Changing Lights
- USDOT Announces Senior-Level Staff Appointments
- Opponents Pack State Hearing on Maine Turnpike Authority's York Plaza Relocation Plan
- Lawmakers, Environmental Group Join Opposition to Chicagoland Rail Line and Toll Road Proposal
- Congressional Progressive Caucus to Roll Out Infrastructure Plan
- How Far South Will I-95 Tolled Express Lanes Extend?
- Blackstone Secures "Enormous" Saudi Investment for US Infrastructure Projects
- There's No Room at the Inn: Bay Bridge's "Cormorants Condos" Are Packed
- Fate of $24 Billion Gateway Project Hinges on Congress Approving Funds for Amtrak Replacement Bridge
- NY Thruway's AET Plans Raise "Safety" Concern
- Group Backing New Ohio River Toll Bridge Makes the Rounds in DC
- Wisconsin Lawmakers Continue to Debate Funding Plan, Tolling
- Czech Republic Won't File Lawsuit over German Toll Legislation
This is a Subscribers-Only area. If you are a subscriber, please login. If not...
Become a Subscriber Today »
TBX Plan Is Dead, but Its New Replacement -- TBN -- Includes 90 Miles of Toll Roads
Tampa Bay Times reports, “Tampa Bay Express is dead. But its replacement — Tampa Bay Next [or TBN] — will likely include many of the same projects, including express toll lanes on the rebuilt Howard Frankland Bridge.” The newspaper adds that a May 22 FDOT announcement indicates “the most controversial aspect of the old TBX plan is still under consideration: spending $6 billion to add 90 miles of toll roads to Interstates 4,75 and 275 that do not currently have tolls.”
Florida Tampa Bay Express Tampa Bay Next (TBN)IL Tollway Board Committee Approves $25 Million for Environmental Impact Study of Route 53 Extension
Chicago Tribune reports, “An Illinois Tollway board committee on Monday [May 22] approved spending $25 million to study a long-debated and controversial extension of Illinois Route 53 north into Lake County. The Customer Service and Planning Committee recommended awarding the environmental impact study project to two engineering firms — CH2M Hill and Knight E/A Inc., based in Englewood, Colo., and Chicago, respectively.” The report adds, “The contract will go before the full Tollway board for a vote Thursday [May 25], when it is likely to be approved.”
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (IL Tollway)DRJTBC to Upgrade Iconic "Trenton Makes The World Takes" Sign with LED Color-Changing Lights
NJ 101.5 reports, “The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced on [May 22] that Car & Duff, Inc., of Huntingdon Valley [PA], will be paid no more than $647,000 to install LED color-changing lights” on the famous “Trenton Makes The World Takes” sign. The makeover coincides with the one-hundred anniversary of the sign, which is displayed on the commission’s Lower Trenton Toll-Supported Bridge.
Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) New JerseyUSDOT Announces Senior-Level Staff Appointments
The US Department of Transportation announced several senior staff appointments at the end of last week. The list of appointees includes Geoff Burr (chief of staff), Thomas “Finch” Fulton (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Policy), and James Ray (Special Advisor to the Secretary for Infrastructure).
US Department of Transportation (USDOT)Opponents Pack State Hearing on Maine Turnpike Authority's York Plaza Relocation Plan
Portland Press Herald reports, “York residents continued their decade-long battle against a plan to relocate the York toll plaza on Monday [May 22], turning out in force to oppose a proposal they say will damage the environment and negatively affect nearby residents. Close to 200 people filled the Kittery Community Center’s Star Theater during a Maine Department of Environmental Protection hearing on whether the proposal to build a new $40 million toll plaza meets requirements for a permit under the Natural Resources Protection Act.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Maine Maine Turnpike AuthorityLawmakers, Environmental Group Join Opposition to Chicagoland Rail Line and Toll Road Proposal
The Gazette reports, “A transportation company’s request to keep secret a list of investors in its proposed rail line drew criticism [on May 22] from two [Wisconsin] state lawmakers and an environmental advocacy group. In a letter to the federal Surface Transportation Board, Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said Great Lakes Basin Transportation’s proposed rail line through Rock County is a project that demands transparency.” The report adds that State Representatives Spreitzer and Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton), and the Environmental Law and Policy Center have expressed opposition to the project.
Illinois Indiana WisconsinCongressional Progressive Caucus to Roll Out Infrastructure Plan
The Hill reports, “The Congressional Progressive Caucus will lay out its own infrastructure proposal this week, staking out a position ahead of a legislative debate over transportation that is expected to heat up later this year. The effort, spearheaded by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), attempts to paint a clear contrast with President Trump’s infrastructure vision by calling for direct public investment in roads, bridges and other public works, as opposed to providing ‘corporate giveaways’ to spur private sector investment.”
Infrastructure Investment TrendsHow Far South Will I-95 Tolled Express Lanes Extend?
The Free Lance-Star reports that a new VDOT-Transurban design for extending I-95 tolled express lanes seems to foreclose the possibility of the facility reaching Massaponax. “But that doesn’t mean the express lane extension couldn’t be revived,” according to a local planning official. The newspaper notes that the new plan involves construction of three lanes in the I–95 median between US 17 and State Route 3.
Express Lanes I-95 Express (Metro Washington, DC) Transurban Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)Blackstone Secures "Enormous" Saudi Investment for US Infrastructure Projects
The New York Times reports that Blackstone, an investment company run by Trump supporter Stephen Schwarzman, secured an “enormous” Saudi investment in a new infrastructure fund that will focus primarily on US projects. The $20 billion deal, announced on the eve of the president’s visit with Saudi Arabian leaders, represents “about half of the capital Blackstone plans to raise for the fund,” according to The Times.
Infrastructure Investment TrendsThere's No Room at the Inn: Bay Bridge's "Cormorants Condos" Are Packed
KPIX reports, “Suddenly, in the last few weeks, cormorants by the hundreds have finally decided to move into specially constructed roosting areas beneath the new [San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge] span. Sea bird biologist Mark Rauzon said, ‘I thought it would be like 40 this year, 100 next year and then maybe 500 in three years, but to have 700 in the same season that the bridge was available, or that the old bridge was not available, that’s the beautiful thing about it.’”
Caltrans (CA Department of Transportation) Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) San Francisco Bay Area (CA)Fate of $24 Billion Gateway Project Hinges on Congress Approving Funds for Amtrak Replacement Bridge
Crain’s New York Business reports, “A decision by Congress about funding a replacement for a 107-year-old bridge will signal whether the region’s largest and most pressing infrastructure project is in jeopardy. Amtrak is counting on about $750 million from a federal funding program called the Core Capacity Improvement Program to begin building a $1.5 billion span by the end of the year to replace the Portal Bridge, a 950-foot-long connection over New Jersey’s Hackensack River.” The report adds, “The project is part of Gateway, an estimated $24 billion plan whose other components, including a $10 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River, also hinge on federal support.”
New Jersey New York City PANYNJNY Thruway's AET Plans Raise "Safety" Concern
WNYT interviews Mike Elmendorf, an Associated General Contractors official, about his group’s assertion that the New York Thruway’s conversion to AET tolling presents a “safety” concern. “The state would probably save money if the toll workers were no longer needed, but right now the tolls you pay make up 95 percent of the Thruway’s capital funding,” the station notes. “Elmendorf fears if any of that money is spent on cashless tolls, road and bridge work won’t get done.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) New York State Thruway AuthorityGroup Backing New Ohio River Toll Bridge Makes the Rounds in DC
The Gleaner reports, “A delegation from Evansville [IN] and Henderson [KY} went to Washington, D.C., last week with the goal of keeping the Interstate 69 bridge project fresh on national officials’ minds.” The report adds, “The bridge would be built east of Ellis Park, providing a second point for vehicles to cross the Ohio River and easing U.S. 41 traffic. Cost estimates have ranged from $850 million to $1.4 billion.” Backers are banking on tolls to pay for the project which, the newspaper notes, has the longstanding support of former Indiana governor and current VP Mike Pence.
Indiana KentuckyWisconsin Lawmakers Continue to Debate Funding Plan, Tolling
Associated Press explores the potential methods of closing the revenue gap in Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure budget (one of which is tolling) and the relative cost to motorists of the options under consideration by state leaders.
WisconsinCzech Republic Won't File Lawsuit over German Toll Legislation
Radio Prague reports, “The Czech Republic will not file a lawsuit over German road toll legislation although it may revisit the issue if another country files,” a government spokesman announced on May 22.
EU Germany