- Tennessee Article Questions “Revolving Door” Between TDOT And Ferrovial
- West Virginia DOT Deputy Secretary Resigned In Early August
- Commentary: Southern California Needs A Broader Network Of Managed Lanes
- Following Fatal Crash, Protesters Bock NH-27 Toll Highway In India
- Nepal’s Devastating Flood Highlights Precarity Of Himalayan “Building Spree”
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Tennessee Article Questions “Revolving Door” Between TDOT And Ferrovial
Days after Tennessee DOT Chief of Staff Steve Townsend left the agency last year, Ferrovial announced that Townsend would lead Cintra, the corporation’s highway division, “‘to support highway portfolio growth in the U.S.,’” The Tennessean reports. Roughly 10 months later, the Ferrovial-led consortium DriveTN submitted its winning bid to develop and manage the state’s $9.2 billion I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes.
“As chief of staff at TDOT, Townsend had overseen ‘a statewide effort to deliver essential infrastructure to communities … through public-private partnerships,’ according to his Ferrovial Cintra biography.” A company executive said at the time that Townsend’s “‘public sector insights will strengthen our relationships with clients and partners.’”
The article’s sub-heading attributes questions about a “revolving door” dynamic to state Democrats. However, no individuals are cited in raising such concerns.
“Asked what role Townsend played in the state’s procurement process for the $9.5 (sic) billion project, TDOT said DriveTN had ‘screening procedures and communication protocols’ that barred Townsend from engaging in the I-24 project procurement.”
The article also recaps earlier reporting in which TDOT defended its selection of DriveTN for the project, despite past operational or financial mishaps among the consortium’s partners.
West Virginia DOT Deputy Secretary Resigned In Early August
West Virginia DOT Deputy Secretary Michael DeMers has resigned, WSAZ reports. The news was reported late last week, but the voluntary resignation took effect August 3.
DeMers started in the role in January 2025. “With over 17 years of experience, he helped manage transportation programs as a State Department of Transportation leader and as a consultant to State DOT and private sector corporations.” He previously worked in the Missouri DOT.
No further details on the resignation were reported. An interim replacement has not been named.
Commentary: Southern California Needs A Broader Network Of Managed Lanes
“Southern California drivers pay some of the highest gas taxes in the country, and waste too much of that gas sitting in traffic jams,” Baruch Feigenbaum, senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation, writes in an op-ed published by The Orange County Register. “The state spends billions on roads but hasn’t made enough progress improving highways or reducing traffic congestion.” The solution, he contends, is a broader and more connected network of tolled express lanes.
As outlined in a recent policy paper on managed lanes by Reason Foundation, Feigenbaum highlights several potential routes in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, including some locations where he calls for carpool lanes to be converted to express lanes.
“The study illustrates that public-private partnerships could help provide Southern California’s needed infrastructure, raise capital, shift the financial risks of cost overruns from taxpayers to investors, and offer a modernized, efficient approach to managing and operating the lanes.”
Following Fatal Crash, Protesters Bock NH-27 Toll Highway In India
“Protesters blocked NH-27 at Nazirakhat tollgate on Monday, opposing toll collection over the highway’s poor condition,” Times of India reports. The protesters vandalized toll gates and interrupted collections.
The action followed a fatal crash on Sunday in which seven of the 14 people in a 26-seat bus crashed head-on into a truck, according to reporting by NorthEast India24. “Police said the passenger vehicle was travelling from the Nagaon side towards Guwahati when it reportedly hit a large pothole, lost control, crossed the median, and slammed into the oncoming truck.”
Nepal’s Devastating Flood Highlights Precarity Of Himalayan “Building Spree”
As the human cost of last week’s devastating flood in Nepal continues to come into focus, the lens of reporting has broadened to examine the context — and precarity — of a relative surge in development in the Himalayan region.
“Twenty-five miles of roads were erased, according to the Department of Roads, stranding a quarter of a million Nepalis who live in the most affected districts as if they were on a desert island, as an Indian diplomat put it,” The New York Times reports.
According to CNN, “(T)he devastation could be a reality check for governments driving a boom in dams, tunnels, highways, railways and bridges across the Himalayas as they aim to harness the region’s vast hydropower potential and resources — and fortify their borders there.”
In The Hindu, geo-scientist and adjunct professor C.P. Rajendran of the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru said, “‘The regional already suffers from unstable slopes and reduced river efficiency, largely due to development projects carried out with little regard for ecological consequences.’”
More details on the country’s infrastructure can be found in a feature story published last March by the World Bank Group entitled “Why Nepal struggles to build infrastructure — and what can be done about it.”
As of press time for today’s DNB, the death toll had risen to 955, with almost 4,500 people still unaccounted for.
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