- MassDOT Thanks Motorists for Avoiding the Pike During Toll Plaza Demolition
- Mass Turnpike AET Launch Wasn't "Pikeocalypse"
- Times-Union Reports NY Thruway Veteran Lehman Retired after Flap over Rest Stop Signs
- Newspaper Claims Cuomo-Appointed MTA Director Is "MIA"
- Groundbreaking Nears for $815 Million, TX 288 P3 Project
- Station Dissects Ohio River Bridges Frequent-User Discount
- Are the $55 Million I-580 Express Lanes Working in the Bay Area?
- Bridgegate Defense Lawyer Calls Christie and His Inner Circle Cowards. Jury Deliberations Begin.
- US Senator Requests FTC Investigation into Rental Car Company Toll Collection Policies
- Indiana University Study Finds Strong Opposition to RUC/VMT Programs
- Dallas Newspaper Cheers Park Project's Separation from That Pesky Toll Road
- Crain's New York Business: Politicians Have a "Pathological Aversion" to Tolls
- A Tale of Two Mexico-Texas Border Toll Crossings
- Good News: Pension Funds Eye US Infrastructure Deals Like Toll Roads. (For the Bad News, See Below.)
- Atlantia CEO Characterizes US Toll Road Market as "Immature" and "Fragmented"
- Moody's on Kentucky Turnpike Authority Revenue Bonds
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MassDOT Thanks Motorists for Avoiding the Pike During Toll Plaza Demolition
MassLive.com reports that Thomas Tinlin, the state’s highway administrator, is thanking motorists for staying off the turnpike while MassDOT demolishes toll plazas made redundant by the state’s new AET system. “Ridership along [the] turnpike was down on Monday [October 31], between 6 to 10 percent, which made things a ‘heck of a lot better’ for state transportation officials, according to Tinlin. Tinlin said 13 out of 23 toll locations have been demolished, but he added that drivers should maintain 15 miles an hour speed when going through the former toll plazas.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts TurnpikeMass Turnpike AET Launch Wasn't "Pikeocalypse"
The Boston Globe reports, “It turned out not to be a Pikeocalypse. Massachusetts Highway Administrator Thomas Tinlin said the first morning commute since the switch to all-electronic tolling ‘went really well.’”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Massachusetts TurnpikeTimes-Union Reports NY Thruway Veteran Lehman Retired after Flap over Rest Stop Signs
Times-Union (Albany) reports that Maria Lehman, a veteran official and former interim executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority, “has retired after insiders say she pushed back against criticism from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office about the pace of a project.” [Link deleted.] The report adds, “[S]everal sources said she had run afoul of Executive Chamber staff, who had expressed unhappiness with a project to post signs promoting New York farm products that were for sale at the various Thruway rest stops.” Lehman was reportedly unavailable for comment. A thruway authority statement thanks Lehman “for her years of service to New York” and adds that “New Acting Executive Director Bill Finch is excited about the Thruway’s future and is assembling a team that will help the Authority fulfill the needs of New Yorkers and all motorists on our roadway.” [Link added.] According to the Times-Union, other thruway employees “are said to be heading” to the New York Canal Corporation, a former unit of the thruway authority now under New York Power Authority control.
New York State Thruway AuthorityNewspaper Claims Cuomo-Appointed MTA Director Is "MIA"
Daily News reports, “One of Gov. Cuomo’s men at the MTA has been MIA. A Daily News review of official minutes for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board shows that Larry Schwartz, a former top aide to Cuomo who was appointed in June 2015, has been absent from dozens of hearings and meetings.” The report adds, “Schwartz strongly defended his work on the board, citing his years of experience in government and his position as secretary to two governors. He said those roles separate him from most of his board colleagues.”
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New YorkGroundbreaking Nears for $815 Million, TX 288 P3 Project
KTRK News reports, “In just a matter of days, crews will break ground on new construction for State Highway 288. [Link added.] It’s a multi-million dollar project to add toll lanes to the South Freeway. The goal is [to] provide traffic relief for the thousands of drivers who take the freeway from Brazoria County and southern Harris County.” The newspaper adds, “The state can’t afford a project of this magnitude, so in a unique public-private partnership, the developer, Blue Ridge Transportation, is picking up roughly 98 percent of the tab. Variable-rate tolls drivers pay will reimburse the developer.”
P3 & Privatization TexasStation Dissects Ohio River Bridges Frequent-User Discount
WHAS News looks at the math behind the Ohio River Bridges frequent-user toll discount program. ORB spokesperson Mindy Peterson explains that motorists who make 40 one-way trips or 20 roundtrips across the bridges in a calendar month will receive a $40 credit and a $1 discount on every additional trip. The station notes, however, that only five calendar months have more than 20 workdays, and the other seven have 20 workdays or less. “Peterson admitted the threshold for the discount is extremely tight,” but she noted that “few” toll systems across the country make a similar discount offer and “the threshold of 40 one-way trips in a calendar month is on par with other systems.”
Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River BridgesAre the $55 Million I-580 Express Lanes Working in the Bay Area?
KRON News looks at traffic on the $55 million I-580 Express Lanes, reporting that, “The Alameda County Transportation Commission says drivers have made nearly 4 million trips since the lanes opened” in the summer of 2016, yielding $4.4 million in revenue. “Overall, on some stretches along the express lanes, the ATC says drivers paying the toll are riding up to 26 miles per hour faster than those using the general purpose lanes. But studies on the impact to drive times are incomplete,” and the station finds a critic who believes congestion has worsened in the general purpose lanes.
Alameda County Transportation Commission Express LanesBridgegate Defense Lawyer Calls Christie and His Inner Circle Cowards. Jury Deliberations Begin.
CBS News New York reports, “A defense attorney thundered in closing arguments [on October 31] in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial that Gov. Chris Christie and his inner circle were ‘cowards’ for not testifying against a former staffer on trial for using gridlock for political retaliation.” The jury started its deliberations in the afternoon and are scheduled to return this morning.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)US Senator Requests FTC Investigation into Rental Car Company Toll Collection Policies
“Money” reports, “Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) sent a letter [on October 28] to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez requesting that the agency look into what he calls ‘exorbitant fees’ [related to rental car toll collection services]. Specifically, he’s asking the agency to investigate whether rental car companies ‘are unnecessarily price gouging consumers and engaging in unfair and deceptive business practices.’” The magazine adds, “Sen. Heinrich is asking the FTC to propose ways for the companies to not only levy more reasonable fees, but also to make sure customers understand what they’ll be charged without having to read the extra fine print of their rental agreements.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling)Indiana University Study Finds Strong Opposition to RUC/VMT Programs
Associated Press reports, “An Indiana University study says legislators looking to address transportation funding challenges by charging drivers a fee for the number of miles they drive could face strong opposition.” [Link added.] AP adds, “The study of more than 2,000 Americans found that not only do opponents of mileage user fees outnumber supporters by a ratio of 4 to 1, but they also are more likely to take action to prevent the fees from being implemented.”
RUC & VMT ProgramsDallas Newspaper Cheers Park Project's Separation from That Pesky Toll Road
Dallas Morning News editorial board writes, “At long last, the Trinity River park – the grand vision both loved and loathed ever since Dallas voted for it in a 1998 bond election — has been given its due. It is no longer under the shadow of the controversial plan to build a high-speed toll road near the river. On [October 31], Mayor Mike Rawlings announced a $50 million private donation that will enable completion of a preliminary design unveiled earlier this year for the 285-acre parkland. Rawlings predicted that the donation, and others expected to follow, will enable construction of the initial phase of the park to begin next year,” while the tollway proposal continues to undergo study by TxDOT.
TexasCrain's New York Business: Politicians Have a "Pathological Aversion" to Tolls
Crain’s New York Business editorial board looks at the city’s projected growth – 500,000 people in the next 20 years – and writes, “As long as there is economic opportunity here, people will keep coming. We need them to fit in, not pile in. When Crain’s called on big thinkers in the business community to pitch some projects, they came through with outside-the-box ideas. Naysayers would call their plans too ambitious or foolishly optimistic, but we see them as bold if not prescient.” The editors note one pretty large challenge: “For many reasons, government struggles to look far ahead. Elected officials like projects that produce results—and votes—when they are still in office, not years later. Politicians also have a pathological aversion to tolls and other user fees.”
New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA)A Tale of Two Mexico-Texas Border Toll Crossings
The Brownsville Herald looks at two Mexico-Texas border toll crossings — the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge and the Los Indios Free Trade Bridge — that are separated by just 32 miles, but differ greatly in traffic and revenue numbers. “Reasons for the disparate performances of the two bridges,” the newspaper finds, “can be chalked up to some early canny decisions in Pharr, some good geographical luck and, in the case of Los Indios, more than two decades of neglect.”
TexasGood News: Pension Funds Eye US Infrastructure Deals Like Toll Roads. (For the Bad News, See Below.)
Pensions & Investments reports, “Pension funds and other asset owners increasingly are investing in U.S. infrastructure, often buying the assets from infrastructure money managers. This could be a win-win. Investor interest comes at a time when the first crop of infrastructure funds raised in the U.S. in 2004 and 2005 are coming to the end of their 10-year life span. Managers are expected to bring more transactions to market to take advantage of growing interest by direct investors.” The report cites recent pension fund investments in the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road, and adds, “[The California Public Employees’ Retirement System] also is among the finalists bidding on Virginia’s Pocahontas Parkway, which Macquarie put up for sale this year, sources said. Canada Pension Plan already owns a stake in the toll road. . . .”
Atlantia CEO Characterizes US Toll Road Market as "Immature" and "Fragmented"
Financial Times reports, “The chief executive of Atlantia, one of the world’s largest toll road operators, has branded the US industry immature, fragmented and vulnerable to political interference, in a sign of the barriers to investment in the sector. Giovanni Castellucci said Atlantia — whose core business involves operating toll-based motorways in Italy, Brazil, Chile, India and Poland — saw no ‘big opportunities’ in the US because of its concerns.” The report adds, “Mr Castellucci accused public authorities in the US of failing to provide toll operators with appropriate conditions in which to flourish.”
Moody's on Kentucky Turnpike Authority Revenue Bonds
Moody’s Investors Service “has assigned a Aa2 rating to the Kentucky Turnpike Authority’s $42 million Economic Development Road Revenue Bonds (Revitalization Projects) 2016 Series B. Outlook stable.”
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