- FHWA Offers V2X Technology Development Grants With Aim Of Improving Safety And Mobility
- VINCI Upgrades Full-Year Guidance, Citing Its Cashflow, Reduced Debt And Record-High Orders
- DRJTBC Is Poised To Start Rehabilitation Of 119-Year-Old Bridge
- Turkey Raises Highway And Bridge Toll Rates
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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FHWA Offers V2X Technology Development Grants With Aim Of Improving Safety And Mobility
Detroit Free Press reports, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) yesterday announced $40 million in grant funding meant to support the evolving field of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) automated communications technology that could be a major advancement for roadway safety. FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt said V2X holds promise for protecting all roadway users — drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, alike — from the potentially fatal consequences of distracted driving, as well as from dangerous road conditions that limit visibility. For example, “In the case of a whiteout, a vehicle with its air bag deployed because of a crash might, in essence, be able to tell approaching vehicles not to hit it,” the article states. The “Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating Vehicle to Everything (V2X) Deployment” grant funding opportunity was announced in connection with yesterday’s USDOT V2X Communications Summit held in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The summit and the grant announcement came within days of the October 23 “superfog” incident on I-55 in Louisiana that involved 168 vehicle collisions, eight deaths and scores of injuries. While some drivers caught in the pileups have said they feel the highway should have been closed to traffic given poor visibility conditions, NOLA.com reports that state protocols do not call for fog-related closures. “Unlike icy conditions or flooding that can sometimes result in highway closures, [a Louisiana DOTD spokesperson] said fog and smoke conditions are too common to make it feasible to shut down interstate highways.” Additionally, the agency doesn’t have the personnel capacity to constantly monitor the thousands of miles of roadway it oversees. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Commission, on the other hand, did impose a temporary fog-related closure on the day of the I-55 collisions. It acted in accord with detailed monitoring protocols described in the article, which also outlines best practices for drivers navigating through fog. The DOTD spokesperson said, despite the monitoring challenges it faces, the department ‘s safety team “will be evaluating protocols that could be put in place to address fog.
Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Intelligent Transportation Systems Louisiana Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) US Department of Transportation (USDOT) US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing Initiatives V2X and V2V TechnologyVINCI Upgrades Full-Year Guidance, Citing Its Cashflow, Reduced Debt And Record-High Orders
Reuters reports, VINCI Group has “upgraded its full-year free cash flow guidance, pointing to a high level of liquidity, a year-on-year decline in financial debt and a record high order book. The company now expects free cash flow of at least 4.5 billion euros ($4.74 billion) for 2023, against a previous estimate of between 4 billion and 4.5 billion euros. Vinci’s order book reached 63.3 billion euros at Sept. 30, a record high level according to the company. The group’s net financial debt stood at 18.6 billion euros at the end of the nine-month period, down from 20.1 billion euros a year ago.” VINCI also updated its annual forecasts for the division that includes tollway concessions based on a projection that traffic levels will be slightly higher than initially anticipated. During a call with analysts, the company reaffirmed its determination to appeal if the French government adopts a proposal to add a tax on the profits of certain transportation infrastructure companies, including toll road and airport operators.
More information can be found in the firm’s quarterly information news release.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports France VINCI GroupDRJTBC Is Poised To Start Rehabilitation Of 119-Year-Old Bridge
Patch (New Hope-Lambertville) reports, the schedule is set for rehabilitating the New Hope-Lambertville Toll-Supported Bridge connecting Pennsylvania and New Jersey just outside of Trenton. Site preparations will begin in December on the 119-year-old bridge, which is operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and was last rehabilitated in 2004. The new maintenance will commence in 2024 and is scheduled for completion within the year. A full bridge closure is not expected. Planned work includes taking the six-span steel superstructure down to “bare metal” and repainting it entirely. Any structural issues identified in the course of that work will be addressed. The pedestrian walkway will be replaced and its railing re-anodized off-site. The project will be capped off “with a programmable LED lighting system to enhance the truss bridge’s profile along the river.”
Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance New Jersey PennsylvaniaTurkey Raises Highway And Bridge Toll Rates
Bianet reports, (as anticipated) Turkey’s General Directorate of Highways announced across-the-board highway and bridge toll rate hikes of 50 to 80 percent that took effect on Wednesday, October 25. For example, the one-way toll for passenger cars crossing the Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges rose 76.5 percent, from 8.50 liras (about 31 US cents) to 15 liras (about 54 cents), while the same vehicles will be charged 290 liras (about US $10.44) to cross the Osmangazi Bridge, an increase of 57.6 percent from the former rate of 184 liras (US$6.62). A consumer protection organization issued a statement “asserting that the toll adjustments are hindering the fundamental right to transportation, which, in turn, impacts access to essential rights like work, health, education, and quality of life.” The increases took many people by surprise because President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier this year that toll rates would not increase in 2023. The article notes that the toll hikes are consistent with other recent fee and tax increases the implemented by the national government to cover pre-May-election spending that created a budget deficit and costs associated with recovery from February’s major earthquakes.
Hürriyet Daily News also covers this story in the context of Turkey’s planning for a 2024 national budget.
TRN notes that English-language media reports about the new toll rates differ in regard to some details.
Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation Toll Rate Changes TurkeyThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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