- Are Express Lanes Too Popular?
- NCDOT and SLEC Settle Lawsuit over Monroe Expressway Project
- Moody's Report Cites Considerable Toll Road Revenue Growth in 2015
- PA Newspaper Raises a Red Flag over "Pick-Pocketing" of Pennsylvania Drivers, Cites Ruling that Using NY Thruway Tolls for Canals is Unconstitutional
- Two Former Allies of Governor Christie Expected to Testify in Bridgegate Trial
- Two Teens Lead Police on a Wild Chase to the Maine Turnpike in a Stolen Front-End Loader
- RITBA Rolls Out New Ten-Year Capital Plan
- RIBTA Brings Back Snooper Trucks and Considers Hiring a Vendor to Investigate August Accident
- RI Truck Toll Plan Is a Key Issue in Legislative Races. "Few Incumbents Appear Truly Threatened."
- Ohio Turnpike's Consideration of AET Could Lead to E-ZPass Changes
- Push Continues for Additional Ramp to GDOT's New I-75 Managed Lanes
- The $3.9 Billion Tappan Zee Bridge Project Is on Time and on Schedule
- Tolling Still Considered a Possible Solution to Wisconsin's Transportation Funding Crisis
- NY Thruway Employees Take Case for New Contract Directly to Authority Board of Directors
- AC Expressway Traffic Rises in July, Despite Lousy Beach Weather
- WSDOT to Hold Open Houses on Express Lanes Project
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Are Express Lanes Too Popular?
PBS NewsHour explores managed lanes and reports that “as Americans drive more miles than ever before, express lanes are facing a challenge: they are too popular. So many drivers of all kinds are using the lanes that it is increasingly difficult for transportation officials to keep them speedy.” The report adds, “To Chris Tomlinson, who heads Georgia’s State Road and Tollway Authority, it’s obvious what makes the express lanes appealing to solo drivers. ‘They have a more consistent trip. It’s still congested, but they can predict their time better than in the regular lanes,’ he said. ‘Even though they pay a price to use the lane, it tends to travel better than general-purpose lanes next to them.’” The article looks at data from Atlanta, South Florida and California.
Express LanesNCDOT and SLEC Settle Lawsuit over Monroe Expressway Project
The Charlotte Observer reports, “The multi-year fight over the Monroe Expressway,” a new 20-mile tollway slated for completion in 2019, “is over. The Southern Environmental Law Center announced Monday [September 12] that its client, the Yadkin Riverkeeper, has reached a settlement with the N.C. Department of Transportation to conserve some land near the highway.” The settlement also bars new litigation concerning the project.
North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)Moody's Report Cites Considerable Toll Road Revenue Growth in 2015
Moody’s Investors Service announces that median traffic and operating revenue growth rose considerably in fiscal 2015 for toll roads. According to a report (subscription required) on 44 Moody’s-rated government owned toll roads, “an improving economy and sustained low gas prices” are significant factors driving the expansion.
PA Newspaper Raises a Red Flag over "Pick-Pocketing" of Pennsylvania Drivers, Cites Ruling that Using NY Thruway Tolls for Canals is Unconstitutional
The Daily Item (Sunbury) editorial board looks at the potential fallout from a recent federal judge’s ruling that diverting tolls from the New York State Thruway Authority to maintain upstate canals is unconstitutional. The editors contend, “The ruling should lead to a change in Pennsylvania, where the . . . Turnpike Commission annually pays $450 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, monies used to fund public transportation in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.” [Editor’s note: The payments actually fund mass transit across the entire state.]
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC)Two Former Allies of Governor Christie Expected to Testify in Bridgegate Trial
NJ.com reports, “The two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie at the center of the George Washington Bridge scandal both plan to testify at their trial, their attorneys say.” Lawyers for Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, confirmed that both will take the stand. The report adds, “The task of selecting who will sit on the jury in the high-profile Bridgegate trial finally gets into full gear [today, September 13].”
New Jersey Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)Two Teens Lead Police on a Wild Chase to the Maine Turnpike in a Stolen Front-End Loader
Portland Press-Herald reports that two teenagers in a stolen front-end loader (yes, a piece of big, yellow construction equipment with a bucket on the front) led police on a slow, but dangerous 30-mile chase before an officer eventually stopped them on the Maine Turnpike in New Gloucester by shooting at the vehicle’s tires. Along the way, the pair knocked down fire hydrants, signs and mailboxes, struck several other vehicles (including a police cruiser), and drove the wrong way down the turnpike.
RITBA Rolls Out New Ten-Year Capital Plan
WPRO News posts an op-ed by Buddy Croft, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, regarding the agency’s “2017 Ten-Year Renewal and Replacement Plan,” its new ten-year capital improvement blueprint. “We embarked on this endeavor because it was not only imperative to the integrity of our bridges but it is an extension of our commitment to maintain these structures to the best of our abilities. This ambitious plan will commence this September with work on the Mount Hope Bridge in Bristol, RI.,” Croft writes. The total cost of the plan is $223,417,000.
Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA)RIBTA Brings Back Snooper Trucks and Considers Hiring a Vendor to Investigate August Accident
Providence Journal reports that RITBA has resumed using its own Under Bridge Inspection Vehicle (known as a UBI, or “Snooper”) after a safety review. On August 29, a UBI leased and used by a RITBA contractor tipped over and stranded two workers who were inspecting the Sakonnet River Bridge.
The RITBA board announced that it will hold a special meeting this morning (September 13) to consider engaging a vendor to investigate the August 29 incident.
Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA)RI Truck Toll Plan Is a Key Issue in Legislative Races. "Few Incumbents Appear Truly Threatened."
Providence Journal reports, “With voters headed to the polls in [September 13] primaries, truck tolls have emerged as a key issue in a handful of competitive races, although only a few incumbents who voted for the [RhodeWorks program] bill appear truly threatened.”
Rhode IslandOhio Turnpike's Consideration of AET Could Lead to E-ZPass Changes
The News-Messenger (Fremont) catches up with the Ohio Turnpike’s survey of motorists regarding a possible transition to AET, reporting that, “If the current toll booth format is changed, [turnpike director of government affairs, marketing and communications Adam Greenslade] said there could be changes to the popular E-ZPass, which in August enrolled its 350,000th customer. ‘We are looking at all options. The E-ZPass is a multi-state group we are in and they are always looking to improve the technology. Our system is not obsolete but we are always looking to improve,’ Greenslade said.”
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure CommissionPush Continues for Additional Ramp to GDOT's New I-75 Managed Lanes
Cobb Business Journal reports, “Cumberland Community Improvement District officials said last month they are continuing to finalize the price tag and the next steps toward getting a ramp onto the reversible toll lanes under construction along Interstate 75 at Akers Mill Road.” The GDOT managed lanes project, estimated to cost $834 million, will add 30 miles of toll lanes along I-75 and I-575, according to the report.
Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)The $3.9 Billion Tappan Zee Bridge Project Is on Time and on Schedule
Times Herald-Record reports, “Construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge remains on budget and on schedule after three years, according to the New York State Thruway Authority’s chief engineer for the $3.9 billion project. ‘Work is progressing just the way we expected it to,’ Jamey Barbas, the engineer, said as she showed the authority’s board a new construction video [on September 12].”
Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge (Tappan Zee Replacement Bridge) New York State Thruway AuthorityTolling Still Considered a Possible Solution to Wisconsin's Transportation Funding Crisis
The Capital Times (Madison) reports that State Representative John Nygren (R-Marinette), co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, says tolling continues to “emerge” as a solution to the state’s transportation funding crisis. “We don’t have a lot of polling done on transportation funding, but the only one that we do see that gets over 50 percent approval is tolling,” according to Nygren. “It would take a longer time to implement tolling because it would take congressional approval to be able to do that. So that’s not an immediate fix.”
WisconsinNY Thruway Employees Take Case for New Contract Directly to Authority Board of Directors
Times Union reports, “In an unusual move, a handful of state Thruway Authority employees attended a meeting of the authority’s board of directors on Monday [September 12] to complain that it’s been more than four years since they’ve had a new labor contract. ‘We’ve taken five zeroes,’ said Karen Wilson, president of Civil Service Employees Association Local 058, which represents maintenance and toll supervisors as well as dispatchers and IT programmers.” The report adds, “The Thruway Authority issued a prepared statement saying that it has ‘dedicated and hard-working employees.’”
New York State Thruway AuthorityAC Expressway Traffic Rises in July, Despite Lousy Beach Weather
Press of Atlantic City reports, “The Atlantic City Expressway saw a slight increase in overall traffic in July, despite unusually wet weather for that month in the heart of the summer beach season.”
New Jersey South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA)WSDOT to Hold Open Houses on Express Lanes Project
Renton Reporter reports, “The Washington State Department of Transportation is planning two open houses in September to provide updates on the I-405 Renton to Bellevue Widening and Express Toll Lanes project.” The report adds, “WSDOT plans to add new capacity in both directions of I-405 between state Route 167 in Renton and Northeast Sixth Street in downtown Bellevue.”
Express Lanes Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)