The Federal Railroad Administration issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity on August 14 for $244 million worth of grants through its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements or CRISI program. [Above photo by Norfolk Southern.] That fiscal year 2019 grant money will fund projects that increase both freight and passenger rail safety, efficiency, and reliability, […]

A survey of 463 adults in New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania by the Gateway Program Development Corp. finds 45 percent of them rated the “Gateway Tunnel” and Portal North Bridge projects as the most “important” transportation priorities in the region, surpassing the next most popular priority by more than 15 percent. The poll […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation is working with the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide more than $109 million in grants to 34 states and two tribal nations to help upgrade 911 call centers with advanced mapping systems that will make it easier to identify a 911 caller’s location. [Above photo by the U.S. Marine […]

The Ray in Georgia – a corporate venture devoted to technology testing along an 18-mile-long strip of Interstate 85 – is joining forces with the Georgia Department of Transportation and Panasonic to test a vehicle-to-everything or V2X data “ecosystem” designed to improve roadway safety, reduce traffic congestion, and improve organizational efficiency. By leveraging the “CIRRUS by […]

Legislation proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Aug. 1 would provide $40 million in grants and “financial assistance” to “local communities” per year to address “safety concerns” posed by the derailment of trains carrying crude oil and hazardous materials. The Crude Oil Advanced Tracking Act would require railroads to share information regarding oil shipments with state […]

The Maritime Administration added nine Marine Highway Projects and a Marine Highway Route to the America’s Marine Highway Program on July 30, encompassing waterways located in: Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington State and American Samoa. [Above photo by the Missouri Department of Transportation] MARAD noted that such “designation” makes projects and […]

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration launched a rulemaking effort on August 5 to permanently establish a crash preventability determination program for commercial vehicles; a program that aims to reduce commercial vehicle crashes on the nation’s highways. [Above photo by the Missouri Department of Transportation] The agency has been pilot testing a crash preventability program […]

A pair of comment letters issued July 22 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials address key regulatory and infrastructure issues regarding connected and autonomous vehicles or CAVs – especially where the operation of commercial motor vehicles are concerned. [Above photo by Waymo.] “While state departments of transportation do not have jurisdiction […]

A new report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on July 31 indicates that “vendor and software issues” are currently “major or moderate challenges” for Positive Train Control or PTC technology implementation, with more than half of railroads reporting that “interoperability” is also a “major or moderate challenge” that can be “complicated by software […]

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded $478 million in airport infrastructure grants on July 31 to 232 airports in 43 states, including American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico – monies that come from a total of $3.18 billion allotted to the Airport Improvement Program, which provides grant funding to “selected projects” including runway […]