Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, recently spoke with the Americans for Transportation Mobility Coalition’s latest podcast to provide an “overarching perspective” on the critical need for transportation infrastructure investment in the United States. “I think that this still is a bipartisan issue. Transportation is an area […]

New case-study research from the Mineta Transportation Institute indicates that a payment of $15 a day would be enough to “incentivize” commuters to accept the minor inconveniences of carpooling – and, in the process, reduce traffic congestion by as much as half. [Above photo by Caltrans.] The MTI’s report – dubbed Congestion-Clearing Payments to Passengers – is […]

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded $3.3 million in research, education, and training grants to help develop a “greater array of innovative strategies” so unnamed aerial systems – known as UAS or drones – can be more effectively deployed during emergency response situations. [Above photo by the NCDOT.] The agency said that grant money will go […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently disbursed $4.925 million in grants to four new Tier 1 University Transportation Centers or UTCs; money aimed at advancing research and education programs to address critical national transportation challenges. The USDOT noted in a statement that the new UTC research projects being funded by those grants – projects that […]

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded more than $273 million in airport safety and infrastructure grants to 41 states and the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Puerto Rico on July 28. [Above photo by the Arizona DOT.] The total includes just over $242 million from the agency’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and […]

The Federal Transit Administration is making $225 million available through its Expedited Project Delivery or EPD pilot program, that supports efforts to streamline the delivery of new transit infrastructure. A notice of funding opportunity is making $100 million of that grant funding immediately available for allocation. [Above photo by NJ Transit.] “By encouraging innovative partnerships and […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued two new documents: A toolkit to support the agency’s Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success or ROUTES Initiative, introduced in 2019, and Pathways to the Future of Transportation; a policy document developed by its Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology or NETT Council that will serve as a “roadmap” […]

The Federal Transit Administration is disbursing approximately $47.5 million in grants to 12 projects in 12 states via its Passenger Ferry Grant Program to improve access, safety, and reliability of ferries. That pool of grant money includes $30 million in fiscal year 2020 funding along with $17.5 million in FY 2019 funds. [Above photo by […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau is providing a $851.15 million loan under its Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing or RRIF program to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to help comply with the positive train control or PTC mandates designed to improve railroad safety. [Above photo by the MBTA.] PTC is a communications-based […]

A 53-page report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office suggests a range of changes for the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants or CIG program to make its grant review process “more transparent and effective.” “This program is a significant source of federal financial assistance that transit agencies across the United States can use […]