Nuria Fernandez was confirmed by the Senate this week by voice vote to serve as administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, where she has been serving as FTA’s acting administrator since her appointment as deputy secretary on January 20. Fernandez previously served as the general manager and CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, along […]

The Automated Driving Systems (ADS) for Rural America project recently deployed a Ford Transit 350HD automated shuttle bus for a two-year journey traversing a 47-mile loop of Midwestern roadways – part of an effort to help “train” automated driving software to operate on rural roads. [Above photo by the University of Iowa] The University of […]

As part of its Rocket Cargo Vanguard program, the U.S. Air Force has assigned its Air Force Research Laboratory or AFRL to determine the viability and practicality of using large commercial rockets for handling global logistics delivery needs for the U.S. Department of Defense. [Above graphic via the U.S. Air Force] AFRL will research and develop the […]

The Federal Aviation Administration recently published a final policy aimed at ensuring that airport solar projects do not create hazardous glare for air traffic control personnel and aircraft pilots. [Above photo by the Chattanooga Airport] FAA said in a statement that its policy applies to proposed solar energy systems at “federally obligated airports” with control towers – a designation […]

The Federal Transit Administration recently made $10 million worth of fiscal year 2021 grant funding available via a notice of funding opportunity on May 27 to support transit services for American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages in rural areas. [Above photo by Hualapai Transit] FTA noted that those grants – available through the Tribal Transit […]

The 72-page fiscal year 2022 budget request issued by the Office of Management and Budget on May 28 seeks $88.2 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation – an increase of $352 million or 0.4 percent over the enacted FY 2021 level, though that number does not include funding proposed by President Biden (seen above) […]

According to preliminary estimates released June 3 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, some 38,680 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2020: the largest projected number of fatalities since 2007, the agency said. [Above photo by the Ohio DOT] That spike in traffic fatalities also occurred despite a drop in vehicle miles […]

An annual survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and construction software provider HCSS found that 60 percent of highway contractors experienced work zone crashes over the past year – despite a decline in vehicular traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Above photo by WSDOT] “The men and women of the construction industry […]

The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration jointly issued the final environment impact statement or FEIS as well as a record of decision for the Hudson Tunnel Project on May 28 – a key infrastructure component of the $30 billion Gateway Project. The Hudson tunnels, owned by Amtrak, serve as a critical link for the […]

A group of six key Republican senators increased their infrastructure funding counteroffer on May 27 to the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan proposed by President Joe Biden on March 31. The Republicans increased their counteroffer to $928 billion over eight years – up from a five-year, $568 billion infrastructure investment framework originally proposed on April 22 – that would […]