Days before formally becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time, Nancy Pelosi tapped Rep. Kathy Castor, D-FL, to be the chair of the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis – a committee that played a role in the creation of the 2007 energy act and the 2009 stimulus act, which included $90 billion in […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau provided the Dallas Area Rapid Transit or DART system with a $908 million Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing or RRIF direct loan on Dec. 21 to help finance the Cotton Belt Corridor Regional Rail Project. [Above photo by Jeffrey Beall.] The Cotton Belt Corridor Regional Rail Project […]

An analysis of employee drug tests conducted by Quest Diagnostics indicates that U.S. workforce drug use has increased each year – and by double-digits over two years – between 2015 and 2017 in five of 16 major U.S. industry sectors, with the largest increase in “positivity rates” occurring in transportation and warehousing. [Above drug testing […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation opened second round of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or INFRA discretionary grant program via a Notice of Funding Opportunity or NOFO issued Dec. 21. [Above photo by Colorado DOT.] The agency said in a statement that it expects to offer a pool of grant money totaling between $855 million […]

Some 37 of the 41 railroads covered by the Positive Train Control or PTC technology implementation mandate either gained approval from the Federal Railroad Administration for “alternative” compliance schedules for a two-year compliance extension or awaiting said approval from the agency. [Above photo of Metrolink by Clay Gilliland.] Concurrently, the FRA awarded more than $46 […]

Up to $60 million in federal grant monies is being offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund projects aimed at testing what the agency calls the “safe integration” of automated driving systems or ADS technology with the country’s road network. [Above photo by Ford Motor Co.] USDOT said in a statement on Dec. […]

A research study conducted by two physicists at Eindhoven University of Technology in Holland has developed a “statistical model” that can accurately predict pedestrian movements based on the number of people occupying a “defined area” such as a corridor or tunnel. [Above photo by Alessandro Corbetta.] Professor Federico Toschi and Alessandro Corbetta, a post-doctorate researcher, […]

The Federal Transit Administration finalized a $1.17 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement or FFGA on Dec. 20 with the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, commonly called Sound Transit, to help build the Lynnwood Link light rail project – a project being funded through the agency’s Capital Investment Grants or CIG program. [Above photo by Sound […]

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded $205 million in supplemental infrastructure grants on Dec. 19 to 37 small airports in 34 states, with more than half of that funding going to airports that support general aviation and rural communities. [Above photo via the Dept. of Defense.] This “supplemental” funding is in addition to the $3.31 billion […]

The Federal Transit Administration awarded $16.6 million in funds to 20 agencies across the country on Dec. 18 to support what it calls “comprehensive planning projects” that improve access to public transportation. [Above photo by the Maryland Transit Administration.] The funds, are made available through the agency’s Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development or TOD Planning program, […]