Tom Everett (seen above) will step into the role of executive director of the Federal Highway Administration on Oct. 22; a longtime agency veteran who is considered a “national authority” on developing and implementing highway infrastructure policies and performance standards. He replaces Cheryl Walker, FHWA’s acting executive director since June 1, who took that role […]

According to a new survey by infrastructure firm HNTB, a majority of Americans believe traffic congestion on their roads and highways has worsened since 2017 and that they are willing to pay higher taxes and tolls to fund infrastructure maintenance or new construction to help reduce that congestion. [Above photo by VDOT.] The results of […]

A study released by the American Transportation Research Institute on Oct. 18 said that traffic congestion on the U.S. national highway system or NHS added nearly $74.5 billion in operational costs to the trucking industry in 2016, which is a 0.5 percent increase over the costs of traffic congestion calculated for truckers in 2015. [Above […]

A new study compiled by research firm IHS Markit projects that diesel will remain the “primary fuel” of commercial vehicles for the foreseeable future, with 66 percent of new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold nationally predicted to be equipped by diesel-only or diesel-hybrid powertrains in 2040, compared to nearly 80 percent today. [Above photo by […]

By the end of this year, USDOT said in a statement on Oct. 10 that it will have made more than $63.9 billion in fiscal year 2018 available in multi-modal discretionary and formula transportation investments, along with $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2017 discretionary funds – dollars the agency views as “seed money” to encourage […]

Dave Bauer has been selected as the next president and chief executive officer American Road & Transportation Builders Association, succeeding Pete Ruane, who retires on Oct. 31. Bauer will officially begin his tenure as ARTBA’s chief executive Jan. 1 next year. William Toohey, Jr., ARTBA’s executive vice president & chief operating officer, is currently serving […]

In a hearing on Capitol Hill held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Oct. 10, Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, hailed new unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV legal provisions within the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which was signed into law by President Trump on […]

The Federal Highway Administration noted on Oct. 5 that it is preparing to pursue an update to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highway or MUTCD to accommodate the needs of automated vehicles, while affording states and local communities “more opportunities” to be innovative with traffic control system designs. [Above photo […]

The University of Minnesota received a three-year $1.75 million grant from the National Science Foundation on Oct. 5 to study the potential impact of fully autonomous vehicles on community “health, equity, livability, and prosperity” or HELP, with the Minnesota Department of Transportation tagged to be one of its “partners” in its research effort. “The research […]

The 16th annual State Farm deer-vehicle collision study, released on Oct. 1, indicates that U.S. motorists are less likely to be involved in a collision with a deer, elk, moose, or caribou in 2018 compared to previous years – and this despite the fact that there are nearly four million more licensed U.S. drivers in 2018 […]