The focus and attention of the top U.S. Department of Transportation Officials was on pedestrian safety on Wednesday, July 8. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao kicked off the first of three online forums dubbed “USDOT Summit on Pedestrian Safety – Virtual Series” by noting that pedestrian fatalities reached a peak in 2018, at a […]

A virtual meeting of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Council on Highways and Streets examined the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the different approaches applied by state departments of transportation to handle the ongoing needs of the nation’s surface transportation network. (Photo above courtesy Michigan DOT) “One […]

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed its $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill H.R. 2, known as the Moving Forward Act, by a mostly party-line vote of 233 to 188 on July 1. This package was built primarily around the $494 billion INVEST in America Act surface transportation reauthorization bill adopted by the House Transportation and […]

The steep drop in traffic volumes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the Highway Trust Fund closer to insolvency faster than projected, according to comments made during a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on July 1. That decline in traffic volumes also significantly reduced motor fuel tax and toll receipt revenues, […]

On June 22 the House of Representatives released the text of the Moving Forward Act that seeks to make $1.5 trillion worth of infrastructure investments across a number of U.S. economic sectors, such as transportation, energy, education, housing, and healthcare, among others. That legislation includes within it the INVEST in America Act surface transportation reauthorization […]

Effectively managing a state transportation department is hard enough. Leading a state DOT through a crisis is tougher. But what about when two disasters hit simultaneously? [Above photo by the Louisiana DOTD.] Dr. Shawn Wilson, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, actually had four simultaneous disasters on his plate on Friday, June […]

After a marathon two-day markup session, the House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee passed its $494 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill on June 18 by a party-line vote of 35 to 25. Altogether 34 Republican amendments and 23 Democratic amendments to the bill – entitled Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and […]

While a new survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, along with data from construction technology firm Procore, indicates that overall construction activity is returning to pre-COVID-19 levels in many parts of the country, many transportation infrastructure projects are being delayed or cancelled outright due to declines in state revenues caused by the pandemic. [Above photo by the […]

The U.S. Department of Transportation noted on June 18 that it plans to issue $906 million to fund 20 projects in 20 states via its Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or INFRA discretionary grant program; funds being funneled largely through state departments of transportation. [Above photo by the USDOT.] USDOT said in a statement that applications […]

In testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on June 16, Joel Szabat (seen above) – nominee for Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy at U.S. Department of Transportation – highlighted key current and future focus areas for the agency. Those “focus areas” include autonomous vehicle testing and the preservation of the […]