The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously at a December 12 hearing to move forward with an effort to open up the 5.9 GHz wireless safety spectrum to non-transportation use. FCC commissioners argued their decision was prompted by the “slow deployment” of dedicated short-range communications or DSRC technology, the emergence of new transportation and other communication […]

Technology and the data it provides are key to “re-imagining” and re-shaping transportation infrastructure in the very near future, according to participants in the “Smart American City” roundtable event hosted by media company Axios in Washington D.C. on December 12. The roundtable featured conversations with: Jeff Marootian (above at left), director of the District Department […]

Jim Tymon (seen speaking above), executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, emphasized the importance of safety and formula funding when it comes to supporting and expanding the nation’s multimodal freight transportation system during a House of Representatives Transportation & Infrastructure Committee hearing on December 5. [Photo courtesy of Committee […]

A proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to eliminate the transportation-only status of 5.9 GHz wireless commission spectrum and instead reallocate a portion of it to unlicensed Wi-Fi use sparked concerns about automotive safety during a House of Representatives Committee on Energy & Commerce oversight hearing on December 5. “I have to tell you, one […]

The U.S. transportation infrastructure market is expected to grow at least 5 percent next year, according to an annual economic forecast released December 4 by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. However, that growth could evaporate if surface transportation funding legislation is not reauthorized in a timely fashion. [Above photo by the South Carolina […]

On December 5, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a 98-page final rule codifying reforms to its rulemaking, guidance, and enforcement practices. The rule’s major components include permanently incorporating President Trump’s policy on regulatory budgeting – the “2-for-1” plan, where two rules are repealed for every new one issued – and clarifies that the USDOT […]

A one-month continuing resolution or CR that extends federal government funding through December 20 also contained a provision that repealed a $7.6 billion rescission of federal-aid highway contract authority – a cut originally mandated by the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act to occur next year. The House of Representatives passed the CR […]

A proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to open up the 5.9 GHz band of the wireless spectrum to non-transportation usage is drawing strong pushback from transportation organizations and others, especially over concerns as to how this move could impact safety. “The 5.9 GHz band has been part of the spectrum that has been reserved […]

The value of traffic incident management or TIM training is threefold from a state department of transportation perspective: saving time, money, and, most importantly, lives. That’s the argument Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, made at the third senior executive transportation and public safety summit sponsored by […]

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is leading a 42-organization effort calling on Congress to repeal the impending $7.6 billion rescission of highway contract authority scheduled to occur July 1, 2020 as mandated by the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act. “This group of diverse national associations that support investment […]