NTSB Investigation Blames ‘Design Errors’ for FIU Pedestrian Bridge Collapse
editor@aashto.org November 16, 2018 0 COMMENTSAn investigative update issued by the National Transportation Safety Board Nov. 15 regarding the fatal Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse on March 15 this year indicated that “errors” were made in the design of the 174-foot span, with the cracking observed prior to the bridge’s collapse “consistent” with those design errors. [Above photo by […]
READ MOREGAO Issues Reports on Railroad Grade Crossing Programs, Inland Waterway Funding
editor@aashto.org November 16, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Government Accountability Office issued two transportation-related reports in early November; one that called for “greater flexibility” in federal funding provided to the states for railroad grade crossing safety measures, with the other recommending that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers develop a way to measure the cost of “deferred maintenance” for inland waterways so […]
READ MOREFHWA Proposed Rulemaking Would Give States ‘Greater Flexibility’ to use Proprietary or Patented Materials
editor@aashto.org November 16, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Highway Administration issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on Nov. 14 that it said will provide “greater flexibility” to state agencies to use “proprietary or patented materials” in Federal-aid projects. [Photo by Utah DOT.] Currently, FHWA requires that states wanting to use a specific proprietary or patented material in a project using federal […]
READ MORENHTSA’s King Stresses Educational Needs of Automated Vehicle Technology in Speech
editor@aashto.org November 16, 2018 0 COMMENTSIn a speech at the Annual Airports and the Rental Car Industry Workshop on Nov. 5, Heidi King, deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said her agency remains extremely interested in “automated driving systems” due to their potential to “save lives and prevent injuries” – even though “there are no vehicles sold […]
READ MOREMidterm Elections Give Democrats Control of the House; Republicans Keep Senate
editor@aashto.org November 9, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Nov. 6 congressional elections not only gave control of the U.S. House of Representatives to the Democrats and kept the Senate in Republican hands, but also sent at least 47 of the 60-member House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee back to Capitol Hill. House members winning reelection include Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who is currently […]
READ MORECalifornia Beats Back Transportation Funding Repeal; Mixed Success for Other Ballot Initiatives
editor@aashto.org November 9, 2018 0 COMMENTSNine major transportation funding-related ballot initiatives were placed before voters in eight states on Nov. 6 – two of them in Colorado alone – and once the votes were tallied, five of those ballot initiatives failed while four of them succeeded. [Above photo by Caltrans.] Yet one of those “failures” regarded an effort to repeal […]
READ MOREAASHTO Files Comments with USDOT on Impact of Autonomous Vehicles
editor@aashto.org November 9, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials filed a letter with USDOT on Nov. 5 to offer comments on the agency’s Oct. 9 Federal Register notice regarding its planned study of how automated vehicle technologies may impact the U.S. workforce. [Above photo by GM.] AASHTO noted that states are facing more and more […]
READ MOREIRU Report: Global Transport Firms See Autonomous Trucks on the Road in 10 years
editor@aashto.org November 9, 2018 0 COMMENTSA new report compiled by the World Road Transportation Organization or IRU finds that transport companies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East region are “extremely optimistic” about the deployment timeline for vehicle automation, with 76 percent of those polled by the IRU expecting autonomous trucks to become a “viable option” within the next decade. […]
READ MORENo Connection Between Pedestrian Bridge Collapse and Grant Award Process, USDOT OIG Finds
editor@aashto.org November 2, 2018 0 COMMENTSA 20-page report issued by the USDOT’s Office of Inspector General on Oct. 29 determined that there was “no evidence” connecting the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or TIGER grant approval process and the March 15th collapse of a pedestrian bridge under construction at Florida International University in Miami, FL, on March 15, as “decisions […]
READ MORERailroad Grade Crossing Safety the Focus of FRA Summit
editor@aashto.org November 2, 2018 0 COMMENTSDuring a special summit on railroad grade crossing safety hosted by the Federal Railroad Administration on Oct. 30 in Washington, D.C., USDOT Secretary Elaine Chao said that “statistics show that progress has leveled off the last 5 years” in regards to reducing railroad grade crossing crashes involving trains and motor vehicles. [Above photo by NTSB.] […]
READ MORETransportation TV
2015: The Opening of a New Subway Line is a Milestone on a Japanese City’s Road to Recovery
The 2015 opening of the Tozai Line kicked off when the first train departed from Arai Station. This inaugural event took on added significance because of a major disaster that had slammed the Tōhoku region more than four years earlier.
Read more about this incredible story of renewal: https://transportationhistory.org/2019/12/06/2015-the-opening-of-a-new-subway-line-is-a-milestone-on-a-japanese-citys-road-to-recovery/ ...