In speeches before the 2019 National Bike Summit in Crystal City, VA, March 11, and at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, TX, March 12, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stressed that safety and innovation will remain the key focal points of her agency going forward as new technologies and mobility options […]

Job creation, economic growth, and creating an avenue for cost-effective recycling are just some of the benefits from greater investments in highway infrastructure projects nationwide, a panel of witnesses explained during a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing on March 6. Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation and the 2018-2019 […]

A hike in federal fuel taxes, more private sector financing, plus continued reduction in “red tape” are just some of the solutions being touted to beef up surface transportation funding now and in the future – with support growing for changing over to a vehicle miles traveled or VMT fee in lieu of fuel taxes […]

Raising fuel taxes is currently the most direct and efficient way to generate the money to funded overdue investments in Ohio’s transportation system, though a decade down the road, a vehicle miles traveled or VMT fee might prove to be a more viable option. Those were just two of several points Jim Tymon (seen above), […]

Joe Boardman (seen above), the longest-serving Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation and second-longest serving president and CEO of Amtrak, passed away March 6 at age 70 from a stroke while on vacation in Florida with his family. He is survived by his wife Joanne and their three children. Boardman, a lifelong […]

In a Feb. 19 letter, the Federal Railroad Administration informed the California High Speed Rail Authority that it intends to cancel $929 million in federal grants yet to be paid for building a high-speed rail link between Los Angeles region and the San Francisco bay area. [Above photo by Jack Snell.] Additionally, the U.S. Department […]

Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is calling for an 18-cent-per-gallon increase in Ohio’s fuel tax as part of his first transportation budget; an increase expected to raise an estimated $1.2 billion a year for state transportation needs, including $480 million for local government projects, according to news reports. [Above photo via the Ohio Governor’s Office.] The […]

Gov. Tim Walz (D) is proposing to phase in a 20-cent increase in Minnesota’s fuel tax over the next two years and index that tax to inflation as part of his overall state budget proposal unveiled on Feb. 19. [Above photo via the Minnesota Governor’s Office.] “Minnesota’s transportation system is aging and struggling to keep […]

Gov. Ned Lamont (D) (seen above) is seeking to reduce transportation spending in the near-term in order to help balance Connecticut’s budget via a “debt diet,” while implementing new tolls on both cars and commercial trucks to rebuild funding levels to support future infrastructure investments. According to fiscal year 2020-2021 budget details issued by the […]

As part of bicameral legislative deal to prevent a second partial federal government shutdown while providing monies to build a wall along parts of the southern U.S. border, a total of $26.5 billion in discretionary funds and $60 billion from Highway and Airport and Airway Trust Funds will be provided to the U.S. Department of […]