The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has named Brandye Hendrickson, currently the Federal Highway Administration’s deputy administrator, as its new deputy director. Appointed as FHWA deputy administrator in July 2017, Hendrickson served as the agency’s acting administrator for two years until Nicole Nason officially became FHWA’s administrator in May. “I am thrilled […]

A report compiled by the Government Accounting Office finds that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or INFRA grant program “lacks consistency and transparency” and recommends that Congress writ legislation that “ensures the [grant] evaluation process is clearly communicated, that applications are consistently evaluated, and that the rationale for USDOT decisions are […]

Improving highway safety while reducing traffic congestion are two of biggest potential benefits from wider deployment of fully autonomous vehicles or AVs, noted Federal Highway Administrator Nicole Nason in a July 17 speech at the 2019 Automated Vehicles Symposium held in Orlando, FL. However, she also stressed that reserving the 5.9 GHz wireless communication spectrum […]

State DOT executives and transportation industry representatives threw their full support behind a bipartisan goal to draft a full five-year reauthorization of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act based on formula-funding during a July 10 Senate Environment and Public Works committee hearing. “I am working with ranking member [Sen. Tom] Carper [D-Del.] to […]

Cutting the cost of highway concrete by 90 percent, even while boosting its strength and longevity; using carbon-fiber reinforcement in bridges to reduce the corrosive impact of snow- and ice-melting chemicals; and constructing a 32-acre testing facility to experiment with connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies. Those are just some of the many benefits ultimately […]

A 12-month joint pilot test of autonomous shuttle buses started in April is but one example of nationwide efforts being undertaken by transportation organizations to foster greater acceptance of autonomous vehicle or AV technology by the general public. The self-driving, all-electric shuttles being deployed by the Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Transit Authority don’t […]

One hundred years ago this month, a U.S. Army convoy consisting of 81 vehicles, 24 officers, and 258 enlisted men set out on a 3,251-mile transcontinental journey, primarily as a way to test the ability of the military to move great distances over roads under wartime conditions. The convoy took 62 days to complete the […]

The House of Representatives this week passed a major spending package, HR3055, containing $87.7 billion in Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations for Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, or THUD. This “minibus” package – composed of four other appropriations bills in addition to THUD – was the second of three packages considered by the House for FY 2020, […]

The Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety this week held a hearing exploring the adoption of technology by transportation agencies and the private sector, and the effects those technologies have on the surface transportation network. Subcommittee Chair Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) opened the hearing explaining that “Technology is already changing how we move people and […]

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation explored several critical issues surrounding reauthorization of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation of FAST Act of 2015 – set to expire next July – in a June 19 hearing with four key federal transportation agency leaders: Ronald Batory, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration; Raymond Martinez, administrator […]