New Highway Maintenance Degree Aims to Help Build Transportation Workforce
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Colorado Department of Transportation and Front Range Community College are teaming up to develop what is believed to be a first-in-the-nation two-year associate’s degree in applied science or AAS as part of a highway maintenance management degree program. [Above photo by Colorado DOT.] The new degree program, which is scheduled to begin in January […]
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AGC Contractor Survey Predicts Growth for Transportation and Utility Construction
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSA survey of 1,300 contractors in 49 states and the District of Columbia found that most are “confident” construction demand will increase in 2019 across most industrial sectors, especially for highway, water and sewer, and transportation facility projects. [Above photo by Utah DOT.] However, that survey – conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America […]
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Nason Nominated to Lead FHWA; Szabat Confirmed for USDOT
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSPresident Trump has nominated Nicole Nason (above, left) to be the next administrator of the Federal Highway Administration; one of 17 nominations the president sent to the Senate on Jan. 3. Concurrently, the Senate confirmed Joel Szabat (above, right) to be the assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs within the U.S. Department of Transportation […]
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State Population Changes Could Impact Transportation Planning
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSUpward and downward population shifts across several states over the past year may impact transportation planning on several levels, especially as part of land-management strategies. [Above photo by Utah DOT.] Data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau and indicate that the populations of Nevada and Idaho grew the most percentage-wise – some 2.1 percent each […]
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Castor to Chair Revived Climate Change Committee, May Focus on Transportation
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSDays before formally becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives for the second time, Nancy Pelosi tapped Rep. Kathy Castor, D-FL, to be the chair of the new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis – a committee that played a role in the creation of the 2007 energy act and the 2009 stimulus act, which included $90 billion in […]
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau provided the Dallas Area Rapid Transit or DART system with a $908 million Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing or RRIF direct loan on Dec. 21 to help finance the Cotton Belt Corridor Regional Rail Project. [Above photo by Jeffrey Beall.] The Cotton Belt Corridor Regional Rail Project […]
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Firm Says U.S. Workforce Drug Use is Up; Especially in Transportation and Warehousing
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSAn analysis of employee drug tests conducted by Quest Diagnostics indicates that U.S. workforce drug use has increased each year – and by double-digits over two years – between 2015 and 2017 in five of 16 major U.S. industry sectors, with the largest increase in “positivity rates” occurring in transportation and warehousing. [Above drug testing […]
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USDOT Opens up Applications for Second Round of INFRA Grant Funds
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe U.S. Department of Transportation opened second round of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or INFRA discretionary grant program via a Notice of Funding Opportunity or NOFO issued Dec. 21. [Above photo by Colorado DOT.] The agency said in a statement that it expects to offer a pool of grant money totaling between $855 million […]
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Longer PTC Implementation Times Sought as FRA Issues More PTC Funding
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSSome 37 of the 41 railroads covered by the Positive Train Control or PTC technology implementation mandate either gained approval from the Federal Railroad Administration for “alternative” compliance schedules for a two-year compliance extension or awaiting said approval from the agency. [Above photo of Metrolink by Clay Gilliland.] Concurrently, the FRA awarded more than $46 […]
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USDOT Offers $60M in Grants to Test Automated Driving Systems
editor@aashto.org January 4, 2019 0 COMMENTSUp to $60 million in federal grant monies is being offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund projects aimed at testing what the agency calls the “safe integration” of automated driving systems or ADS technology with the country’s road network. [Above photo by Ford Motor Co.] USDOT said in a statement on Dec. […]
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