In a five-page letter submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation on February 10, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials provided a range of policy recommendations to help craft a National Freight Strategic Plan or NFSP. [Above photo by VDOT.] “AASHTO believes that the safe and efficient movement of freight by air, […]
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The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a notice of funding opportunity on February 19 for $1 billion worth of fiscal year 2020 funds offered through the agency’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development or BUILD discretionary grant program. The deadline to submit an application is May 18. For this round of BUILD Transportation grants, the […]
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New research issued by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety on February 18 finds that older male adults who give up driving are facing “lower levels of social support” when it comes to advice, suggestions, and information regarding alternative transportation options. [Above photo via AAA.] “When it comes to older drivers, data from our study […]
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FHWA Report Highlights Growing Connections Between AI, TSMO
editor@aashto.org February 21, 2020 0 COMMENTSA report issued by the Federal Highway Administration on February 5 shines a light on a variety of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and the potential roles they can play in Transportation Systems Management and Operations or TSMO applications. The report said that “traditional problems” AI technologies can address in the TSMO space include: reasoning, knowledge […]
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The U.S. Maritime Administration awarded more than $280 million in discretionary grant funding through its new Port Infrastructure Development Program on February 14 to support 15 projects in 11 states, with six of those projects located in Opportunity Zones. [Above photo by USDOT.] “Modernizing and improving our ports will pay dividends now and in the future […]
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On February 18, the Federal Railroad Administration issued a final rule in the Federal Register that requires each Class I freight railroad as well as freight railroads with inadequate safety performance to develop and implement a risk reduction program or RRP to improve operational safety. That rule is effective starting April 20. [Above photo by […]
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FAA Airport Grants Dovetails with GAO Infrastructure Report
editor@aashto.org February 21, 2020 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Aviation Administration awarded $520.5 million worth of Airport Improvement Program, or AIP grants, to 287 airports in 41 states on February 19, just days after the release of a report issued by the U.S. Government Accounting Office that indicates airports face a growing number of infrastructure challenges. Those $520.5 million grants – which […]
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The first of Amtrak’s 28 new Acela trainsets – scheduled to enter service throughout the Northeast Corridor or NEC in 2021 – are now undergoing nine months of high-speed testing at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, CO. Once completed, those trainsets will return to the Alstom Hornell, NY, factory where they were built for final interior installation work. [Above […]
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Scott Bennett (above at left), director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation for the last nine years, is retiring from the agency effective March 20. He’ll be replaced by Lorie Harris Tudor (above at right), who will become the agency’s first female director. “I’ve had a great career at ARDOT, and I’ve been fortunate to […]
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Governor Kim Reynolds (D) appointed Scott Marler to serve as director at the Iowa Department of Transportation on February 17. Stuart Anderson, who has served as interim director since January 10 following the resignation of Iowa DOT Director Mark Lowe in late 2019, is returning to his role as director of the agency’s planning, programming, and […]
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