USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg: “Some Sort of Road Usage Levy Necessary”
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSRestoring the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund must occur in a way that is “sustainable, predictable, defensible, and affordable” with “some sort of road usage levy necessary” on all vehicles in the future, according to Pete Buttigieg (seen above), secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Speaking at the virtual 2021 American Association of […]
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AASHTO President Sheehan Testifies Before Senate EPW Committee
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSAny delay – or even worse, a series of short-term extensions – in surface transportation reauthorization legislation “would wreak havoc across the country and would impact not just state DOTs, but our partners such as local governments and the construction industry,” emphasized Victoria Sheehan in a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing February […]
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Cedric Richmond: Infrastructure Bill is the Next Order of Business
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSCedric Richmond (seen above), senior advisor to President Biden and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, said a “hard push” is coming on an infrastructure stimulus bill once the administration gets its $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan or ARP is passed. “And we’re going to keep you all very busy as we […]
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Congressional Members Provide Surface Transportation Reauthorization Outlook
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSKey members of Congress provided their outlook on surface transportation reauthorization challenges and opportunities during the 2021 virtual American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Washington Briefing. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chair of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee stressed that “we certainly have common cause with state DOTs to rebuild the […]
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Federal Modal Leaders Stress Synergy, Equity as Key Transportation Priorities
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSThe current acting administrators for the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and Federal Railroad Administration, shared the transportation priorities of their agencies during the virtual 2021 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Washington Briefing on February 25. [Clockwise from top left: Shawn Wilson, Louisiana DOTD secretary; FHWA’s Pollack; FRA’s Bose; FTA’s […]
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AASHTO, Adventure Cycling Formalize Partnership to Reach 50,000-Mile Bike Route System
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSOver the last 16 years, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Adventure Cycling Association worked with state departments of transportation and other local transportation agencies to identify and install signage for nearly 15,000 miles of bicycle routes in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Ultimately, the plan is to […]
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ARTBA Details FAST Act-Funded Transportation Investments over Last Five Years
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSState governments moved forward with nearly 111,000 federal-aid highway and bridge projects during the past five years due to funding provided by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act, according to new research by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. [Above photo by the Georgia DOT.] Compiled from Federal Highway Administration data, ARTBA […]
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GHSA Report Highlights New Efforts, Resources to Curb Driver Distraction
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSThe Governors Highway Safety Association issued the first report from the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program – a collaboration between GHSA, the Transportation Research Board, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that seeks to increase understanding of behavioral traffic safety topics and propose practical solutions. [Above photo by Caltrans.] This new report – […]
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Congressional Democrats Reintroduce GREEN Streets Act
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSKey Congressional Democrats reintroduced the Generating Resilient, Environmentally Exceptional National or GREEN Streets Act on February 23: legislation aimed at establishing “national goals” to reduce greenhouse gas or GHG emissions from the National Highway System and help states adapt their transportation systems to counteract the “adverse effects of climate change.” “When we look at building […]
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DHS, New York’s MTA Studying Transit Spread of COVID-19
editor@aashto.org February 26, 2021 0 COMMENTSThe Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is collaborating with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City to study how simulated airborne droplets carrying the COVID-19 virus – droplets known as “aerosols” – travel through buses and train cars. That research aims to help develop better disinfection and other viral mitigation methods […]
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