Nomination Period is Closing Soon for 2021 America’s Transportation Awards
editor@aashto.org April 9, 2021 0 COMMENTSThe April 23 nomination deadline for the 2021 America’s Transportation Awards is fast approaching. [Above photo of 2020 Grand Prize Winner WSDOT. Photo by WSDOT.] This yearly competition helps showcase why transportation infrastructure – and why properly funding it – is vital to supporting the nation’s economy while improving the quality of life for communities […]
READ MOREASCE Report: U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Needs Investment
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSThe American Society of Civil Engineers report on the state of U.S. infrastructure reiterated the need for investment in transportation networks, especially for bridges as the “letter grade” for that infrastructure category declined in 2021 versus the organization’s 2017 report. [Above photo by RIDOT.] ASCE’s 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave U.S. infrastructure an overall […]
READ MOREDrop in VMT Coincides with Spike in Motor Vehicle Fatalities, Injuries
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSAfter six consecutive years of gradual increases in vehicle-miles traveled, data compiled annually by the Federal Highway Administration indicates that national vehicle miles traveled or VMT in the United States dropped by 13.2 percent due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic: falling from 3.3 trillion VMT in 2019 to 2.83 trillion VMT in 2020. […]
READ MOREHouse T&I Plans to Add Earmarks in Surface Reauthorization Legislation
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSAs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure works on its surface transportation authorization legislation – due to be released “this spring,” according to Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the committee’s chair – a “formal process” is being crafted that will allow members of Congress to submit “requests for highway and transit project designations.” Commonly called […]
READ MOREFAF Five-Year Benchmark Shows Spike in Freight Transportation
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSGoods moved on America’s transportation network increased in both value and tonnage from 2012 to 2017, according to the latest version of the Freight Analysis Framework or FAF jointly issued by the Federal Highway Administration and Bureau of Transportation Statistics. [Above photo by the Michigan DOT.] FHWA noted that it releases FAF benchmarks at five-year […]
READ MORELeveraging Policy, Funding to Improve Infrastructure Resiliency
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSThree state department of transportation executives shared their insights into the strategies they use to address everything from infrastructure resiliency to cybersecurity during the 2021 virtual American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Washington Briefing. [Above left to right: Carlos Braceras, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, and Ed Sniffen.] Ed Sniffen, deputy director for highways at […]
READ MOREExpanding State DOT Connections via Innovation, Technology
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSLeveraging innovation and technology isn’t always about improving the physical parts of transportation infrastructure. In many ways, state departments of transportation can leverage technology – especially in terms of public outreach – to improve connections with disadvantaged businesses and communities. [Above left to right: Yassmin Gramian, Tony Kratofil, and Amy Scarton.] That was the message […]
READ MOREUSDOT, Transport Canada Craft Plan to Battle Climate Change
editor@aashto.org March 5, 2021 0 COMMENTSThe U.S. Department of Transportation and Transport Canada issued a joint statement on February 25 committing both agencies to “reinvigorate our bilateral cooperation” to fight climate change and limit the environmental impacts from their respective national transportation networks on land, air, and sea. [Above photo: Transport Canada’s Omar Alghabra at left, USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg […]
READ MORESix energy utility companies are joining forces to build a seamless network of electric vehicle or EV charging stations connecting major highway systems from the Atlantic Coast, through the Midwest and South, and into the Gulf and Central Plains regions. [Above photo of EV recharging station by Walmart.] The Electric Highway Coalition – made up […]
READ MOREInternational bicycle sharing service Lime Bike is planning to invest $50 million in new electric-powered bicycles or “e-bikes” as well as an expansion of its network in the United States to 25 additional cities in 2021. [Above photo by Lime Bike.] “As we build out the Lime platform to serve any trip under five miles, […]
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