In a White House press briefing on April 12, President Trump committed his administration to “freeing up as much wireless spectrum as needed” to speed up the build out 5G wireless networks; a move that could open the 5.9 GHz transmission band, currently reserved for transportation communication needs, for other commercial uses. [Above: Official White […]
READ MORE
A memorandum of understanding signed between the Federal Highway Administration and the Arizona Department of Transportation on April 16 allows the state to assume decision-making and legal responsibilities for meeting National Environmental Policy Act requirements for federal highway projects. [Above photo by the Arizona DOT. At left: FHWA Deputy Administrator Brandye Hendrickson. At right: Arizona […]
READ MORE
According to a 37-page report compiled by the American Public Transportation Association, U.S. public transit ridership decline by 2 percent to 9.9 billion trips in 2018 compared to 2017. However, certain regions of the country witnessed a year-over-year uptick in ridership, the group noted, along with several specific transportation modes – such as commuter rail, […]
READ MORE
The U.S. Department of Transportation published a Notice of Funding Opportunity in the Federal Register on April 18 for $900 million worth of fiscal year 2019 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development or BUILD transportation grants. [Above photo by the Ohio Department of Transportation.] The agency said funds for the FY 2019 BUILD Transportation grants […]
READ MORE
Road to Zero Survey Says Motorists Support Imposition of More Safety Measures
editor@aashto.org April 19, 2019 0 COMMENTSA new report finds American motorists “strongly support” a broad array of safety measures, from reducing local street speed limits and building more roundabout intersections to stricter seatbelt enforcement efforts. [Above photo by the Virginia Department of Transportation.] Based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. motorists conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for […]
READ MORE
NHTSA and FRA Relaunch Rail Grade Crossing Safety Campaign
editor@aashto.org April 19, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Railroad Administration relaunched a joint $5.6 million public safety campaign on April 18 to raise awareness regarding the dangers of highway-railway crossings. The agencies noted that in 2018 alone, 270 people were killed at railroad crossings. Of those, 99 died after the driver went around lowered crossing […]
READ MORE
FHWA Provides More Relief Funds for Midwest Flood Recovery
editor@aashto.org April 19, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Highway Administration provided $9 million in “quick release” emergency relief funds to the Iowa Department of Transportation on April 12 to help repair roads damaged by historic flooding that swamped the Midwest in mid-March. That follows the issuance of $25 million in ER funds to the Nebraska Department of Transportation for flood repairs […]
READ MORE
Shared Bike and E-Scooter Trips More Than Doubled Last Year, NACTO Says
editor@aashto.org April 19, 2019 0 COMMENTSAccording to an annual shared micro-mobility report compiled by the National Association of City Transportation Officials and released on April 17, more than twice as many shared bicycle and e-scooter trips were taken in 2018 – 84 million – compared to 2017. The group noted that 36.5 million of those “micro-mobility” trips were taken on […]
READ MORE
FHWA, Maryland DOT Unveil Initial Assessment of Loop Tunnel
editor@aashto.org April 19, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Highway Administration and the Maryland Department of Transportation made available on April 17 a 505-page draft version of an environmental assessment for the proposed Washington D.C. to Baltimore Loop Project; the first step in a joint federal-state review of what the U.S. Department of Transportation is calling “non-traditional transportation technology.” [Above photo by […]
READ MORE
AAA Report: Night Driving Could Be Safer with ADB Headlights
editor@aashto.org April 19, 2019 0 COMMENTSA new study by AAA indicates night driving – the highest fatality rate time slot for both drivers and pedestrians – could be made safer if adaptive driving beam or ADB headlights were allowed to be installed on vehicles in the U.S. [Above photo by Audi.] With ADB technology, a vehicle’s high beams are “always […]
READ MORE