NHTSA, FMCSA Issue Pre-Rulemaking Proposals for Autonomous Vehicles
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued separate advance notices of proposed rulemaking on May 28 that seek to allow the “safe introduction” of autonomous personal and commercial vehicles on U.S. roadways. Both agencies stressed that they are only “seeking comments” at this stage of the rulemaking process in […]
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Severe Storms Lead to Flooding, Tornadoes Across Several States
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSA large number of states are enduring historic flooding as the Mississippi and Missouri rivers overflowed their banks due to heavy rains – with many roadways swamped as a result. Meanwhile, a concurrent outbreak of deadly tornadoes added to the damage totals in states such as Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma – with the Ohio Department […]
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Video: SHRP2 Research Highlights Pavement Delamination Fixes
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSNew tools developed from the Second Strategic Highway Research Program or SHRP2 – a partnership between the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the Transportation Research Board – are helping state departments of transportation and other agencies detect the location and severity of asphalt “delamination” beneath roadway surfaces. […]
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Utah DOT ‘Field Trip’ Entices Students to Explore Transportation Careers
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSWith teams of secondary school students flocking to Park City, UT, to compete in the final round of the 2019 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials National Bridge Challenge competition – an event that is part of the organization’s annual spring meeting – the Utah Department of Transportation engaged in a “future workforce […]
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Efforts to thwart human trafficking are increasing among state departments of transportation, though there is still a ways to go in terms of spurring “deeper engagement” on their part. [Above photo by Savvas Alexandrou via Wikimedia Commons.] Data from an ongoing survey of anti-human trafficking efforts by state DOTs – entitled “State DOT Contributions to […]
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The Federal Highway Administration issued $500,000 in “quick release” Emergency Relief funds on May 28 to help the Vermont Agency of Transportation repair roads damaged by flooding in mid-April. Rapid runoff as the result of heavy rain and snowmelt created floods that damaged roads in eight Vermont counties, with the cost of long-term repairs to […]
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Survey: Americans Avoiding Automobile Travel Due to Highway Congestion
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe U.S. Travel Association released a survey on May 22 that it said shows Americans avoided an estimated 47.5 million auto trips in 2018 due to highway congestion; equivalent to the loss of $30 billion in travel spending and 248,000 jobs, according to the organization’s economists. [Above photo by the Virginia Department of Transportation.] The survey […]
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Amtrak to Spend $72.5M on Rail Station Improvements for 2019
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSCharacterizing it as an “ambitious” spending plan, Amtrak officials noted on May 28 it plans to invest $72.5 million this year to “improve the customer experience” at rail stations across its network. Those “Customer Now” projects include everything from new door systems, lavatories, and platforms at some stations to the renovation of the Great Hall […]
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California Department of Transportation Director Laurie Berman (seen above) is planning to retire on June 29, closing the books on a 36-year career at the agency. “I have decided it is time to retire,” Berman said in a May 28 email to Caltrans’ staff. “I have loved everything about the past 36 years, from my […]
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Colorado DOT Uses Explosives to Break Up Boulder Blocking Highway
editor@aashto.org May 31, 2019 0 COMMENTSA massive boulder weighing some 1,150 tons – some 2.3 million pounds – tumbled down about 1,000 feet on May 24 as part of a major rock slide that ended up blocking a section of the two-lane highway linking the Colorado towns of Cortez and Telluride. The boulder proved so large that the Colorado Department […]
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