EPW Hearing Focuses on Long-Term, Formula-Based FAST Act Reauthorization
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSState DOT executives and transportation industry representatives threw their full support behind a bipartisan goal to draft a full five-year reauthorization of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act based on formula-funding during a July 10 Senate Environment and Public Works committee hearing. “I am working with ranking member [Sen. Tom] Carper [D-Del.] to […]
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State DOT Executives Highlight Research Funding Need at House Hearing
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSCutting the cost of highway concrete by 90 percent, even while boosting its strength and longevity; using carbon-fiber reinforcement in bridges to reduce the corrosive impact of snow- and ice-melting chemicals; and constructing a 32-acre testing facility to experiment with connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies. Those are just some of the many benefits ultimately […]
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Video: Utah DOT Hopes Self-Driving Shuttle Fosters AV Acceptance
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSA 12-month joint pilot test of autonomous shuttle buses started in April is but one example of nationwide efforts being undertaken by transportation organizations to foster greater acceptance of autonomous vehicle or AV technology by the general public. The self-driving, all-electric shuttles being deployed by the Utah Department of Transportation and Utah Transit Authority don’t […]
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Celebrating Highway History: The U.S. Army’s 1919 Cross-Country Convoy
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSOne hundred years ago this month, a U.S. Army convoy consisting of 81 vehicles, 24 officers, and 258 enlisted men set out on a 3,251-mile transcontinental journey, primarily as a way to test the ability of the military to move great distances over roads under wartime conditions. The convoy took 62 days to complete the […]
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Four State DOTs Win Awards in Regional Transportation Competition
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSSix projects from four northeastern state departments of transportation received top honors in the second of four regional America’s Transportation Awards competitions. Sponsored by AASHTO, AAA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the 12th annual America’s Transportation Awards competition is comprised of three categories. The first is “Quality of Life/Community Development,” which recognizes projects that […]
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FTA Allocates $300M in CIG Funding to Three Rail Projects
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Transit Administration is allocating $300 million in fiscal year 2019 funding via its Capital Investment Grants or CIG program to rail transit projects in Arizona, California, and Washington, pushing its total of CIG-sponsored projects over the last two years to 25 overall worth approximately $7.63 billion in funding commitments. [Above photo by the FTA.] […]
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FAA Rolls Out Next Allotments of Airport Infrastructure Grants
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Aviation Administration awarded $477 million in airport infrastructure grants to 264 airports in 45 states, the Pacific Islands, and the District of Columbia on July 9, which follows $495 million in similar grants to 327 airports in 46 States and the Pacific Islands on June 24. [Above photo by Atlanta Hartsfield Int’l Airport.] […]
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TRB Contest Highlights Transportation Communication Best Practices
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Transportation Research Board’s Committee on Public Involvement in Transportation is sponsoring a contest to highlight the “best practices” in how to communicate complex transportation finance and related policy solutions to industry stakeholders and the general public. [Above photo by the Colorado DOT.] Top entries, as judged by an independent panel of transportation and communication […]
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Video: Caltrans Rapidly Repairs Route Split by Two Major Earthquakes
editor@aashto.org July 12, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe two earthquakes that struck southern California July 4 and 5 – measuring 6.4 and 7.1 on the Richter scale, respectively – caused at least $1 billion in damages, according to estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. And that tally includes damages to roads and other transportation infrastructure. [Above photo from the USGS.] “We have […]
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From coast to coast, state governors are signing budgets that increase funding for transportation in a variety of ways. The $863 million Fiscal Year 2020 capital budget signed by Delaware Governor John Carney (D) (seen above) on July 1 includes $425.3 million for state’s the Transportation Trust Fund – part of a six-year, $3.2 billion […]
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