State DOTs Deploy Resources to Battle Hurricane Dorian
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSSix state departments of transportation along the east coast of the United States have deployed a variety of resources in conjunction with other local, state, and federal agencies to battle the high winds, heavy rain, and flooding generated by Hurricane Dorian. Downgraded to a Category 1 storm right before it made landfall on September 6 […]
READ MOREAPTA Study Highlights Transit Needs of ‘Late-Shift’ Commuters
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSA new study compiled by the American Public Transportation Association highlights the rising number of “late-shift” workers on night and weekend shifts, and the study says those weekend late-shift workers tend to suffer from “inadequate access” to public transit services. In particular, the food service, health care, construction, education and finance industries entertain “high projected […]
READ MOREProject Uses Highway Sensors to Track Lifecycle of Concrete
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSA team of Purdue University engineers is using roadway sensors to compile data on “concrete maturity” during select highway patching and paving projects – a project that seeks to establish “evidence-based recommendations” on the optimal time to re-open highways to traffic once construction activity is completed. [Above Photo by Erin Easterling for Purdue University.] The […]
READ MOREBritish Firm Examines Future Potential of ‘Mobility as a Service’
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSA new report from British consulting firm Urban Transport Group indicates that the viability of mobility-as-a-service or MaaS as a global transportation strategy hinges on three key factors – one of them involving its ability to reduce traffic congestion. The MaaS concept focuses on combining and accessing on-demand transportation options, such as car-sharing, ride-hailing and public transit, via […]
READ MOREFTA Allocates $125M for Silicon Valley Transit Project
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Transit Administration officially allocated $125 million to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority as part of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley Phase II project on August 28 – the first project to receive a funding allocation under the agency’s new Expedited Project Delivery pilot program. That program is designed to streamline […]
READ MOREFRA Grant Aims to Restore Gulf Coast Passenger Rail Service
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Railroad Administration awarded more than $4.3 million to the Southern Rail Commission on August 28 to help restore intercity passenger rail service along the Gulf Coast. In 2005, Amtrak suspended its tri-weekly service between New Orleans and Orlando due to extensive damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the stations and rail lines used […]
READ MOREGovernor Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Adetokunbo “Toks” Omishakin to be the new director of the California Department of Transportation on September 3. He replaces Acting Director Bob Franzoia, who has held the position since former director Laurie Berman retired June 29 after a 36-year career with the agency. The governor noted in a statement that […]
READ MORETransportation Commission Endorses TxDOT’s 10-Year Plan
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSThe five-member Texas Transportation Commission approved the $77 billion 2020 Unified Transportation Program or UTP submitted by the Texas Department of Transportation on August 29; a 326-page plan that will guide the agency’s transportation strategy over the next decade. The plan also contains more than $4 billion specifically targeted towards safety improvements, including an extra […]
READ MOREWSDOT Prepares to Go Live with SR 99 Tunnel Tolls in November
editor@aashto.org September 6, 2019 0 COMMENTSStarting November 9, the Washington State Department of Transportation will begin collecting tolls from motorists to use the two-mile-long State Route 99 tunnel that replaced the double-decker Alaskan Way Viaduct highway; a roadway now in the process of being demolished. [Side note: Demolishing a major highway in the middle of a major city is a large […]
READ MOREThe Georgia Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers jointly agreed to update environmental Local Coordination Procedures on September 3 – a framework to improve consistency and streamline the permit process for Georgia DOT projects under Guidelines of the Clean Water Act. “LCP went into effect in 2002 […]
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