USDOT Streamlines Environmental Rules to Improve Transportation Project Delivery
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSA final rule to be issued in the Federal Register by USDOT on Monday Oct. 29 aims to streamline National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA requirements along with other key environmental rules to speed up and ensure “greater consistency” in the permitting of surface transportation projects. This effort will also reduce duplicative environmental reporting efforts […]
READ MOREPushback Begins Against FCC Effort to Allow 5.9 GHz Channel Reallocation
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSA proposal by the Federal Communications Commission on Oct. 23 to open up the 6 gigahertz communication channel to more “unlicensed usage” is drawing strong pushback from a variety of transportation industry groups, which seek to preserve the full 5.9 GHz band within that spectrum for transportation safety use. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the […]
READ MOREAnnual Study Updates Impact of Traffic Congestion on Job Access Within Major U.S. Cities
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe latest research updates for an annual study overseen by the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota estimates the impact of traffic congestion on access to jobs indicates that Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco are now the top three U.S. metropolitan areas for “loss in job accessibility” due to traffic congestion. [Above […]
READ MOREU.S. Census Unveils New Education-Job Linkage Data Sets
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe U.S. Census Bureau unveiled a new data visualization tool on Oct. 17 that allows the general public to explore the connections between higher education and job-training programs to subsequent employment and earnings. [Above photo by Utah DOT.] The agency said it is building such data sets via its Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes pilot program project, through which […]
READ MOREHyperloop Transport System ‘Most Feasible’ for I-70 Corridor, Study Finds
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSA “feasibility study” conducted by global infrastructure firm Black & Veatch reportedly “verifies” that the first long-distance route proposed by the Virgin Hyperloop One company for its high-speed passenger and freight transport system along the Interstate 70 corridor through Missouri is “safe and sustainable.” [Above photo by Virginia Hyperloop One.] “We worked collaboratively with stakeholders […]
READ MORECalifornia and Oklahoma Obtain SSO Certification from the FTA
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Federal Transit Administration noted in a statement on Oct. 22 that the California Public Utilities Commission – responsible for seven different public transit agencies – and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation obtained federal certification of their rail transit State Safety Oversight or SSO programs. The California Public Utilities Commission is responsible for providing safety oversight […]
READ MORENevada DOT Combines Highway Beautification and Erosion Control into One Project
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSWhile the $3 million, 2-mile-long beautification project now underway along Interstate 515, also known as U.S. Highway 95, near Henderson, Nevada, may seem small in comparison to what the Nevada Department of Transportation typically undertakes – look no further than price tag for the completion in Late August for the “first phase” of Interstate 11 […]
READ MOREPennsylvania Authorizes Pilot Program to Test Speed Camera Enforcement in Highway Work Zones
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will soon begin a five-year pilot program in which some highway construction and maintenance work zones will have speed cameras equipped with light detection and ranging radar or LIDAR to take photos of license plates of any vehicle exceeding the work zone speed limit by 11 […]
READ MORESCDOT Expands Program to Widen Rural Interstates for Freight Needs
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe South Carolina Department of Transportation recently got the green light on Oct. 19 to expand its interstate highway widening program; specifically aiming to widen rural sections of South Carolina’s interstate system that the agency said are “critical to the movement of freight.” [Above photo by SCDOT.] This effort will initially focus on widening a […]
READ MOREVideo Report: Georgia DOT Deploys ‘Hybrid Beacons’ to Improve Pedestrian Safety
editor@aashto.org October 26, 2018 0 COMMENTSThe Georgia Department of Transportation is using what are known as “hybrid beacons” to improve crosswalk safety for pedestrians. Also known as the High intensity Activated crossWalK or HAWK, these beacons are pedestrian-activated warning devices located on the roadside or on mast arms over mid-block pedestrian crossings signal both drivers and pedestrians attempting to cross […]
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