Infrastructure in the News: August 2, 2010

According to ARTBA director the highway investments in the stimulus law have been a bright spot for transporation construction industry and Associated Press reported that Los Angeles plans to borrow billions from the federal government and invest it in commuter rail.

National News

Bloomberg: New Silk Road Built by China Connects Asia to Latin America
The high-speed rail link China Railway Construction Corp. is building in Saudi Arabia doesn’t just connect the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. It shows how Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America are holding the world economy together.

ARTBA Director: Stimulus Transportation Investments a Bright Spot
The highway investments in the stimulus law have been a bright spot for a transportation construction industry hard hit by recession-induced cutbacks in state programs and decline in private sector work. But continued uncertainty about passage of a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill is hindering chances for a sustained economic recovery.

LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan: In the Three Years Since Minneapolis Bridge Collapse, Nation’s Fundamental Infrastructure Has Further Deteriorated
...The collapse should have been a call to action for Congress to lead and take on major challenges and an indicator that mounting problems facing our roads, bridges and other basic needs were too big to ignore. The condition of America’s basic needs has only worsened in the three years since – data from the American Society of Civil Engineers indicates we’ve fallen behind another $450 billion since that day. What efforts have been made haven’t been enough – 27 percent of our bridges are still rated as being functionally obsolete or structurally deficient.

State News

AP: Los Angeles Pushing to Become Nation's Mass Transit Leader
The region famous for jilting the street car to take up a love affair with the automobile is trying to rekindle its long ago romance with commuter rail. If successful, the novel plan to borrow billions from the federal government, led by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, would result in the largest transit expansion project in the nation.

Zainesville Reporter: Ohio focuses on fixing bridges
After an interstate bridge collapsed in Minnesota in 2007, killing 13 people, Ohio officials scrambled to ensure the tragedy wouldn't happen here. Three years later, how are they doing? It depends on how you look at the data. A CentralOhio.com analysis of 44,160 inspection reports shows Ohio did significant rehabilitation work on 25 percent fewer bridges in 2009 than in 2007.