Infrastructure in the News: August 25, 2010

According to Transport Politic the choice of transportatin mode for new transit capital projects is a resulf from politics, as well as from "objective" technological benefist and The New York Times reported that New Orleans is on its way to getting the new anti-flooding protection system ordered by Congress. More in this Infrastructure in the News.

National News

Transport Politic: The Politics of Mode Choice
Choice of transportation mode for new transit capital projects is often just as much a reflection of politics as it is a statement of “objective” technological benefits.

State News

NY Times: New Orleans Levees Nearly Ready, but Mistrusted
…Nearly five years after Katrina and the devastating failures of the levee system, New Orleans is well on its way to getting the protection system Congress ordered: a ring of 350 miles of linked levees, flood walls, gates and pumps that surrounds the city and should defend it against the kind of flooding that in any given year has a 1 percent chance of occurring.

AP: Train troubles again strand Northeast commuters
In a snag all too familiar to commuters in a rail-dependent region, Amtrak and regional transit agencies halted trains throughout the Northeast for more than an hour at the height of the morning rush Tuesday because of power problems that apparently began in the Washington area.

Infrastructurist: An Infrastructure Perfect Storm: New York Trains Shut Down En Masse
It’s the kind of perfect storm that anyone who lives in (or has lived in) a city can relate to: The Long Island Rail Road, New Jersey Transit, and Amtrak all broke down (or, at least, were severely delayed) this morning. In other words, anyone from Long Island, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania who wanted to take the train to work in New York City this morning was seriously out of luck.