Infrastructure in the News: December 2, 2011

NATIONAL NEWS

Washington Post: House delays long-term transportation plan over funding, timing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/commuting/house-delays-long-term-tra...

Still searching for the money to pay for it , the House leadership has put the brakes on a long-term transportation spending plan, but Transportation Committee Chairman John L. Mica says he’s confident that the legislation will pass before the current funding extension expires March 31. State transportation planners say their efforts to move ahead with new highway and transit projects have been hamstrung by congressional failure to approve a new multi-year plan.

Associated Press: Minister: China wants to invest in US roads, rails

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ib447Rz7D7mHib0Bng58q2...

China wants to convert some of its mountain of U.S. government debt into investment in renovating American roads and subways, the commerce minister said Friday. Speaking to a business group, Chen Deming said China wants closer cooperation with the United States in infrastructure, clean energy and technology. Such investments would tie China more closely to Western economies and might help defuse fears Beijing will use its $3.2 trillion in foreign reserves — some $1.15 trillion of that in Treasury and other U.S. government debt — as a political weapon.

Bloomberg: How to Fix World Transportation

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/how-to-fix-world-transportation-120...

Keeping people and goods moving safely and efficiently—whether by land, sea, or air—is one of the great challenges of the modern age. Complications include aging infrastructure, sprawling cities, shrinking budgets, and the predictable unpredictability of human behavior.

Press Release: More Broken Bridges than Golden Arches: U.S. Urban Infrastructure Infographic

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-broken-bridges-than-golden-...

"There are more deficient bridges in our metropolitan areas than there are McDonald's restaurants in the entire country," stated James Corless, Director of Transportation for America. T4America's report highlights data from the National Bridge Inventory 2010 research by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Transportation Management System provider CTSI-Global illustrated the recent findings in an infrastructure infographic.

Bloomberg: Unions Avoid Rail Strike as Congress Prepared to Intervene

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-12-02/unions-avoid-rail-strike-as-...

Freight railroads won new labor agreements with two unions, averting a strike in the holiday shipping season, after U.S. lawmakers said they were prepared to intervene in the dispute. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the American Train Dispatchers Association, representing 26,500 workers, reached tentative accords, the National Railway Labor Conference, a Washington-based group that bargains on behalf of railroads, said in an e-mailed statement last night.

Fast Lane: FTA awards $15 million for public transportation in tribal communities

http://fastlane.dot.gov/2011/12/tribal-transit-grants.html

To honor American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage month, the White House has been holding listening and briefing sessions with tribal leaders this week leading up to a Tribal Nations Conference today at the Department of the Interior.  As part of this effort, we're proud to announce $15 million in grants to American Indian and Alaska Native governments for public transit investments that help provide access to employment centers.