Infrastructure in the News: January 27, 2012

NATIONAL NEWS

Washington Post: Senate moves toward agreement on transportation bill
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/senate-moves-toward-agreement-on-tra...
As House Republicans prepared to release a spending proposal intended to overhaul the federal transportation system, Senate Democrats on Thursday rushed to complete a bipartisan effort to end a stalemate that has undermined transportation programs for almost three years. The flurry of activity on the Senate side came a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that differences between House and Senate proposals presented “a pretty big gulf to overcome” and that it was unlikely a bill would win approval in this election year.

Politico: Ray LaHood changes tune, backs Senate bill
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/72042.html
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood walked back from comments Wednesday that he doesn’t think the House and Senate can bridge their differences on a major rewrite of the nation’s surface transportation policy. Speaking at the Washington Auto Show on Thursday, LaHood praised the Senate’s work on a two-year bill crafted by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and top Republican Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), but the secretary was largely silent on the House bill.

DC Streetsblog: Should the Feds Fund City Transpo Projects? Blumenauer and Shuster Discuss
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/01/26/should-the-feds-fund-city-transpo-p...
If the Transportation Research Board annual meeting were a music festival, the headline act would have been yesterday’s panel of six secretaries of transportation, including Ray LaHood (the incumbent) and Alan Boyd (the first to ever hold the post). As headliners go, they were a bit of a downer: They told a standing-room-only crowd that they’re all pretty worried about America’s ability to deliver the transportation policy the country needs.

STATE NEWS

New York Times: Room for Debate: Does California Need High-Speed Rail?
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/26/does-california-need-hig...
President Obama and Newt Gingrich can agree on at least one priority: high-speed rail. But Floridians decided they would rather not have one. Now the debate is raging on the West Coast. Does California need a high-speed rail line, ultimately connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles? Can the state afford it?

DC Streetsblog: Study: Bicycling Generates $365 Million in Economic Activity in Iowa
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2012/01/26/study-bicycling-generates-365-milli...
About $1 million per day, or $365 million per year –  that’s how valuable the cycling industry is in Iowa, according to a new study by University of Northern Iowa. That’s not all. According to the study, about $74 million in health care costs are saved in Iowa annually thanks to recreational cycling activity. Commuter cyclists prevent another $13 million in avoidable healthcare spending. In addition, about $21 million in sales tax revenues are generated for Iowa through the cycling industry, the study found.

Wall Street Journal: NY gov's road, bridge plan raises money questions
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP75b826f9f3844ae8a7cdbe31be1cfd28.html
The numbers are big: $15 billion overall for improving New York state's infrastructure, including $5 billion-plus for a new Tappan Zee Bridge to be built alongside the existing span linking New York City's northern suburbs. The figures included in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $132.5 billion budget proposal are being cheered by New York's heavy construction companies, the ones that build the state's highways, bridges and other major infrastructure and employ tens of thousands of workers.

Fast Lane: In Virginia and across the nation, building an economy that will last on infrastructure that will last
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2012/01/post-sotu-richmond.html
In his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President Obama laid out a blueprint for an America that is built to last.  And if we are going to build an economy that lasts, we need to start with a foundation that lasts.  We need to start with our infrastructure. That's why I crossed the Potomac River yesterday and drove south to visit our neighbors in Virginia and take a look at the great work they’re doing near Richmond on the I-95 Lombardy Street Bridge.