Infrastructure in the News: June 12, 2012

NATIONAL NEWS

National Journal: Cutting Highways Is Not So Popular
http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2012/06/cutting-highways-is-no...
It was a pretty poor showing last Friday for an idea touted by House Republican leaders just a year and a half ago. On Friday, only about one-third of the House Republicans cast their votes in favor of a nonbinding, message to legislators that they should keep infrastructure spending within the limits of the highway trust fund, which would have the practical effect of cutting highway funding by about one-third.

STATE NEWS

Miami Herald: Editorial: A dead end on transportation
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/07/2837986/a-dead-end-on-transportati...
If you think our roads and bridges are in terrible shape, along with mass transit, you’re right. And it’s altogether possible you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. A critical renewal of federal support for transportation is going nowhere fast, with the clock ticking down toward a June 30 expiration date while House and Senate leaders fight over who’s to blame for the partisan gridlock. For decades, federal legislation has supported the nation’s transportation infrastructure, although at a level that increasingly falls short of the need.

Daytona Beach News-Journal: SunRail commuter line has cities hoping for economic growth
http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2012/06/11/sun...
Hardhats and boots are on the ground, moving in between heavy machinery and trucks to transform a vacant field into a commuter-rail stop. The $1.3 billion SunRail project has left the station and is set to arrive in 2014. In DeBary, the northernmost stop of the 31-mile first phase, the sights and sounds of construction are building hopes the train is pulling development and jobs right behind it.

Chicago Sun-Times: Bridge along CTA’s Purple Line replaced in Evanston — in just 55 hours
http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/13013342-452/bridge-along-ctas-pu...
The bridge you crossed Friday afternoon — the crumbling 103-year-old span with rusty rebar poking out of its stained concrete — is indeed gone, replaced by a spanking new through-girder steel bridge designed to last a century. Installing it, incredibly, was a long weekend’s work — scheduled to take 55½ hours, between the time the Purple Line shuts down at 8:30 p.m. Friday, until it reopens 4 a.m. Monday, if all goes according to plan.