Infrastructure in the News: May 31, 2012

BAF IN THE NEWS

Globe Innovator: Pump Price to Drive Public Transport in U.S.A.
http://www.globeinnovator.com/2012/pump-prices-to-drive-public-transport...
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and Building America’s Future (BAF)  released a study predicting that record numbers of Americans will turn to public transportation as a cost-cutting measure in the face of volatile gas prices.

NATIONAL NEWS

The Hill: Obama administration officials to speak at high-speed rail conference
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/railroads/230145-obama-ad...
A pair of key transportation officials from President Obama's administration will address a high-speed rail conference in Philadelphia this summer. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo will speak at the 8th World Congress & Trade Exhibition on High-Speed Rail, organizers announced Wednesday.

STATE NEWS

Montgomery Advertiser (AL): Cities move ahead with feasibility study on bringing back passenger rail lines
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20120530/NEWS01/305300043/Cities-move-ahead-feasibility-study-bringing-back-passenger-rail-lines?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage
“We feel like it would impact jobs, expand business sales, reduce traffic and attract people to Montgomery,” Jones said. “If we were connected, people could ride down here for vacations or visits.” The study will determine the per-mile cost of re-opening the rail service if the existing tracks were used, and the cost if new tracks were to be built, Smith said.

The Republic: Phoenix light-rail plan would link Maryvale
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/20120522phoenix-light-rail-pl...
Residents of a central Phoenix neighborhood near the Capitol have backed a new Metro light-rail proposal that would extend the light rail from downtown Phoenix west to Maryvale at 79th Avenue and Interstate 10.

Washington Post: New stretch of Intercounty Connector in Md. makes fans of users, enemies of area residents
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-stretch-of-intercounty-connector...
Since opening last year, the Intercounty Connector has provided thousands of Maryland motorists with their first direct, congestion-free drive between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Gleeful drivers say the highway has cut up to a half-hour off their east-west trips between the busy commercial corridors of Interstates 95 and 270. But six months after the latest stretch of the ICC opened, concerns persist about the cost of such convenience — in traffic noise, pricey tolls and projects passed over in the face of the ICC’s $2.56 billion construction costs.

Detroit Free Press: LaHood, Bing, Snyder and investors to meet on Detroit light rail
http://www.freep.com/article/20120530/NEWS01/120530071/Ray-LaHood-light-...
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be in Detroit on Monday to discuss the future of a proposal to build a light-rail line along Woodward Avenue following a federal review of the investors’ plans. The meeting will take place in Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s office, with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and the investors in the M-1 Rail group on hand, a Transportation Department official confirmed.