Infrastructure in the News: September 30, 2011

NATIONAL NEWS

DC Streetsblog: Another Shutdown Avoided

http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/09/29/another-shutdown-avoided/

The 2011 fiscal year ends tomorrow, and up until a few minutes ago lawmakers were still fighting about funding the first few days of the next fiscal year. But the House just voted to approve the Senate’s bill to fund the government through Tuesday, at which point Congress will vote on another measure that would keep the government open through mid-November.

Sign on San Diego: Creating jobs: Infrastructure funding is not a political football

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/sep/30/infrastructure-funding-is-not-a-political-football/

The time is now for our president and Congress to take a leadership position for the long term. We can either do what is necessary to restore and maintain our infrastructure, or we can learn to accept a lower quality of life. The devil will be in the details, but we can start by making this simple choice.

League of American Bicyclists: An overview of commuting from the US Census Bureau (not just bikes)

http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2011/09/an-overview-of-commuting-from-the-us-census-bureau-not-just-bikes/

Commutes can present challenges to bicycling that don’t necessarily exist for other utilitarian trips. They’re a fixed distance. We don’t all have the luxury of living near work. Sometimes our commutes are outside of comfortable biking distance. Sometimes there a dress code, and nowhere to get cleaned up. Sometimes bikes aren’t allowed in our work buildings. We don’t all work at Bicycle Friendly Businesses. But none of this means that we don’t ride for other purposes.

STATE NEWS

Huffington Post: Of Bridges and Boathouses: Mayor Emanuel's Chicago River Investment

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/henry-henderson/post_2468_b_986234.html

Chicago is filled with remnants of days gone by; buildings and infrastructure created to serve people and the economy, some still in service, some no longer used, and some serving a new purpose of helping us remember and focus on who and what we are as citizens of a great metropolis. Throughout the City, “vestigial infrastructure” reminds us of our past and suggests how to address our future.

Mobilizing the Region: Port Authority Chief Has Told It Like It Is on Infrastructure

http://blog.tstc.org/2011/09/29/port-authority-chief-has-told-it-like-it-is-on-infrastructure/

Multiple news outlets have reported that Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward will resign by the end of October, after 3 years of leading the agency. During his tenure, Ward kept agency budgets lean and took control of the World Trade Center rebuilding efforts. As Tri-State’s executive director Kate Slevin told the NY Times, Ward also “made a very strong and convincing case for more investment in our infrastructure.”

KFYO: Ports-to-Pains Construction Projects Receive State Funding

http://kfyo.com/ports-to-pains-construction-projects-receive-state-funding/

The funding is among $1.4 billion dollars in transportation construction funded by Proposition 12 bonds. The construction on the Ports-to-Plains projects should start next summer. The construction approved for the Lubbock TxDOT District: a US Highway 87 overpass at Woodrow Road at a cost of $10 million; reconstruction of the I-27 frontage roads in Plainview at a cost of $17 million and an upgrade to State Highway 349 from the Martin County Line to Lamesa at a cost of $8 million.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Seattle's aging bridges need fixing

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Seattle-s-aging-bridges-need-fixing-2194966.php#ixzz1ZRaXBlkI

A number of concrete and steel bridges where built in Seattle in the 1930s, '40s and '50s — each designed with a 60-year lifespan. The Seattle Transportation Department says 60 of the city's 137 bridges are more than 60 years old and would cost $1.1 billion to replace.