News Roundup: February 8, 2011

The FCC looks to extend broadband coverage, and Infrastructurist shows evidence that building transit systems creates more jobs than building roads. Read more in this News Roundup.

National News

Washington Post: F.C.C. to Propose Expanding Broadband Service to Underserved Areas
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday will propose the first steps toward converting the $8 billion fund that subsidizes rural telephone service into one for helping pay to provide broadband Internet service to underserved areas, according to commission officials.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: Obama Finally Brings the Chamber a Fruitcake (It's Called Infrastructure)
President Obama paid a visit to the Chamber of Commerce this morning, trying to make nice after a hot-and-cold couple of years.

The Hill: How we can use existing transportation dollars for job growth
President Obama said in the State of the Union address that to win the future: “We'll put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We'll make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based [on] what's best for the economy, not politicians.”

Infrastructurist: Building Transit Creates More Jobs Than Building Roads
When it comes to job creation, some infrastructure investments are more wisely made than others. That much was clear from a recent case study outlining the employment potential of building bicycle lanes, and a new report draws a similar conclusion, this time touting public transportation projects as better job producers when compared with road construction work.

Streetsblog Capitol Hill: SGA: Transportation Funding Pays Big Dividends Only If Invested Wisely
In just the last month, several reports have quantified, in various ways, how investing in transportation infrastructure pays off in jobs and economic health. Now Smart Growth America is out with new research showing that it’s not enough to plunk down a bunch of money and expect miracles. You’ve got to do it right.

DOT Blog: DOT officials take message on the road: Building for tomorrow, creating jobs today
This week, officials from the Department of Transportation will take that message on the road in the best possible way: by celebrating the communities that are already making that happen and the people who are getting America back on track to economic growth, opportunity, and competitiveness.

Pennsylvania Avenue Blog: Biden and U.S. DOT Sec. LaHood in Philly Tuesday
Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will discuss "the Administration’s plan to build a 21st century infrastructure - from roads and bridges to high-speed rail. The Vice President and Secretary LaHood will discuss new initiatives to increase our nation’s competitiveness, export goods to new markets around the world, and put Americans back to work while growing the economy and helping America win the future," according to a White House advisory Monday morning.

The Trucker: ATA's Graves reminds Obama of pledge towards 'robust' transport program
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves Tuesday applauded President Barack Obama for the president’s commitment to rebuilding and renewing the country’s infrastructure, but called on the Obama administration to live up to that commitment by proposing a robust surface transportation program with a strong focus on highways. 

Reuters: Would High-Speed Rail Work in America? Survey Says: Maybe
Over on the North American side, there is only one high-speed rail service in operation today: the Acela Express serving the Northeast Corridor between Washington DC and Boston. Most travelers still either fly or drive via the Interstate Highway System– the largest such highway system in the world. Still, some Americans are wondering when, and if, high-speed train travel will flourish like it does in the Old World, and if it’s even worth it to engineer.

Trucking Info: Budget Debate Begins with Proposal to Cut Transport Programs
House Budget Committee Chairman Hal Rogers kicked off this year's budget process with a plan that includes a 17 percent cut for highway and housing programs. The Kentucky Republican said that the $74 billion in overall cuts his committee envisions constitute a responsible and prudent level of funding for the rest of the fiscal year.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Blog: If we build regional transit, we need someone to run it
Regional leaders are already drafting a list of highway and transit projects to be funded through the tax. By the time they cast their ballots, voters should know exactly how that money would be spent.

Politico: EPA chief faces hostile House GOP
The Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on legislation floated last week by Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

Green Biz: Greener Transport Makes Its Move
The year 2010 will likely be remembered for the rebirth of electric vehicles -- not just the vaunted Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, and not even the pricey Tesla, but dozens of other brands, large and small, that came into public view. And their entrance has spurred a small but growing ecosystem of corporate alliances seeking to tap into the new opportunities.

NPR: US Ports Race To Keep Up With Bigger Panama Canal
East Coast ports from New York to Miami simply aren't deep enough to handle such mammoth vessels as the CMA CGM Figaro, which measures 1,100 feet long with space for 8,500 cargo containers a tractor-trailer can haul one at a time. With a major expansion of the Panama Canal projected to be finished by the end of 2014, these gargantuan vessels will be able to sail between Asia and the U.S. East Coast.

Delco Times: Meehan: Transportation is key
As a recently appointed member to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby, knows he will be staring at a lot of spreadsheets and numbers in the coming months.

Daily Kos: States that spent stimulus on repairs and public transportation created more jobs than other states
Despite evidence showing that spending on public transportation and road and bridge repairs produces far more jobs and does so faster than new construction, most states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations "squandered" their federal stimulus money in this regard.

State News

GPB: Counties Study High-Speed Rail
Two metro Atlanta communities are using federal grant money to study the possibility of building high-speed rail lines. They're projects that could tie-in to the bigger transit projects already being studied in Georgia.

CA HSR Blog: Lack of HSR Funding Undermining Agreements With Freight Rail
Over at Trains Magazine, Fred Frailey writes about the problems being faced in several states as state transportation agencies struggle to negotiate with freight railroads for trackage to run high speed passenger rail service:

DC Rider: Faster Friends: Improvements Could Make Baltimore-D.C. Commute Easier
With high-speed rail between the two cities, what's now a 45-minute MARC trip — on one of the rare express trains — could be less than half that. Getting home would be no more daunting than traveling to Rockville. More Washington workers would feel free to take advantage of Baltimore's cheaper real estate prices, or just come by for a night of experimental music and free-flowing Natty Boh.

Tampa Bay Online: HART exploring 'demonstration' light rail line
HART planners today recommended a demonstration light rail line to link downtown, Tampa International Airport and Linebaugh Avenue that would be far cheaper and shorter than one envisioned before the November defeat of a transportation referendum.

Fox Boston: MBTA gets creative to ease budget gap, plans to sell t-shirts
An expected $126 million budget gap in the fiscal year is forcing MBTA officials to get creative in raising money. MBTA officials have plans to produce merchandise for the local transportation system. General Manager Rich Davey told reporters that they will be testing out different merchandise, from T-shirts to coffee mugs sporting the MBTA logo.

Bloomberg: Amtrak Proposes $13.5 Billion New Jersey Rail Project
Amtrak is proposing a $13.5 billion project that will include building two commuter rail tunnels from New Jersey to New York by 2020, replacing a $9.7 billion project that New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie killed. 

Wall Street Journal: Amtrak's Plan For New Tunnel Gains Support
The two-tunnel Gateway project, part of a larger Amtrak plan for high-speed rail along the Northeast corridor, has been in the works for a few years but was fast-tracked after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie canceled a similar rail project. The Obama administration has made high-speed rail a priority, and New Jersey's senators said they would try to snag money left on the table by Midwest governors who rejected projects.

New York Times: Lautenberg and Menendez Offer Trans-Hudson Rail Tunnel Plan
New Jersey’s two Democratic senators, Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, have been trying to revive the idea of a trans-Hudson train tunnel ever since Gov. Chris Christie upset them by halting construction on the one that New Jersey Transit.

Transportation Nation: Initial Reaction to Gateway Tunnel, Son of ARC, is Positive
Amtrak President Joseph Boardman joined New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez on Monday to pledge $50 million for an engineering and planning study of a new trans-Hudson rail link between New York and New Jersey. It was the first of many steps if the $13.5 billion project is to come to fruition.

Mobilizing the Region: Amtrak Tries Picking Up the ARC Pieces With 'Gateway Project'
The project includes two new tunnels that would accommodate an additional 13 NJ Transit trains and 8 Amtrak trains into New York City per hour, compared to the 25 NJ Transit trains/hour ARC would have. Its new tracks would go into the planned Moynihan Station and a new Penn Station South in shallower tunnels than those planned for ARC. 

News Works: Renewed rail tunnel project could boost Philly
Paul Levy, President of Center City District in Philadelphia, held a forum in December convening experts on rail travel. They convinced him that national investment in rail travel could boost the region economically.

San Antonio Express-News: S.A. leaders seek $238.8 million for transportation projects
A group of San Antonio business leaders, led by Mayor Julian Castro, spent Monday in the nation's capital seeking millions of dollars for an array of transportation projects from a Congress that has vowed to slash spending.

Washington Post: Strong bipartisan majority in Senate adopts governor's transportation plan
The Democratic-led Virginia Senate handed Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) a major victory Monday as the chamber passed a bill to accelerate about $3 billion in debt financing to fund road and transit projects around the state, on a vote of 34 to 6.

Seattle Times: Seattle council vote maintains momentum on waterfront tunnel
The Seattle City Council voted Monday to cooperate with the state on Highway 99 tunnel design, utility and right-of-way issues, sustaining political momentum for the controversial project.

MinnPost: Wisconsin governor could cost high-speed rail '10-15 years'
Wisconsin's new Tea Party-cozy Gov. Scott Walker's wrench in the works of tht high-speed train link between Chicago and Minneapolis could se thte plan back "10 to 15 years" or so, says the chairman of a Minnesot pro-train group.