According to USA Today gas prices could surpass July 2008's record level and National Resource Defense Council reported that two major shipping lines, Maesrk and APL announced they will slash emissions. FInd out more in this Infrastructure in the News.
National News
Associated Press: Transportation chief: Air safety first priority
Angry about air traffic controllers sleeping on the job, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he will always find the money to make sure safety is the No. 1 priority in the skies.
Associated Press: House OKs funding measure cutting $38B from budget
On a bipartisan vote, the House Thursday passed a yearlong government funding measure cutting $38 billion from the budget and closing out sometimes quarrelsome negotiations between the Obama administration and Republicans dominating the House.
USA Today: Gas prices could soon break July 2008 record
Nationally, a gallon of regular averages $3.81 — up 10 cents in the past week and nearly 96 cents above year-ago levels. Industry experts say prices could surpass July 2008’s record $4.11 as seasonal demand, speculators and political uncertainty in Libya and the Middle East propel crude oil prices.
Transportation Nation: High Speed Rail To Leave the Station in U.S.? And...Are Air Traffic Controllers Overworked?
One of President Obama’s signature policy initiatives has been to connect 80 percent of Americans to high speed rail within 25 years. However, the 2011 budget allocates no further funding to high speed rail projects. Furthermore, in states like Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin, Republican governors have returned money for high speed rail projects, which was given to them as part of the stimulus. Is high speed rail dead?
National Resource Defense Council: Major Shipping Lines Commit To Slash Emissions
This week, two major shipping lines, Maesrk and APL, announced that they will use low-sulfur fuel while in the Port of Singapore. These efforts constitute an extension of Maersk and APL’s clean fuel programs in North America, and go above and beyond existing regulatory requirements.
Transportation For America: Government audit confirms that TIGER, rail grants followed merit-based process, despite GOP complaints
Although a Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Obama administration set and followed a merit based decision-making process for awarding high-speed rail and TIGER grants, several Republican lawmakers claimed the report revealed a lack of transparency and accountability for where the money went.
DOT Blog: DOT reminds you that pipeline safety is everyone's business
Safety is always a top priority for the Department of Transportation, and we will continue doing everything possible to prevent damage, injuries, and loss of life from pipeline failures. Earlier this month, for example, we launched a national pipeline safety initiative to repair and replace aging pipeline infrastructure.
DOT Blog: University Transportation Centers: solving today's problem, developing tomorrow's transportation professionals
Through its University Transportation Centers, our Research and Innovative Administration is working hard to improve the future of transportation. At these centers, expert faculty, graduate students, and even undergrads work side-by-side doing the research that helps keep the state-of-the-art in transportation moving forward.
Infrastructurist: Natural Gas Not as clean as We Thought
As oil prices tick upward and America searches for cleaner energy sources, the hunt for natural gas is on the rise. Last fall “60 Minutes” called natural gas the answer to our energy problems Wyoming is drilling for so much natural gas that smog produced by the industry is cloaking its skies. When President Obama announced his plan to ensure America’s energy security late last month, natural gas was considered one of the key alternatives to oil.
American Progress: Disinvesting in America: The Ryan-Republican Budget Plan in Action
Aside from being fundamentally unfair, the Ryan budget plan is bad economics, too. Investment—both public and private—is the most fundamental determinant of economic growth and job creation. Investment boosts productivity and raises living standards for the long-run competitiveness of our economy. Economist across the political spectrum are warning of the threat that cuts to government services pose for job creation and growth in the near term.
Greater Greater Washington: FY11 budget threatens national high-speed rail network
The next few months could be a do-or-die moment for supporters of efforts to build a 21st-century transportation infrastructure in the United States. If opponents of improved passenger train service get their way, Americans will face rising fuel costs with few alternatives to costly car travel.
State News
California High Speed Rail Blog: Where Now For HSR Funding?
The recent news out of Congress has been, well, depressing. Right-wing anti-HSR extremism won a round when President Barack Obama caved and agreed to eliminate all HSR funding for FY 2011, meaning that it’s unlikely more annual HSR funding appropriations will come while Republicans control the House.
Stockton Record: McNerney bill would expand rail service
Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, introduced a bill Wednesday to help fund a project that would improve and expand rail service connecting Stockton to the Bay Area.
Bakersfield Californian: Ground-level or elevated rail? We like elevated
Bakersfield City Manager Alan Tandy has expressed dismay over the latest turn of events in the state bullet-train saga. Noting that the California High-Speed Rail Authority is trying to maximize its miles-to-dollars ratio with "value engineering," Tandy revealed that more of the route through Bakersfield will be at ground level, as opposed to elevated, than we've previously been led to believe would be the case.
Contra Costa Times: Spend money on BART, not high-speed rail
Unfortunately, another possible victim of the funding cuts is the BART extension from Fremont into northern San Jose. If rail funds are to be reduced, it would make more sense to end all federal funding for California's high-speed rail and preserve funding for BART to San Jose, a project that would boost transit ridership and ease traffic on the clogged highways from the East Bay into San Jose.
The Hill: Dem lawmaker slams Florida governor on high-speed rail
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) took her criticism of Florida Gov. Rick Scott's rejection of $2.4 billion in federal high-speed rail money back home, telling Scott exactly what she thought of the decision.
St. Petersburg Times: Gov. Rick Scott lawyer to Supreme Court: My facts were wrong on high speed rail
It's likely too late to make a difference now, but Gov. Rick Scott's attorney on Thursday sent a letter to the Florida Supreme Court admitting he got a key fact wrong when he argued on behalf of the governor in a lawsuit challenging his decision to kill the high-speed rail project between Tampa and Orlando.
Transportation Nation: Winter Park Planners Working on Central Florida "Complete Streets"
Advocates of the “Complete Streets” movement hope they are on the verge of gaining ground in Central Florida. Planners at the City of Winter Park, located north of Orlando, say they have drafted a “Complete Streets” resolution for the city. Mayor Ken Bradley is also supporting the measure which is expected to come up for a vote in about two weeks.
Progress Illinois: Cuts to High-Speed Rail in Federal Budget Deal Hurt Illinois Projects
States are still learning of the ramifications of the "the largest annual spending cut in history," also known as the compromise between Congressional Republicans and the White House. But one area sure to take a big hit: high-speed rail. With funding reduced, the Chicago-to-St. Louis project could suffer, and the possibility of a Chicago-to-New York City route may now just be a dream.
The MetroWest Daily News: Sen. Spilka makes case for transportation funds for MetroWest
Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, persuaded the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization to delay a vote yesterday on who would serve on a board that decides how federal highway funds are shared among the 101 communities within 20 miles of Boston.
Mass High Tech Business News: SilverRail loads up its engines with $5M in funding
Rail travel booking tech firm SilverRail Technologies Inc. has taken in $5 million in a new financing round, according to federal documents. In addition, SilverRail has relocated from Newton, where it was founded in 2009, to Woburn’s new Trade Center 128.
Twin Cities Pioneer Press: Gas prices are rising again, and so is ridership on Metro Transit
Launched in November 2009, the weekday train from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake, Minn., finished last year about 20 percent below 2010 ridership projections. Even in the realm of underdogs, that would make the 40-mile rail line a mutt.
Streetsblog Capitol Hill: FedEx Chair, New Mexico City Official Ask Senate for Multimodal Transpo Bill
Congressional committees charged with drafting the new transportation bill have been holding hearings to seek input from stakeholders around the country. In today’s installment, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard from five state DOT chiefs, one city official, and the chair of FedEx. Those witnesses’ pleas to the committee ranged from bike trails and transit to highways and deregulation.
Charlotte Business Journal: Fight for N.C. rail fund appears at end
The Matthews Republican said the state faced a long-term operating cost obligation that would come at the expense of road and bridge funding. He said the job claims attached to the construction of the rail line connecting Raleigh and Charlotte were dubious — at best. Other Republicans in the General Assembly have claimed the line will have minimal impact on travel time between the cities.
US Politics: Poor Road Conditions Cost Ohioans Billions, Prompting New Business Push For Federal Highway and Transit Investments Bill
Releasing a new report that finds poor road conditions cost Ohio motorists and businesses billions annually, a broad business coalition launched a statewide push for new federal transportation investments and legislation. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Contractors Association, Transportation Construction Coalition and Americans for Transportation Mobility, said during Columbus and Cincinnati-area news conferences that Congress should pass the long-delayed federal highway and transit bill that funds most road, bridge and transit improvements in the U.S.
Tulsa World: 1-233 bridge project kicks off
Gone will be the 3,300-foot-long, 44-year-old bridge that, along with its neighboring eastbound span, costs the state about $1 million in maintenance each year.
Pittsburgh Business Times: $890M in bridge repairs planned for southwestern Pa. through 2014
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission has identified $890 million worth of bridge repairs expected to be funded in the local region between now and 2014.
Live 5 News: 1-526 expansion hits road block, could face legal issue
I-526 expansion plans may have come to the end of the road. The Charleston County Council voted not to support plans to extend the roadway from West Ashley through Johns Island and eventually into James Island.
TPMDC: Senator Tea Party In Bind Over Port vs. Pork
Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) spokesman accuses Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) of being a johnny-come-lately to securing funds for the Port of Charleston. He says "era of earmarks is over" and earmarks are backlogged at Army Corps of Engineers, exacerbating the problem with the port funding. Instead of trying to directing the Army Corp to fund the study, he wants to create a commission to ensure projects are funded on their merits.
New York Times: T.V.A. to close 18 Coal-Fired Generators and Curb Pollution
In a sweeping legal settlement, the Tennessee Valley Authority has agreed for the first time to reduce its overall capacity to generate coal-fired electricity, promising to close 18 of its coal-burning generators over the next six years while spending $3 billion to $5 billion on pollution controls on any remaining units that use coal.
Progressive Railroading: Virginia DOT completes multi-modal freight study's second phase
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) recently completed the second phase of a statewide multi-modal freight study, which identifies projects and strategies necessary to accommodate about $2 trillion worth of freight that’s transported throughout Virginia annually.
WPTZ Plattsburgh: CCTA, Bus Drivers Still Without Deal
Chittenden County Transportation Agency officials and bus driver union representatives remained in negotiations late Thursday, hoping to reach a compromise before the drivers' threatened strike Friday.
Seattle Times: State worries about what it will lose in federal budget deal
Would the 11th-hour federal budget agreement that averted a government shutdown Saturday shrink funding for preventing HIV infections and sexually transmitted diseases in King County? Or yank promised federal money for seismic work at downtown King Street Station?
Streetsblog Capitol Hill: The Columbia River Crossing: A Highway Boondoggle in Disguise
The Columbia River Crossing is a mega-project by any standard. A bridge replacement, a highway widening, and light rail project wrapped into one, the CRC is a proposal to span the distance between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. With a $3.2 billion price tag — by conservative estimates — it would be the largest public works project the region has ever undertaken.