Infrastructure in the News: April 15, 2015

Infrastructure in the News: April 15, 2015

 

NATIONAL NEWS

 

New Yorker: The Trouble with Megaprojects

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/bertha-seattle-infrastructure-trouble-megaprojects

Until last Monday, when engineers began hoisting its two-thousand-ton cutterhead to the surface, Bertha, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine, was stuck a hundred and twenty feet below the streets of Seattle, too damaged to move far forward and incapable of going in reverse. The machine, which weighs some seven thousand tons and is about as long as a football field, is the centerpiece of a two-billion-dollar project to build a stretch of underground highway two miles long, two lanes wide, and two levels high. But, in December of 2013, after only four months and a thousand feet of digging, Bertha overheated and was shut down. Attempts to fix it set off a cascade of other construction problems, helping to secure the tunnel’s reputation as one of the biggest megaproject fiascoes in history.

 

The Hill: House Dem: Ditch estate tax repeal for road funding

http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/238833-house-dem-ditch-estate-tax-repeal-for-road-funding

The top-ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee said Tuesday that lawmakers should direct revenue from the government's estate tax toward the nation's crumbling infrastructure, rather than repealing the tax this week.

 

Washington Post: Don’t make bicyclists more visible. Make drivers stop hitting them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/15/dont-make-bicyclists-more-visible-make-cars-stop-running-them-over/

About 100 years ago, the auto industry pulled off a neat trick:

It stole the public roadways from us.

 

AP: Panel Asks: Could Cramped Airline Seats Be Dangerous?

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/04/14/us/politics/ap-us-airline-seat-health-risk.html?_r=0

WASHINGTON — The shrinking space on airplanes is surely uncomfortable, but it might also be dangerous for passengers' health and safety.

 

STATE NEWS

 

Pasadena Star News: Emotion erupts at second 710 Freeway public hearing

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/general-news/20150414/emotion-erupts-at-second-710-freeway-public-hearing

PASADENA >> A mixed bag of reason, outrage, begging and accusations ping-ponged through the Pasadena Convention Center Tuesday at the second public hearing on closing a 4.5-mile 710 Freeway gap.

 

Reno Gazette-Journal: Critics: Virginia Street plans too ‘auto-centric’

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2015/04/14/critics-virginia-street-plans-auto-centric/25787907/

The Regional Transportation Commission has its eyes on the future of Virginia Street and is asking the public for its ideas.

 

POLITICO MORNING TRANSPORTATION

By Jennifer Scholtes | 4/15/15 5:42 AM EDT

T&I LAWMAKERS PRESS COAST GUARD ON MISSION REALIGNMENT PLANS: The Coast Guard’s head of operations will appear this afternoon before the T&I subcommittee that oversees the service to talk about its mission — an aim that has become increasingly difficult to achieve in an era of aging assets and budget cuts. Vice Adm. Charles Michel, the Coast Guard’s commandant for operations, is expected to bring up some of the same concerns the head of his agency raised during the State of the Coast Guard address a month and a half ago. The big boss — Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft — said then that he is “concerned that aging platforms and crumbling infrastructure continue to hinder mission success.”

Making tradeoffs: Zukunft has noted that his agency has suffered a nearly 40 percent decline in its acquisition budget over the past four years, while “at the same time, there has never been a greater demand for the Coast Guard.” And the commandant has committed to taking “decisive action to alleviate this strain. We will not do more with less. Those days are over. Rather, we will make tough decisions and tradeoffs.” Watch the committee hearing live at 2 p.m.: http://1.usa.gov/1J0WABy  

WAKE UP, IT’S WEDNESDAY: Good morning and thanks for reading POLITICO’s Morning Transportation, your daily tipsheet on trains, planes, automobiles and ports.

MT is amused: After watching The Wall Street Journal’s latest news recap on the “Bridgegate” scandal (http://bit.ly/1zeKdNa), YouTube suggests a series of Chris Christie-related videos as well as a single oddball documentary on a guy who lives in a cave and scavenges road-killed squirrels. Yes, we clicked it: http://bit.ly/1DgyqBT. Reach out: @jascholtes or jscholtes@politico.com.

“I got no fare to ride a train. I’m nearly drowning in the pouring rain.” http://bit.ly/1yrW8N0  

** Trucking Moves America Forward (TMAF) is an industry-wide image and education movement representing all areas of the professional truck driving industry. The industry contributes $682 billion in revenue every year to the nation’s economy. Seven million trucking professionals nationwide move food, fuel and critical cargo in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and more. Learn more at truckingmovesamerica.com.  **

FAA PREPS FOR OPENING TRAVEL TO CUBA: A few hours before the White House announced Tuesday that it intends to remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told Congress that his agency is looking into the country’s aviation authority to make sure it meets U.S. safety standards. Our Kathryn A. Wolfe reports that “Huerta noted that U.S. air traffic controllers already have a ‘very open relationship with our Cuban air traffic counterparts,’ because the two countries share an airspace boundary and ‘pass flights back and forth daily.’” More from Pro: http://politico.pro/1HpSvsq

HUERTA EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION OVER PILOT DATABASE DELAY: The administrator also told lawmakers he is “as frustrated as anyone” at how long it has taken his agency to issue a rule creating a database of pilot training and performance records but that “it is important that we get it correct.” The rule was originally slated for publication this January but has been pushed to next April. Kathy explains: http://politico.pro/1HpWMw6

LEGISLATORS SUGGEST SCRAPPING PHMSA: Wading through a backlog of overdue regulatory decisions, including new rules for railcars that carry crude oil, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has few fans in Congress right now. And tempers ran so high when PHMSA’s chief testified before House T&I lawmakers this week that some even suggested Congress dismantle the agency DOT created in 2004 to regulate the transportation of hazardous materials. “We have to reauthorize PHMSA reasonably soon. Should we? Or should we come up with something new?” Rep. Michael Capuano told acting Administrator Timothy Butters. “There’s something wrong. … Whose butt do we have to kick? Whose budget do we have to cut? Whose budget do we have to enhance — to make this work?”

Regulatory alternative? Rep. Peter DeFazio, ranking Democrat of the full committee, lobbed similar criticism, explaining that the agency was created “with the idea that we need to have a laser-like focus and more efficiency,” but he wonders if PHMSA has lived up to that expectation. “I wonder if it would be better if we had some people who just looked at pipelines — that’s a unique mode — if we had safety people at FRA that were dealing with tank cars and understood railroads better, if we had the aviation people dealing with stuff that the industry itself says it doesn’t want to carry on airplanes,” DeFazio said. “And we are not seeing the kind of performance we need here out of this theoretically integrated, efficient agency that will be arm’s length from all of those that it regulates.”

TRUCKING GROUP BUCKS FOIA DENIAL OF HAIR-TESTING TALKS: The American Trucking Associations presses on in its battle to get the Department of Health and Human Services to divulge transcripts from meetings about doing hair testing to detect substance abuse. The trucking group filed a FOIA request almost two years ago to try to get the information, but the department withheld some of the documents and redacted parts of the others. So the group appealed the document denial this month: http://politico.pro/1Ib5o86. “We believe we should have every right to see what they’re talking about, because this isn’t a national security issue, this is highway safety,” the trucking association’s executive vice president of chief of national advocacy, Dave Osiecki, told MT. “It’s a little frustrating getting blunted in trying to get answers.” The group is advocating for DOT to make hair testing an optional alternative to its current requirement that truckers be tested through urine samples.

FAA LAGS IN CYBERTHREAT PROTECTION:  The FAA is behind in addressing new cyberthreats that its transition to new air traffic control systems have created, the GAO reported Tuesday: http://1.usa.gov/1FN1dSl. Pro’s David Perera explains that “slightly more than a third of air traffic control systems nationwide are networked via the Internet, and that figure should climb to between 50 [percent] and 60 percent by the end of this decade, says the watchdog agency. … Historically, network-based cyberattacks haven’t been a worry for the FAA because older systems have limited connectivity and point-to-point network connections technologically incapable of sharing information across wider networks.” Without a broad plan, the FAA risks overprotecting against some cyber risks while not protecting enough against others, the GAO reported. More from Pro:http://politico.pro/1Ib3y71  

JETBLUE EYES FUTURISTIC TERMINAL FOR TRANSFORMATION: A midcentury marvel, JFK airport’s striking ’60s-era terminal could be born again if JetBlue gets its wish. The Wall Street Journal reports that the airline and its hotel development partner “are in advanced negotiations with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the rights to turn the iconic Trans World Airlines terminal at Kennedy Airport into a modern hotel, according to people familiar with the matter. Talks could still fall apart, these people said, but JetBlue has emerged as the preferred bidder and is in exclusive discussions with the Port Authority. The possible deal is the latest sign that airport hotels are emerging as a sweet spot in the lodging sector as developers and investors seek new ways to tap top-tier cities without paying premiums for downtown addresses.” The full story:http://on.wsj.com/1asmVNl   

U.S. PLANS TO ALERT SOME TRAVELERS OF ‘NO-FLY LIST’ STATUS: The Obama administration has decided to begin telling some suspected terrorists that they are on the no-fly list. American travelers can petition TSA to be taken off the list once they find out and request an unclassified explanation about the restriction. The Associated Press reports: “The changes partially lift a veil of secrecy enshrouding a policy that has been a centerpiece of the government's counterterrorism efforts since the September 2001 terror attacks. But the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been challenging the constitutionality of the no-fly list in an ongoing federal lawsuit, said the changes don't go far enough in giving travelers the legal due process they are entitled to, including seeing the evidence held against them and getting an opportunity to challenge it.” http://yhoo.it/1OcfF5E

LOBBYING MOVEMENT: According to POLITICO Influence, new lobbying registrations have been reported for representing the National Tank Truck Carriers and the American Trucking Associations. And new lobbying terminations include contracts with Delta, the U.S. Airline Pilots Association and Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority. The details: http://politi.co/1b16hWt.

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ):

— Ohio House panel approves resolution rejecting Connecticut's insistence that one of its aviators beat the Wright brothers to the first successful airplane flight. AP: http://abcn.ws/1ctKOFY

— Toyota plots a comeback for Prius after ceding stardom to Tesla. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1NENrWf  

— TSA fires Denver airport screeners accused of scheming to pat down attractive passengers. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1PKaQnw  

— Driver unable to pay fine for rig weight is jailed for four days. AP: http://trib.in/1NGsL07

— VW turmoil pushes Porsche chief to forefront of CEO race. Bloomberg Business: http://bloom.bg/1OzuCRk

— Union Station moves forward with grand development plan. The New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1ysDwwn  

— The unexpectedly compelling case for ferries. CityLab: http://bit.ly/1OcgviI  

— J.B. Hunt profit tops expectations despite clogged West Coast ports. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1H5mHIV  

— Texas Senate panel backs bill to put a stop to red-light cameras. The Dallas Morning News: http://bit.ly/1Hqcpne

 — Kenyan drivers fume over city plan to get traffic moving. AP: http://yhoo.it/1EDbuin

— Driver’s license suspensions create cycle of debt. The New York Times:http://nyti.ms/1aRkOTT  

— Only small number of Jeeps fixed 2 years after recall began. AP: http://trib.in/1IK0Icz

— NJ transit to propose 9 percent fare increase to help close budget deficit. The Wall Street Journal: http://on.wsj.com/1OyP84w

— Could cramped airline seats be dangerous? AP: http://yhoo.it/1CWxW0l  

THE COUNTDOWN: Highway and transit policy expires in 46 days. DOT appropriations run out and the FAA reauthorization expires in 168 days. The 2016 presidential election is in 574 days.

THE DAY AHEAD:

All day — The National School Transportation Association wraps up its two-day “bus-in,” holding meetings with congressional lawmakers.

Noon — Transportation officials from the D.C. region meet to approve policy principles to recommend as Congress works on proposals to reauthorize surface transportation programs. 777 North Capitol St. NE.

2:00 p.m. — The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation holds a hearing on the Coast Guard’s mission. 2253 Rayburn House Office Building.

2:30 p.m. — Senate Environment and Public Works leaders, Sens. Jim Inhofe and Barbara Boxer, hold a press conference on the importance of passing a long-term surface transportation bill. On the Capitol grounds. 

Adios.

** Trucking Moves America Forward (TMAF) is an industry-wide image and education movement representing all areas of the professional truck driving industry. The industry contributes $682 billion in annual revenue to the nation’s economy. Seven million trucking professionals nationwide move food, fuel and cargo in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and more.

The trucking industry strives for safer highways and has seen overall declines in truck-related crashes and fatalities over the past decade. Today’s modern trucks are equipped with technologies that not only make them safer, but also smarter and more fuel efficient than they’ve ever been before. The industry is committed to improving the environment.

TMAF is calling on lawmakers to pass a long-term highway bill to safeguard America’s federal highway program and provide certainty for the nation’s transportation needs. The passage of a bill is critical to modernizing aging infrastructure, ensuring our roads are safe for America’s families. Learn more: truckingmovesamerica.com.  **

 

POLITICO Pro Transportation Whiteboard: PHMSA seeks more stringent aviation rules for lithium-ion batteries

4/14/15 12:58 PM EDT

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s chief says his agency is interested in handing down stricter regulations on transporting lithium-ion batteries on planes.

Acting Administrator Timothy Butters told lawmakers on a House Transportation subcommittee that PHMSA shares congressional concerns about the scope of battery guidance laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

“We agree the limitation to the ICAO technical instructions is a problem,” Butters said. “Lithium batteries do pose transportation hazards. And the ability for the U.S. to promulgate more stringent safety regulations is something we are certainly interested in doing.”

The full committee’s ranking Democrat, Peter DeFazio, said the ICAO standards “are laughable," noting that some U.S. airlines have stopped allowing the batteries on passenger planes altogether, rather than following the international standards on safely transporting them.

“Whatever the Chinese want to put into a crummy cardboard box and stick into an airplane and not label, that’s fine with ICAO,” DeFazio said. “We’re really talking about life or death here.”

— Jennifer Scholtes

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51614

 

POLITICO Pro Transportation Whiteboard: Feinberg says she wants to stay on as head of FRA

4/14/15 11:28 AM EDT

Acting Federal Railroad Administration chief Sarah Feinberg says she would like President Barack Obama to nominate her as the agency’s full-time chief.

"I do want to continue to stay in this role," Feinberg said this morning during a House Transportation subcommittee hearing. “I will leave it to the White House to make any personnel decisions and announcements.”

Feinberg, who assumed the acting FRA post in January after nearly a year and a half as Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx’s chief of staff, has a resume long on communications and policy posts but little prior experience dealing with railroads. But she has drawn praise from some of the agency’s harshest critics in Congress, who among other things say she has been quick to brief lawmakers about a series of recent oil train derailments and commuter rail crashes.

Timothy Butters, acting administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — the other agency deeply involved with DOT’s response to the oil trains issue — did not say whether he wants to stay on in a permanent capacity. He too said he'd defer to the White House.

Both Feinberg and Butters said they have not started the vetting process to be nominated as permanent heads of their respective agencies.

— Andrew Restuccia

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51589

 

POLITICO Pro Transportation Whiteboard: The safety risk of shrinking airline seats questioned by DOT

4/14/15 11:31 AM EDT

The shrinking space on airplanes is surely uncomfortable but a government advisory committee is starting to look into whether the lack of legroom also might be dangerous for passengers' health and safety.

Airlines are adding more rows on planes, taking away legroom at the same time that they are selling a record percentage of seats. That means the days of empty middle seats are over.

A flight attendants' union testified at a hearing today that the reduction in personal space has led to more air rage, with many of the incidents going unreported.

The lack of space could also lead to problems with evacuations, witnesses said, noting that the government runs safety tests with 31 inches between rows when some airlines today now have just 28 inches.

— The Associated Press

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51591

 

POLITICO Pro Transportation Whiteboard: Senators don’t tip their hands on FAA bill

4/14/15 11:39 AM EDT

The leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee today gave little indication of how they’re leaning on changes to air traffic control or even where they are in drafting an FAA bill, but the head of the agency continued to sound a cautious tone on any wholesale revamp.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said at today’s hearing that when it comes to talks about restructuring his agency, “I’m all for having that discussion, but that discussion needs to be based on facts.”

Later, Huerta said it’s important to “ask the question, ‘What exactly is the problem we’re trying to solve?’” He added: “Can alternative governance structures get us there? Possibly, but at the same time we need to recognize that there may be unintended consequences that we need to fully understand.”

He also threw cold water on the idea that an FAA overhaul would necessarily make it easier for the agency to deliver NextGen. “What you’ve heard me say today is that a lot of the progress that we’ve made ... has been [due to] tighter links within air traffic. I would be fearful of any structure that would actually put a wall in the middle of that process.”

Senators at the hearing mostly talked in generalities. The most Chairman John Thune offered is that as the committee begins working on a bill, “we’d like to continue that discussion with you and with the agency on developing options and certainly getting your reaction, evaluation of some of those things that are out there.”

— Kathryn A. Wolfe

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51594

 

POLITICO Pro Whiteboard: FAA is working on facilitating more air travel to Cuba

4/14/15 11:53 AM EDT

The FAA is evaluating Cuba’s aviation authority to ensure that it meets U.S. safety standards in an effort to support the government’s decision to ease sanctions on the island nation.

At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing this morning, Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked FAA Administrator Michael Huerta what his agency’s role is in facilitating more air travel between the U.S. and Cuba. The only current air carrier with scheduled service between the U.S. and Cuba — Sun Country — is based in her home state of Minnesota. There is other air service between the two countries, but only through charter planes.

Huerta said the FAA is “third in line” in opening up travel, behind the State Department and the Transportation Department itself.

“State has been involved in the government-to-government consultation and discussion and they’re now bringing the aviation piece into it, which is supported under the economic authorities … held by the secretary of Transportation,” Huerta said. “Our piece will be in ensuring the safety of the operators that are going to provide service. That includes an assessment of our Cuban counterpart to ensure that should Cuban air carriers wish to provide service to the U.S., that they can provide the regulatory oversight to ensure they’re doing it safely.”

Huerta noted that U.S. air traffic controllers already have a “very open relationship with our Cuban air traffic counterparts,” because the two countries share an airspace boundary and “pass flights back and forth daily.”

— Kathryn A. Wolfe

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51599

 

POLITICO Pro Whiteboard: Railroads chief defends oil train remarks

4/14/15 12:11 PM EDT

Acting Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg today defended her recent remarks about railroads’ efforts to prevent oil train accidents, while accusing oil industry groups of quoting her comments “selectively.”

Both the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers have complained about her remarks from last month, in which she told reporters that other industries such as energy need to “have skin in the game” for finding a solution.

API later accused her of saying that “nothing more can be done to prevent derailments,” while AFPM said her words “show a fundamental misunderstanding of the root cause of rail accidents.” Oil industry groups have especially disputed DOT’s assertions that oil from North Dakota’s Bakken region may be more volatile than other kinds of crude.

House railroads subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham asked Feinberg about her comments during a hearing this morning: "In POLITICO, you were quoted as saying, 'We are running out of things that I think we can ask the railroads to do.’ … Would you like to clarify that statement?”

Feinberg responded: "I believe POLITICO quoted me accurately. It was some individuals in the energy industry who then followed up and quoted me somewhat inaccurately, or selectively, I would say.

“What I said was, we're running out of things you can ask the railroads to do,” she added. “They've gone above and beyond what we've asked them to do. That said, we will continually ask them to do more to improve safety. This was in reference to the various actions that we've taken while we've been working on the crude-by-rail rulemaking."

— Andrew Restuccia and Bob King

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51602

 

POLITICO Pro Whiteboard: Feinberg: Crude-by-rail rules expected ‘in the coming weeks’

4/14/15 12:31 PM EDT

The long-awaited regulations for railcars that transport crude oil are expected to be finished “in the coming weeks,” acting Federal Railroad Administration chief Sarah Feinberg told House lawmakers today.

The guidance will include rules for new railcars as well as instructions for retrofitting old ones, she told members of the House Transportation Committee’s railroads panel.

Lawmakers gave her flak for the amount of time it has taken the Obama administration to develop those rules and other transportation regulations. (Last year’s omnibus spending package had set a Jan. 15 deadline for the oil train rules.) But Feinberg said regulations will move quickly only  if they are handed down through emergency order or congressional mandate. 

“To be clear, I think we have to function in the regulatory process that exists. And it’s not built for speed. I wish it was,” Feinberg said. “And no one is more frustrated by our regulatory process and how long it takes than I am on occasion. But if we are trying to govern and regulate as quickly as we possibly can, the rulemaking process is not the way to do it.”

— Jennifer Scholtes

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51610

 

POLITICO Pro Transportation Whiteboard: Huerta ‘frustrated’ at delay on pilot database

4/14/15 12:32 PM EDT

Under questioning from Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said today that he’s “as frustrated as anyone” at how long it’s taking his agency to issue a rule creating a database of pilot training and performance records.

“Years later I must ask when will the agency complete action on the long-awaited pilot records database?” Thune asked.

Huerta said the database is an “incredibly complex undertaking because it is a very extensive set of records as well as a very extensive set of technology solutions that we need to look at to ensure that we can do this efficiently and it can be effective.

“I am as frustrated as anyone that it has taken us longer, but it is important that we get it correct,” Huerta added.

The rule was originally slated for publication this January but has been pushed to next April. The intent is to create a centralized database of pilot records from the FAA as well as airlines, which airlines would be required to review when hiring. The impetus for the rule arose because the pilot in a fatal 2009 Colgan Air regional jet crash had past performance issues that weren’t disclosed to his new employer when he was hired.

The rule has been thorny from the start over privacy concerns from labor and cost concerns from the airline industry, along with the simple mechanics of standardizing decades worth of records and ratings whose formats can vary widely between employers.

Several relatives of Colgan crash victims were on hand at the Commerce hearing today.

— Kathryn A. Wolfe

To view online:
https://www.politicopro.com/go/?wbid=51611