Tag: Infrastructure: Page 61

Deterioriating infrastructure drags down economy

New York City is used in this example, but the same applies everywhere. The key paragraph: “Infrastructure is a lot more complicated than the last time we did this on a grand scale. It’s not a matter of laying down new roads and tracks, as it often was as recently as the 1950s with the […]

January 15, 2010

EU pumping money into rail

To the tune of $2.2 billion. This is part of a larger package of $6.4 billion to be spent between 2007 and 2013 on European infrastructure. Three-quarters of that will go to rail.

January 15, 2010

The power of infrastructure to make life better

Last week the Wall Street Journal ran a story that’s must reading for every politician and transportation official. Titled: How a New Runway At O’Hare Makes Travel Easier for All, the story details how a new runway at the country’s second busiest airport has improved on time arrivals by 27 percent. The article also goes into […]

January 15, 2010

LA busted for trying to redirect stimulus infrastructure funds

You thought that money was for infrastructure? Several communities in the Los Angeles area were attempting to pull a three card monte with their infrastructure funds before the state’s transit authority put a halt to the plans. Essentially they wanted to take dedicated infrastructure funds from the stimulus bill and apply them to general revenues. […]

January 15, 2010

High-speed boondoggle

Last Thursday President Obama announced his desire to launch a nationwide high-speed passenger rail network. There are two glaring shortcomings to this plan, either of which pretty well guarantees that all we’d be doing is creating a high-speed version of Amtrak — ghost trains flying down the tracks (faster than ever before!) with nobody on […]

January 15, 2010

Why do big projects always bust the budget?

A British professor has completed a study that examines why big public works infrastructure projects are always over budget. His answer: “delusional optimism.” Or you can say it like Doctor House: “People lie.” What’s more useful is to examine why. Politicians typically allow projects to be under-designed and underbid to make them more attractive to […]

January 15, 2010

Another Band-Aid: House passes $7 billion to shore up the Highway Trust Fund

Well, it’s not the ideal solution, but this Band-Aid will at least keep the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) solvent. Just days before the HTF was going to run into the red, the House yesterday approved $7 billion to shore up the almost empty fund, according to a Reuters report in The Washington Post. This stop-gap […]

January 15, 2010

What Would Rep. Mica do?

Interested in what Rep. John L. Mica (R-FL), the Republican Leader of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has to say?He’ll give a keynote speech entitled “Confusion Reigns for Nation’s Transportation and Stimulus Projects” during Thursday’s session of the 12th annual Transportation and Infrastructure Summit in Irving, Texas. Rep. Mica’s office released a press […]

January 15, 2010

CA transit, air quality projects receive $235 million

Public transit and air quality projects across California are receiving bond funds to upgrade transit service, purchase eco-friendly buses, modernize transit stations, build new park and ride facilities and for other transit-related purposes that will reduce emissions. 107 projects will receive $235.4 million from Proposition 1B, the 2006 transportation bond, which includes $3.6 billion to […]

January 15, 2010

Fuzzy funding may mean bad news for highway projects and economy

Although an 18-month extension for SAFETEA-LU is in the works as a temporary measure after the legislation expires Sept. 30, we still have a major problem. First, we need to make sure we make some progress on developing the next surface transportation bill during this extension instead of waiting 18 months and then starting on it. […]

January 15, 2010

Your guide to the basics of transportation decisionmaking

How do government officials decide where to put a bus stop, road, or bridge and how transportation projects are planned? The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have created a guide to answer these and other transportation project-related questions. Here’s a downloadable PDF, A Guide to Transportation Decisionmaking, to explain how all […]

January 11, 2010

Put on your battle gear–2,000th stimulus transportation project underway

Looks like things are moving along with the stimulus package and highway construction. But get ready for battle. President Barack Obama today announced funding for the 2,000th transportation project under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). But securing funding for these projects is apparently intense competition. Think The Ohio State University vs. University […]

January 11, 2010

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