Tag: highway: Page 18

Roadbuilding

National Public Works Week kicks off with “low and slow” infrastructure tour

Author Dan McNichol, who has driven a 1949 Hudson across the country to bring attention to road and bridge conditions, helped the American Public Works Association (APWA) kick off National Public Works Week with an appearance in Washington, D.C. at the city’s Public Works Fleet Campus. McNichol is driving the classic car from Brookline, Massachusetts to Los […]

May 21, 2015

Roadbuilding

House passes transportation funding patch

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved HR 2353, the Highway Transportation Funding Act of 2015 in a 387-35 vote. The bill, introduced by Congressmen Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, and Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), House Ways and Means Committee chairman, extends funding for the Highway Trust Fund until July 31 through a […]

May 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Report finds current road, bridge conditions are impairing economic growth in rural areas

Research by The Road Improvement Program (TRIP) finds that 15 percent of major rural roads in the U.S. are in poor condition, and 1 in 10 rural bridges are functionally obsolete, conditions that “slow the pace of economic growth in rural America.” “America’s rural transportation network plays a key role in the success and quality of […]

May 20, 2015

Roadbuilding

Nebraska legislature overrides governor’s veto of gas tax increase

Almost immediately after the Nebraska Legislature passed a bill to raise the state’s gas tax, it appeared the newly-approved road funding was at risk as Gov. Pete Ricketts shot down the bill with a veto. But just a week later, lawmakers struck back by overriding the governor’s veto without any votes to spare. The Journal Star […]

May 19, 2015

Roadbuilding

Work on short-term transportation funding patches heats up as deadline nears

Efforts to create at least a short-term patch for transportation funding are in the works this week, with one bill, the Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015 (HR 2353), set to go before the House of Representatives Rules Committee today (May 18). Congressmen Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee chairman, and Paul Ryan […]

May 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

Illinois releases 6-year, $8.4 billion highway improvement plan

The Illinois Department of Transportation plans to spend $8.4 billion on roads in the next six years, but it’s not enough to prevent what IDOT expects to be a “rapid deterioration” of the state’s roads. IDOT plans to focus the majority of the money on maintaining the state’s 1,431 miles of highway and 357 bridges, […]

May 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

North Carolina, Missouri DOTs ask for public input on services/work zones

We’re used to taking customer service surveys for retail outlets, but it’s a rare instance when a public service institution actively seeks out such feedback. Such are the recent efforts of both North Carolina (NCDOT) and Missouri Departments of Transportation (MoDOT). NCDOT is conducting its first customer survey by mailing out questionnaires to “randomly selected […]

May 18, 2015

Roadbuilding

Ayotte forwards tax reform bill to create Strengthening America’s Bridges Fund

Amidst the seemingly flurry of bills being introduced ahead of the looming May 31 end to the revenue stream for the Highway Trust Fund, yet another senator has proposed a transportation funding option. This one focuses on funding bridge projects by amending the tax code regarding the Additional Child Tax Credit. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-New […]

May 15, 2015

Roadbuilding

New U.S.-Canada bridge will be named for a hockey legend

The new bridge connecting Canada to America in Detroit will borrow its name from an icon in both countries. According to a report from Crain’s Detroit Business, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the $2.1 billion bridge will be called the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Harper made the announcement in Windsor with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder along with […]

May 15, 2015

Roadbuilding

Senate to begin work on long-term highway bill, but not until current funding has expired

The Senate will hold a hearing on a new long-term transportation bill, but it’s not going to be on the agenda until after the impending expiration of the Highway Trust Fund. Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and Barbara Boxer (D-California) announced Wednesday that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee would mark-up a bipartisan, six-year surface […]

May 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

Lack of federal highway funding solution puts 131 Arkansas projects in jeopardy

More than 100 Arkansas road and bridge construction projects could be in jeopardy if Congress doesn’t extend federal transportation funding. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported 131 federally funded projects totaling $1.5 billion would be halted indefinitely if lawmakers don’t pass an extension to the Highway Trust Fund or new infrastructure funding. Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department director Scott […]

May 14, 2015

Roadbuilding

Iowa DOT plans $3.2 billion in highway projects through FY 2020

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) proposes $3.2 billion in highway right of way and construction projects in its draft fiscal Year 2016-2020 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program presented to the Iowa Transportation Commission (ITC). The ITC will meet June 9 in Council Bluffs to consider approving the program plan. The public can post comments on it […]

May 14, 2015