Call it a double-edged sword, a perfect storm or—stealing a quote from Charles Dickens—American Public Transportation Association President William Millar describes the state of transit as, “The best of times, the worst of times.” From California to the Carolinas, the acceptance of and desire for transit systems is unprecedented. Voters in November approved more than 20 pro-transit ballot initiatives, most notably Proposition 1B in California that calls for $9.95 billion for a high-speed rail system stretching from Sacramento to San Diego. Slide Show Photo: California High-Speed Rail Authority Photo: Joseph Caserto/ENR But transit owners, designers and builders have no easy
Intraparty politics are threatening infrastructure in Illinois, where state legislators remain deadlocked over a mammoth capital bill to fund road, transit, school and other projects.
As three new U.S. runways officially opened Nov. 20, the Federal Aviation Administration bill that would fund airport improvement grants, which would include a more streamlined process for future runway projects, still awaits reauthorization. The runways, opening at Washington Dulles, Chicago O’Hare and Seattle-Tacoma airports, will allow for 300,000 more flights nationwide annually, says FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell. Nevertheless, a May 2007 FAA report identifies 14 airports that will soon face capacity constraints unless more new runways or new airports are built. FAA’s efforts to streamline the project-approval process have been hurt by the wait for reauthorization, says Sturgell.
For some, it is millions of dollars’ worth of deferred paving work. For others, it is billion-dollar highway expansions. Nationwide, state transportation departments are putting projects on hold due to shrinking budgets. Dwindling tax revenue from gas and other sources, a bleak economic environment and continued high materials costs are all taking their toll. An anticipated infrastucture-heavy stimulus package from the new Obama administration cannot come soon enough for industry officials. Photo: Brad Fullmer In Suspension. Planned major Utah highway projects are stalled for the time being. “In my 30 years in the industry, I’ve never seen anything like this,”
As Americans drove less, federal gas taxes and other revenue flowing into the Highway Trust Fund fell by $3 billion in fiscal year 2008, compared with the sum collected the year before, the Dept. of Transportation reported. DOT said on Nov. 19 that the trust fund took in $31 billion in fiscal 2008, down 8.8% from the $34 billion collected in the previous year. As income dropped, 2008 spending from the trust fund on highway and transit projects rose by $2 billion, compared with 2007's level. DOT also said that vehicle miles traveled continued to fall, declining 4.4% in September,
Just when the nation’s airports thought their post-9/11 recovery challenges were behind them, upheaval in the nation’s airline industry has clouded the future of many facility and airside construction programs. Months of surging oil prices, volatile credit markets, and sagging U.S. economic fortunes culminated in a summertime string of drastic service cutbacks, steep fare hikes, and other measures aimed at staunching the flow of red ink from the airlines’ balance sheets. Clark County, Nev., Department of Aviation Scheduled for completion in 2012, the 1.87-million-sq-ft Terminal 3 will enable McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to handle an additional five million
Ohio Dept. of Transportation officials and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson are locked in discussion over whether ODOT should close one of the city’s major bridges that is rapidly deteriorating. The 5,078-ft-long Inner Belt Bridge, a cantilevered steel-truss structure similar in design to Minneapolis’ Interstate 35W bridge, was scheduled for rehabilitation until recent inspections prompted the state to propose closing it and building a replacement over two years. Jackson says closing the bridge, which carries I-90 through downtown, would choke off a needed economic lifeline. It carries nearly 120,000 cars per day. Photo: Donald Bowen Corroded steel chords compromise Inner Belt
Earning a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification is a good start, but airport project designers and builders need to move beyond it, say industry officials. Simply relying on �checklists� of environmental items is �the tail wagging the dog,� said David Callan, director of sustainable design and high performance building technology for Syska Hennessy Group Inc., Chicago, at a roundtable held in New York City last month by McGraw Hill publications ENR and Aviation Week. The �tail wagging the dog� metaphor became a popular phrase for the four airport officials, three engineers, architect and contractor participating in the roundtable.�
After a 15-month probe, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined the probable cause of last year�s fatal I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a design error that caused the failure of gusset plates on the 41-year-old 1,907-ft-long steel-deck truss bridge. They could not carry loads that included deck upgrades, construction materials, equipment and rush-hour traffic when it fell, killing 13 people and in�juring 145. The eight-lane bridge was a non-redundant fracture-critical structure. Slide Show Photo: NTSB I-35W bridge had gusset plates that were too thin Along with the main finding, which the board approved on Nov. 14, NTSB also
On the road to transportation funding, state departments of transportation are gripping the wheel and holding on for a bumpy ride. Decreasing revenue, a hazy future for the federal highway trust fund and a shaky lending market have led many state authorities to delay projects, rework deals and make deep cuts. Slide Show Photo: ICC Maryland is reducing its construction program but its $2.4-billion Intercounty Connector projects escaped the budget axe. Related Links: The Complete Top Owners Sourcebook with Market Data and Analysis The sluggish economy has hit many states, including Virginia, hard. Reduced revenue from fuel taxes and vehicle
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