California is the top winner but Midwest states and Florida also scored big in states' fierce competition for $8 billion in federal grants to build high-speed-rail lines around the country. Related Links: High Speel Rail Awards Summary High Speed Rail Map Round Two of ARRA Rail Grants Draws Huge Crowd States Vying for First ARRA Rail Grants States Clamor For High-Speed Funding The White House released a list of awards on Jan. 28, [see full list pdf attached] shortly before President Obama and Vice-President Biden were scheduled to make a formal announcement in Tampa. The funding is part of the
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority is facing its worst budget crisis in 30 years -- and it will only get worse if a six-year transportation bill waiting to be reauthorized is cut as the Obama Administration vows to rein in domestic spending, said its chairman and CEO. Jay Walder, who rejoined the agency last July after a 19-year stint in London, asked attendees at a New York Building Congress luncheon Jan. 28 to approach him directly with ideas about how the MTA can simplify its "risky, cumbersome" contracting process, described as the "MTA premium" by the industry. "Come to
Denver’s Regional Transportation District says it will need about $2.4 billion more than expected to build all components of the city’s FasTracks rail expansion. The agency, which released its 2010 FasTracks budget in January, puts the total at $6.6 billion, well beyond the $4.2 billion it can collect from taxes in the near future. RTD oversees bus and rail transit for the six-county Denver metro area. In 2004, the agency spearheaded an election in which voters approved $3.95 billion in new taxes for FasTracks. The program aims to build 122 miles of new commuter-rail and light-rail lines, 18 miles of
The Federal Transit Administration approved last month the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority’s revised testing plan for eleven 30-year-old foundations that will be used to support piers for the new Dulles Metrorail extension in northern Virginia to Dulles International Airport. Photo: Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project Team Agency will begin tests on piers originally built in the 1970s to see if they can handle new light-rail system to Dulles Airport, after initial criticism. The concrete foundations, supported by concrete and steel caissons driven 50 to 60 ft deep, are among 13 that were installed by the Virginia Dept. of Transportation in the
Five teams comprising major U.S. and overseas soft-ground tunneling expertise are seeking approval to bid the third and final contract, estimated at $500 million, of an $8.7-billion rail link under the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan. The contract, to be awarded next fall, will involve building 14,600 ft of soft-ground tunnels 110 ft under the river. Requesting prequalification for the contract are a joint venture of J.F. Shea, Schiavone and Kenny Construction; a team of S.A. Healy, China Construction America and Halmar; a JV of Spain’s FCC Construction, Austria’s Beton and Monierbau and U.S.-based Ferreira Construction; a team
Despite fears that it will take months to rebuild port facilities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, that were wrecked by an earthquake on Jan. 12, construction and shipping industry representatives say the damage will not prevent them from pouring building materials and equipment into the country as soon as they are given the go-ahead by officials. Photo: USDOTMA The U.S. has mobilized six shallow-draft catamarans for immediate use. “The port being destroyed won’t be a hindrance...not if you have an experienced heavy-lift operator,” says Jerry Nagel, CEO of U.S. operations for Rickmers-Linie, Hamburg, Germany. “Most of the time we bring equipment to
Five teams are seeking approval to bid a third link, estimated at $500 million, of an $8.7-billion rail line now under way between New Jersey and Manhattan. The contract, to be awarded next fall by project owners New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will involve building 14,600 feet of soft-ground tunnels that run 110 feet under the Hudson River. The project is set to be the nation’s largest public works transit job. There are some new names on the list of firms seeking contract prequalification that had not bid the project’s previous two
Florida roadbuilders are concerned about the state’s high-speed-rail funding scheme and its effect on other transportation funding. State transportation planners aren’t committing any state funding to the rail plan for the foreseeable future, expecting private-sector funding for operating expenses between Orlando and Tampa, according to the state’s application for federal funding. “There doesn’t appear to be any recognition at all of the cost to the state,” says Robert G. Burleson, president of the Florida Transportation Builders Association in Tallahassee. “All the studies show that the train isn’t really profitable until you get it extended to Miami.” Burleson estimates that extending
An official road-building rating system similar to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for buildings may be coming soon. While the Federal Highway Administration prepares to select a team to create national guidelines, the University of Washington and engineering firm CH2M Hill have already compiled a comprehensive system called Greenroads. Source: ACP Greenroads Category Weights: Shows the distribution of voluntary credit points in each of the categories. The performance metrics system, officially unveiled this month at the annual Transportation Research Board meeting in Washington, D.C., outlines minimum requirements to qualify as a green roadway, including noise mitigation, storm-water management
Las Vegas Monorail Co., private owner of a $650-million, 4.2-mile automated rail line connecting eight Las Vegas Strip resorts and the convention center, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 13, one month after an announced $500-million expansion to McCarran International Airport. The dual-line system began operation on July 15, 2004. Granite Construction Co. Inc., Watsonville, Calif., and Bombardier built the monorail under a $354-million, fixed-price contract. Estimated to carry 40,000 passengers a day, the monorail ran into trouble when, on Sept. 1, a 20-in., 60-lb rubber steering tire broke off during transit. Officials replaced the wheel assemblies and
RSS
