More than two-thirds of the states lack adequate ways to measure whether their transportation spending is successful, says a new report from two policy research groups. ENR file photo Pass or fail? States can't tell if transportation work achieves goals, report says. Related Links: View executive summary of Pew-Rockefeller report The states can't tell if the spending achieves economic, mobility, environmental, infrastructure quality and other goals, says the report. The assessment is part of a study released on May 10 by the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller Foundation. It found that only 13 states have sufficient goals,
Rail projects on the Northeast Corridor were the major winners as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation redistributed $2 billion in aid Florida turned down earlier this year. The grants, announced on May 9, will fund about $1.7 billion in infrastructure. That will be good news for engineering and construction firms and ease the pain of Florida Gov. Rick Scott's move to cancel his state's rail plan. The Northeast got about $1 billion, mostly for the Washington-to-Boston corridor. Peter Gertler, chairman of transit and high-speed rail services for HNTB, says about 75% of previous DOT rail awards went to California, Florida
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Work has already begun on improvements to Harold Interlocking in New York City's borough of Queens. Related Links: View DOT's announcement View NY Gov. Cuomo's press release Rail projects on the Northeast Corridor are the major winners as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation redistributed $2 billion in high-speed rail aid that Florida rejected earlier this year. The grant awards, announced by US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood on May 9, will include about $1.7 billion for infrastructure work. That will be a welcome infusion to engineering firms and construction contractors around the country, and ease
A federal appeals court in San Francisco sent the state of Alaska back to looking at all its options after its May 4 ruling shut down a proposed 51-mile, $500-million highway from Juneau to a new ferry landing in Katzehin. Photo courtesy Scott Logan/Alaska Transportation Priorities Project Proposed road would be along a route that is prone to avalanches. The decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit court upholds a 2009 lower court opinion that the project’s final environmental impact statement was not valid because it did not include an alternative that would improve transportation with existing assets, namely upgraded ferry
A survey of 176 U.S. mayors released May 3 shows that 93% want to see urban and metropolitan areas directly receive a larger share of overall federal transportation funds. The report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors says that if cities� share of the transportation-aid pie is not increased, only 7% of mayors would back a gas-tax hike. More would favor a gas-tax boost if a larger share of the total went to local roads and bridges (89% of those surveyed) or public transit (65%). The report, sponsored by Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York City, comes as U.S. lawmakers work on
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has sent New Jersey a second and final notice, directing the state to repay $271.1 million in federal funds disbursed for a $9.1-billion rail-tunnel project that Gov. Chris Christie (R) canceled last October. The Access to the Region's Core was to be a nine-mile commuter rail link under the Hudson River, from Secaucus, N.J., to midtown Manhattan. DOT's Federal Transit Administration in November issued its first formal demand that the state repay the money. New Jersey reviewed the amount of the repayment claim and examined FTA project records. In a final decision issued on April
A construction management contractor wasted no time in responding to the damage inflicted to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport by an April 22 tornado and still expects to complete the ongoing renovation on schedule. Photo By AP Worldwide/Emily M. Rasinski Thanks to swift contractor response, the Lambert-St. Louis airport quickly resumed operations after the tornado. Kwame Building Group, St. Louis, is three years into the four-year, $70-million Airport Experience Program, which entails major interior renovations to terminal 1 and concourses A and C. “We had just started the terminal rehab when the tornado hit,” says Mike Minges, Kwame senior vice president.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has sent a final notice to New Jersey, directing the state to repay $271 million in federal funds for a $9.1-billion commuter-rail tunnel project that its governor, Chris Christie, (R) canceled last October. Related Links: Blurry Tunnel Vision Huge N.J.-N.Y. Commuter Link Halted 30 Days for Cost Review The Access to the Region's Core (ARC), conceived before Christie took office in January 2010, was to be a nine-mile-long commuter rail link running under the Hudson River, from Secaucus, N.J., to midtown Manhattan. In a final decision issued on April 29, U.S. DOT's Federal Transit Administration
Construction of the first-ever railway line in the oil-producing African nation of Chad is set to start next year. The former French colony signed a $7-billion contract with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. in mid-March. Map: Justin Reynolds The new, 1,344-km-long rail line will link landlocked Chad to Cameroon and Sudan. The new, 1,344-kilometer-long railway will link landlocked Chad to its neighbor to the west, Cameroon, and its neighbor to the east, Sudan. The route is expected to facilitate access to the international markets. CCECC President Yuan Li told reporters in N'Djamena during the signing of the construction deal
The Spanish firm Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA, ranked 13th on ENR's list of the top global contractors, has won a $1.72-billion contract in partnership with Algeria's ETRHB Haddad to build a 66-kilometer rail line in Algeria. The line will connect the city of Tlemcen, the western terminus of the country's rail network, with the town of Akkid Abbas on the Moroccan border. Map: Justin Reynolds The contract was awarded by the Algerian government through the Agence National d'Etudes et Suivi de Realisations des Investissements Ferroviaires, or ANESRIF, an agency created in 2005 to improve the country's railway system.
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