Seeking to keep an endangered $8.7-billion trans-Hudson River rail tunnel plan alive, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has bought the project a little more time. Proposed route was downriver from existing Amtrak tunnel. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie [R] had announced Oct. 7 that he was killing the project. But after meeting with LaHood the following day in Trenton, Christie agreed to a two-week study of unspecified project "options". Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the results of that study will convince Christie to do an about-face and give the plan a green light. Supporters of the Access to
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Oct. 7 killed the $8.7-billion Trans-Hudson River passenger rail tunnel project that was expected to double commuter train capacity between New Jersey and Manhattan. + Image Proposed route was downriver from existing Amtrak tunnel. Christie said he feared cost overruns on the Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project could cost the state between $2 billion and $5 billion, despite commitments of $3 billion each from the Federal Transit Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. CHRISTIE “I will not allow taxpayers to fund projects that run over budget
Leaders of U.S. airports are calling on the federal government to reauthorize a multiyear Federal Aviation Administration funding program, raise the cap on passenger facility charges and play a smaller role in the construction and management of airport facilities. “We’re extremely disappointed in Congress’s failure to act on FAA reauthorization,” said Hardy Acree, director of airports for the Sacramento City Airport System. Acree is the 2010 chairman of Airports Council International-North America, which held its 19th annual conference in Pittsburgh on Sept. 26-29. Congress last month approved the 14th stopgap measure in lieu of a multi-year FAA reauthorization bill, while
Work resumed on Oct. 5 on $1.7 billion of road and transit work in New Jersey, shut down three days prior by Gov. Christopher Christie (R) after state legislators agreed to approve $1.25 billion in bond financing through next March. Lawmakers had balked because Christie would not commit to the state’s $2.7-billion share of an $8.7-billion Hudson River rail tunnel, a move that could kill the project, called Access to the Region’s Core (ARC). A 30-day project cost review is set to end on Oct. 9. Published reports say Christie is concerned about ARC cost overruns and wants the state’s
In another hot competition for federal funds, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation has awarded more than 50 grants totaling over $400 million to build or upgrade bus facilities, including maintenance shops and terminals. The facilities awards are among $776 million in grants which DOT announced on Oct. 4 that are aimed at cutting into the backlog of bus transit capital needs around the country. Besides the funding for facilities, DOT also awarded dozens of grants to transit agencies to purchase new buses. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood noted that his department estimated earlier this year that $78 billion is needed to
Abu Dhabi’s Union Railway Co. has begun the procurement process for a roughly $11-billion rail network that will span the United Arab Emirates. Bids for a contract to design and build the fixed infrastructure are due this October. + Image Map: Walter Konefal For ENR Rail network will connect the emirates, and ultimately link up with lines being built in neighboring countries. Scheduled to be complete by 2018, the 1,300-kilometer network would be the first in the Gulf nation. The project will be “world-class,” says Union’s chief executive officer, Richard Bowker. Construction on the 240-km first phase, which is scheduled
Construction of a 700-ft-long footbridge—cantilevered out on 20 steel beams and clinging to the side of a canyon in North Vancouver, British Columbia—has been an adrenaline-pumping building project that, when finished, will leave tourists breathless. Visitors to the Capilano Suspension Bridge & Park will be able to view the surrounding Canadian rainforest from a galvanized steel walkway with a 20-in.-wide timber deck, which is suspended 300 ft above the canyon floor and attached to a granite cliff face up to 20 ft away. It was difficult to even find a starting point for the design of the unique cliff-hanging attraction,
Israel has issued a new tender for a long-planned light-rail project in Tel Aviv. The move follows the government’s cancellation last month of a build-operate-transfer award to an Israeli-Chinese-Portuguese-Dutch consortium. The project, now estimated at $2.5 billion, is one of Israel’s largest-ever infrastructure projects. The tender would cover planning for the 23-kilometer line between suburbs north and south of the city. About 11 km of the project will be underground, as will 23 of the planned 33 stations along the route. The government was forced to take over the project earlier this year after the consortium failed to obtain the
Indiana and Kentucky have awarded the $103-million design-build contract to construct the replacement bridge connecting Milton, Ky., with Madison, Ind., to the team of Walsh Construction Co., La Porte, Ind., and designers Buckland & Taylor Ltd., North Vancouver, B.C., and Burgess & Niple Engineers, Columbus, Ohio. Photo: KY DOT New Ohio River bridge will feature an historic-looking superstructure. The project received a $20-million federal grant in February. The remaining $83 million of cost will be split evenly by Indiana and Kentucky. The cost is about 20% less than the original estimate of $131 million, according to a statement from the
Libya has embarked on an ambitious course to build an extensive rail system that will offer both passenger and freight service. The major east-west route will parallel the coast, ultimately stretching 2,300 km from Ras Ejder on the border of Tunisia to Umm Sa’ad on the border of Egypt. Separate contracts have been awarded to Russian and Chinese contractors to complete certain segments. Since 2008 RZD (Russian State Railway) crews have been building a 554-kilometer Surt-to-Benghazi segment, which involves four major stations and 24 minor stations. The project is expected to take four years at a cost of $3 billion.
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