Free Republic

A date for at least a bit of congestion relief has been set for commuters on I-405 between Bothell and Lynnwood. During the last session, state legislators approved the bonding of I-405 toll revenue, allowing the build-out of at least one highway project to begin sooner. Construction to widen I-405 between highways 522 and 527, which will add another express toll lane in each direction, will now start by 2021, according to Craig Smiley, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation. The project also includes building direct access ramps from Highway 522 onto the express toll lanes, and...

The U.S. Interstate Highway System is the backbone of American commerce and personal travel. Funded on a pay-as-you-go basis largely through federal excise taxes on motor fuel, today it accounts for 25% of total vehicle-miles traveled despite accounting for just 2.5% of total road network lane-miles. Yet, much of the Interstate system, construction of which began in the 1950s, is nearing the end of its functional life, along with the infrastructure of other surface transportation modes. Over the next two decades, trillions of dollars of investment will be needed to rehabilitate and in some cases rebuild this infrastructure, according to...

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s ability to build new toll roads may be temporarily stymied by opposition from state leaders, but the agency is keeping busy with major ongoing projects. While the great majority of its spending is on expanding roadway capacity for cars, CTRMA Executive Director Mike Heiligenstein emphasized the millions the agency is investing in bike and pedestrian infrastructure in a Tuesday presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Court. The $108 million construction of State Highway 45 SW, linking MoPac Expressway with FM 1626, will be accompanied by a 4.5-mile shared-use path, along with pedestrian and bicycle...

The D.C. region could be suffocated by even more traffic if major improvements to the region’s bus system do not come soon, a draft report obtained by WTOP finds. Even so, making those changes in a way that avoids negative impacts could be extremely challenging. The Washington Area Bus Transformation Project draft strategy’s executive summary, labeled “not for circulation,” paints a dire picture of what happens if bus-only lanes, totally revamped bus routes and other changes are not implemented: “Without transforming the bus system, the region’s competitiveness and livability are at risk.” The report groups more than two dozen recommendations...

On Sunday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) praised the Washington, D.C. Metro, apparently oblivious to the fires and horrific management problems the Metro faces. "DC Metro is pretty good, especially when compared to the MTA lately," Ocasio-Cortez said in a Facebook "moment," contrasting the D.C. Metro to the New York subway. "It's clear they are investing in public infrastructure w/modernized train cars, etc." She responded to criticism shortly afterward. "Lots of folks begging to differ on DC metro being better," the congresswoman added. "I just got here so taking the train on a Sunday without a delay or track change or...

Whether it’s the Washington, D.C., streetcar, California’s bullet train, or New York’s Second Avenue subway, public-transit projects are almost always disruptive, delayed, over budget or underused—if not all of the above. Add another example to the list: a dead-end bus line in Albuquerque, N.M. Today, more than 16 months after Mayor Berry hopped on ART’s first ride, the bus lanes are empty. In 2016 the city paid $23 million for a fleet of 18 all-electric buses from the Chinese company Build Your Dreams. The system for charging the buses’ batteries proved faulty, and city inspectors found problems with the air...

I recently had the privilege of representing residents in eastern Connecticut that were opposed to the construction of the proposed state police gun range immediately adjacent to Pachaug State Forest. I personally thanked Gov. Ned Lamont for keeping his word in opposing this project. In politics, you are only as good as your word. That is why Lamont must also keep his word and not institute tolling on cars in Connecticut. Leaders in Hartford are missing the mark when it comes to tolling. They always seek to find alternate revenue sources through taxes or fees before first examining priorities, spending...

WASHINGTON — Efforts to alleviate traffic for tens of thousands of D.C.-area commuters were approved Wednesday, but not before Maryland attempted to eliminate a provision pushing for uniform tolling practices across the region’s express lanes. The resolution adopted by the region’s Transportation Planning Board is the first concrete action toward new goals developed over the last two years to reduce traffic jams and get people from home to work or other activities faster and with more efficiency. “The first step, a concrete effort, toward the projects, programs and policies this region [will] fund and implement in the coming years,” said...

As part of its controversial plan to widen the Capital Beltway and Interstate 270, Maryland says it intends to focus on the implementation of toll lanes — as many as four on each highway — and abandon earlier considerations of more general-purpose lanes, bus rapid transit and bus-only lanes. Maryland transportation officials have narrowed the number of possible construction alternatives to seven from an original list of 15 for further study of potential toll operations in the two corridors that suffer some of the worst traffic congestion in the region. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in September 2017 proposed widening the...

After roaming around and studying downtown for a week, the Urban Land Institute’s advisory services panel provided Atlanta leaders with recommendations on how to move forward with the colossal proposed “Stitch” project. On Friday, ULI, which conducts land use research for cities around the globe, suggested the time is now to partner with local elected officials and philanthropic organizations to get the ball rolling on fundraising efforts for the potentially 14-acre project that would install a massive park and new construction above the Downtown Connector. But in order to be competitive for public and private funding—panelists expect the highway-capping project...

“Friends don’t let friends drive I-70.” The tongue-in-cheek mantra is often uttered by Colorado skiers and snowboarders who frequent resorts far from the crowded mountain corridor, which funnels thousands of vehicles onto two lanes west of Denver every winter weekend. “It’s nightmarish. Hours and hours in the car. I think the last time I went to Keystone (typically a 90-minute drive from Denver), I spent four hours getting there and five hours getting home,” said Cole Capsalis of Denver. “There was more time in the car than skiing.”

Gov. Mike DeWine will propose an 18-cents a gallon increase in the gasoline tax to maintain and upgrade Ohio’s roads and bridges in the transportation budget he submits to lawmakers Thursday. That would amount to a 64 percent increase in the state’s current 28-cent gas tax, which the state transportation director has said is insufficient for the state and local governments to maintain current roads or finish major new construction projects. DeWine revealed the number Wednesday on WTAM in Cleveland. He did not disclose if the amount would be phased in over multiple years. He also did not discuss if...

Imagine driving along a four-lane elevated causeway above the brackish San Pablo Bay, shaving more than an hour off the normal Highway 37 commute. Transportation planners have for years envisioned remaking the 20-mile route from Novato to Vallejo into the North Bay’s most important east-west corridor. Now, they are ready to act. Officials in Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties have been meeting for several years, pondering solutions to Highway 37’s notorious bottlenecks, where 45,000 cars per day stretch the normal 20-minute commute to as much as 100 minutes. They have also acknowledged that traffic improvements will be irrelevant without...

Professor of Finance for the College of Staten Island and Research Fellow at The University Transportation Research Center Johnathan Peters says if Connecticut lawmakers are looking to raise revenue for transportation, they might be better off looking somewhere else besides highway tolls. “Tolls, generally, are expensive to collect,” Peters said in an interview. “It’s not free. There’s a lot of technology and a lot of equipment, and that equipment will have to be maintained and replaced over time.” Peters -- whose area of expertise and study involves regional planning and road and mass transit financing -- says tolls are more...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After just two hours of public testimony, a committee looking for solutions to Ohio’s highway funding gap found consensus on just one potential revenue source: raising the Ohio gas tax. The panel didn’t get to the level of detail Wednesday afternoon of specifying how much the tax increase should be. The Governor’s Advisory Committee on Transportation Infrastructure otherwise didn’t find agreement on other ways to raise money for Ohio’s road system, but additional sources of revenue could be added to a report being compiled on the group’s work. Other ideas discussed included indexing the gas tax to...

HARRISBURG, PA (JAN. 2, 2019) — The PA Turnpike Commission (PTC) today reminded customers that, beginning 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 6, tolls will reflect a six-percent increase for cash, E-ZPass and PA Turnpike TOLL BY PLATE users. The increase, approved by commissioners last July, is needed to meet the PTC’s dual funding obligation to improve its toll-road system and support mass-transit improvements across the Commonwealth. As a result, the most-common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase a dime for E-ZPass customers from $1.30 to $1.40 and 20 cents for cash customers from $2.10 to $2.30. The toll increase —...

Commuters who live in western Prince William and Fauquier counties can leave the driving to someone else come Dec. 17 when a new bus begins round-trip service from Haymarket to Arlington. The “OmniRide Haymarket Express” will make four trips in the morning and four return trips in the afternoon and early evening. It will run along I-66 between Haymarket and the Rosslyn Metro station. The trips will originate from the new park-and-ride lot on the northeast corner of U.S. 15 and Interstate 66. The Monday-through Friday service is meant to give workers an alternative to traveling by car. It’s the...

When the 66 Express Lanes opened a year ago, officials promised the tolls would mean a smoother ride on the interstate, a major east-west thoroughfare from Northern Virginia into the District that is infamous for its headache-inducing congestion. The state’s promise — less congestion and faster travel times during rush hour — has been fulfilled for many commuters able to pay or carpool, but the new toll system has had an adverse effect for many of the remaining road users. For some commuters, the rush-hour period has simply shifted later — outside the toll hours — and dumped them onto...

The search continued Friday for the gunman who shot another man at close range in the pedestrian tunnel between two busy Loop subway stations, according to Chicago police. A 27 year-old-man was shot in the left hip Thursday evening. Police said he likely knew the gunman and was not cooperating with investigators. The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. near the Jackson stop on the Blue and Red lines. CTA surveillance video appeared to show a man standing in the tunnel that connects the two lines when the shooter walked up and fired twice, hitting him once, police said. Police...

WINCHESTER — The Frederick County Transportation Committee on Monday expressed concerns that the county may not get the Interstate 81 improvements it needs to reduce traffic congestion and accidents. The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are studying the entire length of the I-81 corridor in the Virginia, as directed by the General Assembly, to identify changes that will reduce traffic backups and crashes as well as find the funding to make those changes. The I-81 study team identified 105 projects — valued at $4.25 billion —...