Free Republic

Six months ago, state officials couldn’t have been happier as the U.S. Department of Transportation regularly announced billions of additional dollars that would be available for road and bridge projects. Now, with rampant inflation and problems getting basic materials like concrete and asphalt, especially for overnight work, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials say they are concerned that the federal windfall may not have nearly the benefit they expected. Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT’s district executive for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, said last week that low bids for contracts have been coming in 10% to 20% higher than the department anticipated. Among...

More than 230 consumer, environmental and public interest groups urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the electric utility industry for widespread abuses. These include bribery, fake dark-money campaigns and denying customers access to renewable energy.…

WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden ramps up his efforts to help Democrats in the midterm elections, he’s focused on a selling point that, so far, voters aren’t: his plan to rebuild the country’s infrastructure. Standing in an industrial building near the Port of New Hampshire last month, flanked by construction and boating equipment, Biden talked dredging, bridges and lead pipes.

Following a slowly growing national movement, Pennsylvania may be ready to try the idea of charging drivers a mileage-based fee to make up millions in transportation revenue lost to more fuel-efficient hybrid and electric cars. Melissa J. Batula, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s acting executive deputy secretary, said the department is working with the General Assembly to draft legislation establishing fees for those who pay little or nothing toward road maintenance. That’s because the state gets about 75% of its road money from the gasoline tax. A commission appointed last year by Gov. Tom Wolf recommended a series of steps...

PennDOT scrubbed bridge inspectors’ notes from its website, reducing the ability of residents to access safety data of bridges they regularly use, according to a recent report by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The revelation by the Post Gazette comes after the Fern Hollow Creek bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed in January injuring 10 people. PennLive reported at the time that Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of bridges in the nation that fall within the “poor” condition category as defined by federal standards. According to the Post Gazette, PennDOT’s public online map of bridge reports contained, up until this past February, direct...

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will negotiate with a nine-member group of contractors headed by an Australian firm to replace nine bridges proposed for tolling at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion. The group — which calls itself Bridging Pennsylvania Partners — lists Macquarie Infrastructure Developments LLC of Sydney as the lead contractor and includes FCC Construccion, S.A., of Spain, as well as six Pennsylvania companies. They include Joseph B. Fay Co. and Shikun & Binui America Inc., of Pittsburgh. The contract will require that 65% of the work be done by Pennsylvania firms. State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Johnstown...

Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls will be reduced by 75 cents beginning in September, with the intent that they remain at that rate until the span is paid off in 10 years. The decrease is the result of Substitute Senate Bill 5488, which requires transfers of $3.25 million from the general fund to the toll bridge account each quarter until June 2032, for a total of $130 million. After the House changed the bill on Saturday, the Senate had to concur on Thursday, which sponsor Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, said it would. Rates — currently set at $5.25 with a Good...

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to revisit a ruling that struck down a key permit for a proposed natural gas pipeline running through Virginia and West Virginia. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that it would not revisit a February ruling by a three-judge panel that invalidated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s opinion that the Mountain Valley Pipeline would not jeopardize two endangered fish species. The panel found “serious errors” with the agency’s conclusion that construction of the pipeline wouldn’t pose a threat to the Roanoke logperch or the candy darter....

The toll lanes for Florida’s I-4 Ultimate, a seven-year, $2.4 billion project, are now open, with 21 miles of rebuilt highway and new express lanes between Orange and Seminole counties. It is the largest road project in state history. Highlights of the project: Reconstruction of I-4 lanes and adding four new tolled I-4 Express lanes – two in each direction; Reconstruction of 15 major interchanges; Replacement of 74 bridges, widening of 13 bridges, and adding 53 new bridges. The I-4 Express lanes, the centerpiece of the project, are now open on the interstate’s center lanes and separated by concrete barriers....

Construction on Interstate 35W between North Tarrant Parkway and Eagle Parkway has officially crossed the half-way mark. The project, from public-private partnership North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners, is improving existing toll-free lanes and building two toll managed lanes in each direction. North Tarrant Infrastructure is the general contractor on the project. “This latest project on 35W is on track and will produce extra capacity and congestion relief north into Denton County by late 2023,” said Francisco Galdeano, COO of North Tarrant Express Mobility Partners Segment 3.

HOUSTON - The Harris County Toll Road Authority now has an expensive plan to fix design flaws in its billion-dollar replacement of the Ship Channel Bridge. The original structure was finished in 1982. But, with just two lanes in each direction and no shoulder for emergencies, construction on a replacement was started in 2018. HCTRA’s Executive Director Roberto Trevino was hired after flaws were discovered in the design, and he says the danger could have been catastrophic. "It could have collapsed," he says. Trevino says the county wanted the new bridge to be sleek and iconic, resembling the Fred Hartman...

SAN ANTONIO — Bexar County leaders will study whether Elon Musk's Boring Co. can drill a 9-mile tunnel where automated Teslas would ferry people between the airport and downtown. Alamo Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) board members voted Wednesday to negotiate a project plan with the billionaire's company. "The board has continually sought innovative ways to finance transportation projects to ensure a bright future for the community in a way that bridges technology and accelerates the delivery of needed projects," chairman Mike Lynd said in a statement. "Today's board action is the first of many discussions," he added. Musk's company already...

Jersey City officials and a coalition of Hudson County bike groups have opposed the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s plans to widen the Hudson County extension through Bayonne and Jersey City to the Holland Tunnel and replace the aging Newark Bay bridge. The opposition is based on concerns the project won’t alleviate congestion and would create more traffic and air pollution from vehicles cutting through Bayonne and Jersey City neighborhoods when traffic backs up on the extension. Bike advocates have a powerful ally, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who had a letter sent on the city’s behalf, asking the Turnpike Authority...

New Jersey Turnpike Authority officials approved a $10 million agreement to rebuild two Garden State Parkway service areas, including one that has been criticized by Bloomfield officials for including a Chick-fil-A restaurant. The agreement, approved by a unanimous vote by the board of commissioners Tuesday, would reimburse Applegreen Ltd. and Sunoco for $10 million the companies would spend to build new facilities at the Vauxhall service area on the Parkway north in Union and at the Brookdale Service area on the Parkway south in Bloomfield. The Turnpike authority runs the Garden State Parkway. A Shake Shack, Popeyes, Dunkin’, and a...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has a fresh warning to states seeking billions of dollars from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law to widen roads: Protect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists or risk losing funds. In a new report submitted to Congress and obtained by The Associated Press, the Department of Transportation says it will aim to prioritize the safety and health of the multiple users of a typical 21st century roadway, from riders of public transit and electric scooters to Uber rideshare pickups and people delivering goods. Projects such as bike paths and traffic roundabouts, enhanced sidewalks, pedestrian...

If you think risking public safety for political gain is a bridge too far, even for a Democrat politician, you need look no further than Pittsburgh’s City Democrat Councilman Ricky Burgess to dispel any notion of it. It’s only been less than a month since the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh’s East End neighborhood Jan. 28 collapse, coincidently coinciding with Biden’s already scheduled trip to the city to tout his infrastructure plan. For Joe Biden, and a beleaguered White House staff, waking up to news of bridge’s falling must’ve seemed like a providential gift for an administration desperate for a...

Reuters) - Erie, Pennsylvania could use a facelift. The lakefront city of 100,000 has been adding jobs and businesses downtown, but it remains saddled with vestiges of its industrial past: abandoned factories, ugly concrete buildings, decaying houses. Leaders have written a stack of development plans, but lack the money needed to turn them into reality. Now their dreams seem possible. Congress last year passed President Joe Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure law, which provides $550 billion in new funding for bridge repair, environmental cleanup and other projects that could transform places like Erie. To win the money, local governments will have...

The nation’s leading expert on protecting the electric grid from attack urges governors to take the lead because the Biden administration won’t. In a new alert, Peter Vincent Pry, the executive director of the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, said concerns are growing that Russia, North Korea, and Iran are inching closer to testing an electromagnetic attack on the U.S. grid, or parts of it. He noted the current crisis in Ukraine could spark a Russian attack, and he cited state media making the threat in the past. “In April 2021, during the previous big crisis between...

Congress passed a much-ballyhooed "infrastructure" bill. "Roads and bridges." Well, not much of it went to roads and bridges in the first place, only $110 billion out of $1.2 Trillion went to roads, bridges "and investments in other major transportation programs." But the The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) decides where to spend the money. The The Wall Street Journal reports "...Deputy Administrator Stephanie Pollack advised staff on the types of projects they should give the red light. According to the memo, proposals should be sent to the bottom of the pile if they “add new general purpose travel lanes serving...

DOT received $6 billion to issue grants to "help cities and towns" with road safety as part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Congress passed. The U.S. Department of Transportation's "National Roadway Safety Strategy" includes promoting the use of speed cameras in cities and towns as a "proven safety countermeasure." DOT received $6 billion to issue grants to "help cities and towns" with road safety, which was part of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that Congress passed. "That law creates a new Safe Streets and Roads for All program, providing $6 billion to help cities and towns deliver new,...