Free Republic

FedEx on Wednesday launched a new initiative that will test autonomous truck routes between Dallas and Houston. FedEx said it is collaborating with Aurora, an autonomous technology developer, and PACCAR, a medium-and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer, to launch the testing program, of which the pilot began on Wednesday. The companies will use Aurora’s autonomous driving technology in PACCAR’s Autonomous Vehicle Platform within FedEx trucking operations, according to FedEx.

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...

New York City resident Todd Aydelotte has come up with an inventive way to make long runs in the city interesting: Turn them into a history lesson. It started about two years ago, when he started running longer distances. Inspired by ultrarunners like Tommy Rivers Puzey and Timothy Olson, who seem to run wild, free, and connected to the land, Aydelotte wanted to bring that to his own runs. But running in canyons and near streams is not easily feasible in the concrete jungle. Aydelotte needed to find a different way to motivate himself to go farther and distract himself...

A few weeks after calling on the Florida Department of Transportation to re-examine hurricane evacuation routes, Gov. Rick Scott is now directing the agency to look for ways to increase fuel capacity during such emergencies.During evacuations for Hurricane Irma, gas stations around the state reported running out of fuel. Scott said the FDOT study, which would be submitted in January, address such shortages and how to overcome them.“Last month, 6.8 million Floridians evacuated in preparation for Hurricane Irma, the largest evacuation in U.S. history, and we are committed to making sure our state remains fully prepared for any potential disaster,”...

The report noted that "the Bakersfield to Palmdale section includes a variety of constraints that pose significant technical and environmental challenges, including seismic faults, steep grades through the Tehachapi Mountains and flood plains." The route could require as many as 59 grade separations for highways.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2009 – U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan cleared a route between two Afghan districts, aiming to improve safety and encourage commerce in the area. Operation Gateway III involved the clearing of Route 515, a 26-mile stretch of road between the Delaram and Bakwa district centers in Afghanistan’s Farah province. Marines from the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and Combat Logistics Battalion 3, the ground and logistics combat elements of the task force, completed the project Jan. 26. “By opening Route 515, we will decrease travel time for alliance forces, as...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2008 – As Pakistani troops apply renewed pressure on militants who have threatened a major supply line, military transportation officials are seeking alternate routes for supplying U.S. and NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan. Pakistani forces yesterday renewed offensive operations targeting militants who, in recent weeks, have attacked some supply convoys that transit the Khyber Pass. That supply route runs hundreds of miles from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan and then through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. The Khyber Pass route provides about 75 percent of the U.S. supplies to troops...

AUSTIN - Advisory committees are being developed to provide public input on where the Trans-Texas Corridor should be located and what it should look like. The committees will enhance public involvement during on-going Trans-Texas Corridor environmental studies and provide guidance on how the corridor can be developed to best serve local communities. “Through the advisory committees, local officials and citizens can be more involved in the planning process than ever before,” said Ted Houghton, member of the Texas Transportation Commission. “They will have a huge say in shaping the Trans-Texas Corridor.” The Texas Transportation Commission today approved rules establishing the...

Battalion Clears Routes, Saves Lives Engineers scan roadways for improvised explosive devices. By Staff Sgt. Gary A. Witte 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Public Affairs LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq, March 22, 2007 -- You need stamina. You need patience. And most of all, you need a sharp eye to do this job. After two hours on the road, the slow-moving convoy stopped to examine something spotted by one of its vehicle commanders, Sgt. Patrick B. Geren of Fort Smith, Ark. The berm, covered in patches of grass, was about 30 feet from the road and appeared much the same...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 1, 2007 — Driving through blinding fog, over rough roads and making multiple stops at forward operating bases would be enough to stop most pedestrian travelers in their tracks. That's not the case for the soldiers of the 15th "Wagonmasters" Sustainment Brigade. These soldiers travel Iraq's most dangerous routes when called upon to transport everything from sheetrock to tracked vehicles. "If you can name it and (if) they can fit it, then we can haul it," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Patterson, a truck driver with the 307th Maintenance Company, Kentucky Army National Guard, attached to the...

7/19/2006 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Fifty-eight Air Force engineers filling a shortage of Soldiers in Iraq have completed more than a dozen construction projects, often under fire, throughout a 10,000-square-mile zone for the Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team. After six months, the Airmen of the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's Detachment 10 have maintained and repaired six convoy routes and seven forward-operating bases. "It's been very strenuous, and sometimes extremely dangerous. I'm ready to get home, see my family and unwind," said Master Sgt. Ken Dunbar, Det. 10 superintendent of operations and acting first sergeant. "We have...

According to one of the many colored stripes on many map posters, Hood County may have a heavy vehicle route of the Trans-Texas Corridor in the distant future. The stripes presently designating possible routes are so broad they cover half the county on the map. According to the posters in another “public hearing” held in Granbury Thursday night the preliminary environmental studies will be finished this year or early next year. After a study of the collected information, proposed routes from the Red River to the border with Mexico and Gulf of Mexico will be selected in 2006. More intense...

    Proposed Free Republic (Breaking News) post...Her family fled to the USA when Castro seized their property during the Communist takeover in Cuba. Today, her family and neighbors face the same threat from a coalition of environmentalists and the USA government. "We lost our property to Castro and the Cuban government... I can understand how that might happen in a communist country, but not here, not in the United States.""You must be in a position to be able to control your own destiny and protect your constitutional rights. That is why this is such an important battle for all...