Regional Solutions for a Regional Issue
At the recent meeting of the Mid-America Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO), the Executive Committee of the Mid-America Freight Coalition authorized the Coalition for an additional three years, through 2015. During these three years, the Mid-America Freight Coalition will focus on aligning it’s research programs and its regional freight study, currently underway, with the […]
The FHWA Office Office of Freight Management and Operations has released a RFA for Off Hours Freight Delivery Pilot Project Grants. FHWA will award up to $450,000 in research grants to explore the benefits of delivering goods during “off hours” in small- and medium-sized urban areas with growing congestion problems. Working with the Environmental Protection Agency, […]
Officially adopted in 2009, Connections 2030 is the long-range transportation plan for Wisconsin. The plan addresses all forms of transportation; integrates transportation modes; and identifies policies and implementation priorities to aid transportation decision makers when evaluating program and project priorities over the next 20 years. Connections 2030 is a comprehensive transportation plan for moving people […]
Many of us in the transportation community have been lamenting the lack of action at the federal level in the reauthorization of transportation programs. We have been operating on continuing resolutions and loans from the general fund for a very long time and Congressional action still seems years in the future. I recently had the […]
The Illinois General Assembly has passed the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for Transportation Act (HB 1091), an it’s now on its way to Gov. Quinn for signature. What is the PPP Act? The Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for Transportation Act (House Bill 1091) promotes the sound development and operation of transportation facilities in Illinois, by authorizing public-private […]
We all learned at a young age that there is no free lunch, but most Americans seem to have forgotten that simple truism when it comes to public spending on transportation infrastructure. A recent Rockefeller Foundation survey, which was republished in the AASHTO Journal, found that two-thirds of respondents felt that a greater investment is […]
The US Departments of Commerce (DOC) and Transportation have recently broken new ground. They are cooperating on a series of public meetings in which members of the private sector have been asked to come and discuss their concerns and ideas about transportation. This is new ground because the agencies are dealing with a fundamental issue […]
Kansas Department of Transportation Secretary Deb Miller testified (on behalf of AASHTO) before the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcomittee on Highways and Transit and made recommendations for cutting costs and expediting project delivery on major infrastructure projects. Miller concluded her remarks by saying, “it is essential to find ways to deliver a better product, faster, […]
The (late) Summer 2010 edition of the MVFC Freight Notes is now available for download. This issue contains articles about the reauthorization of the MVFC, the America’s Marine Highways program, the addition of the M/V Mary Lynn to the freight capacity of the Missouri River, and MVFC Facilitator Ernie Wittwer’s take on the FREIGHT Act […]
At the recent meeting of the Mississippi Valley Conference of AASHTO, the Executive Committee of the Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition authorized the Coalition for an additional two years, through 2012. The Executive Committee used the result of the MVFC Business Meeting, held in conjunction with the 2010 MVFC Conference and Annual Meeting, as the basis […]