In This Issue

	Toll Road Robbery Investigation
	Variable Tolls Possible for Georgia 400
	Transit Upgrades Increase Gas Prices
	Bridges will be Interchange-Ready
	Rail to more than Double Miles
	Bridge Battle Continues
	NE Gas Tax Debate
	More Highway Money must join with Reform
	Met Council chooses Light Rail over BRT
	Finances under Scrutiny in Interstate Privatization

Toll Road Robbery Investigation

Virg. - Police in Virginia are pursuing three robberies targeting Virginia Department of Transportation employees from the past two months, saying the cases may be related.

VDOT's Chief Financial Officer Barbara Reese said around $9,000 was taken in one of the robberies. Police are not saying how much was taken in the other two instances. In all three cases, thieves knew the VDOT employees were carrying large sums of cash.

The first case, on March 30, occurred at a VDOT revenue collection trailer where an employee was preparing a deposit. In the most recent cases, occurring June 3 and June 27, respectively, VDOT employees were robbed in their vehicles around 8:30 pm.

VDOT security officials are working with Fairfax County Police and Virginia State Police in tightening security standards.

"We're evaluating how to take steps toward that end," said Cynthia Ward, a VDOT assistant administrator. "It is getting our full attention."

Variable Tolls Possible for Georgia 400

ATLANTA - The State Road and Tollway Authority is considering raising the 50-cent toll during rush hour on the Georgia 400 in an effort to ease congestion. Other options the SRTA is considering are converting some standard toll lanes to electronically tolled lanes using Cruise Card, and offering a discount for Cruise Card users.

On Aug. 7, SRTA plans to award a $500,000 to $550,000 contract for a one-year study of the most heavily traveled north-south metro Atlanta freeway, the tolled section of the 400. The six-lane, six-mile portion of the highway carries approximately 120,000 cars per day.

One of the best examples of variable pricing is in Orange County, Calif., where the California 91 has two high-occupancy electronically tolled lanes running alongside four to six free lanes in both directions. The CA 91 is used by about 250,000 cars daily. The tolls on the road range from $1.15 at 3 a.m. daily to $8.50 during rush hour on Friday in the eastbound lanes. Rates are raised monthly to accommodate traffic increases, collecting $40 million in 2005.

San Diego uses another method, where tolls are adjusted automatically as often as every few minutes depending on traffic flow. Drivers are notified of the current rate by electronic signs posted at the entrance to the toll lanes.

Transit Upgrades Increase Gas Prices

Conn. - Gas prices in Connecticut are expected to climb once again, but this increase is not due to high demand or Iranian nuclear intentions. The price for a gallon of gasoline is expected to rise between 2 and 5 cents to increase tax revenue for transportation improvements.

The gross receipts tax increase, which will help fund Gov. M. Jodi Rell's $1.3 billion transportation initiative, was approved by the general assembly last year. The tax has already risen from 5 percent to 6.3 percent, and is expected to reach 8.1 percent by 2014.

"The legislature approved the governor's initiative but changed her plan to pay for it," said David Dearborn, a spokesman for Rell. The governor would have preferred the flat tax of one-cent per gallon, he said.

Bridges will be Interchange-Ready

LAWRENCEVILLE, Georg. - The Georgia Department of Transportation recently approved two interchange-ready bridges to run over I-85, a good sign that new interchanges may be on the way for the heavily congested corridor in Gwinnett County, officials said.

The county has already begun work on the submission of an interchange justification report for Gravel Springs Road, which must be submitted to the Federal Highway Administration before access to interstates are permitted.

Consultants still need to develop a plan to allow for future widenings of I-85, high-occupancy vehicle lanes and a collector-distributor system, for a total of eight lanes in each direction. The concept projects six potential lanes on the bridge, with two through-lanes and space for dual left-turn-lanes if the concept is approved.

Rail to more than Double Miles

DALLAS - The Dallas Area Rapid Transit plans to more than double the miles in its light rail system by 2013 after receiving a $700 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The grant is the second-largest ever awarded to a transit agency by the FTA, according to Sandra Bushue, FTA Deputy Administrator.

The FTA's approval of the grant shows the agency's "complete confidence" that DART will complete the project on time and under budget, Hutchinson said.

The 21-mile DART expansion will cost $2.5 billion. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson said the 13-member DART agency has gained the lead over other mass transit systems in the state. The agency saw a 10.2% increase in its bus and rail network in an eight-month period in 2005, with an average of 21,000 riders per day, according to agency officials.

Bridge Battle Continues

Illinois, Missouri - Illinois and Missouri may lose $239 million in federal funding for a new bridge over the Mississippi River if they cannot agree on a funding plan and submit it to the U.S. Department of Transportation by Dec. 31, according to U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville.

Federal Highway spokesman Stephanie Roth denied the deadline exists.

"The funds are basically set aside in the legislation as line items so they're specially designated for the project," Roth said. "And again they are available until they are expended."

Costello said in a written statement that the feds have already notified the Illinois and Missouri departments of transportation that a project management plan, including a cost estimate and schedule must be submitted no later than Sept. 1.

Illinois lawmakers have proposed the "Martin Luther King Bridge coupler" to salvage the federal funds, which would cost Missouri $50 million over seven years, while Illinois would commit $161 million.

NE Gas Tax Debate

Neb. - Nebraska's state gasoline tax is now 27-cents-per-gallon, ranking the state seventh in the nation for highest fuel tax, after a one-cent increase over the weekend. The tax money is used to fund road projects.

The gas tax is fueling a debate between Senate opponents Pete Ricketts and Ben Nelson. Ricketts acknowledges that the national sales tax is one of the possible options to make things equitable, reinventing the current tax base to place levies on any purchase.

Ricketts and former governor Nelson agree that ethanol is a good choice for Nebraska, especially once production catches up with demand and prices decrease. Ricketts says gas prices could be reduced by opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling to increase our domestic oil reserves.

More Highway Money must join with Reform

S.C. - South Carolina's Transportation Director has declared a "transportation funding crisis," saying we need to increase preventive maintenance, fix the state's bridges, and delegate responsibility for many roads to cities and counties.

The state has the fourth largest highway system in the nation, while charging the fourth-lowest gas tax in the nation without spending any other tax revenue on roads. The flat tax charged on each gallon of gas does not account for inflation, causing the state to fall further and further behind each year on highway maintenance. Only 6.1 miles of roadway is built today for the money it took to build 10 miles in 1999.

For the state to be able to repair deadly intersections, widen roadways and fix the one in five deficient bridges, some commissioners, legislators, and well-connected business leaders need to address the crises facing the transportation system.

This was an editorial that ran the other day. We don't often include editorials but the disparity between the size of the SC system and their funding is dramatic. Much of their problem comes back to governance and the need to have all jurisdictions step up and take care of roads that they are best equipped to handle. There are still a handful of states that maintain every mile of roadway within their borders. That model will eventually have to change. TW

Met Council chooses Light Rail over BRT

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Metropolitan Council gave the green light on Wednesday to light rail as the best transit option to link downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis along University and Washington Avenues. Just two of the 17 council members voted for bus rapid transit along the 'Central Corridor,' even though the cost has risen from $840 million to $930 million.

"We are going to have to get those costs down to get those federal matching dollars. We are going to have to take a very sharp pencil to this project," said Metropolitan Council Chairman Peter Bell.

The Met Council will now apply for funding from the Federal Transit Authority and for permission to start preliminary engineering, including a two-year $40 million study of the basic project aspects. Construction on the project will begin in 2010 at the earliest and could be operating in 2014.

Finances under Scrutiny in Interstate Privatization

Virg. - Maintenance crews in the Virginia Department of Transportation will soon have their load lightened under orders from the General Assembly. By 2009, private companies will take over the department's interstate maintenance work, even though there is no evidentiary support that the public is saving money on current outside maintenance contracts.

By next summer, 113 miles of regional interstates will be cared for by contractors. Currently, Virginia is spending approximately $1.4 billion on in-house work and contracts along interstates, primary and secondary roads. The transportation department outsources about 77 percent of its interstate maintenance.

The first privatized maintenance in the state was in 1996 for 100 miles of I-95. While savings were predicted to be $26 million, a legislative review found no supporting evidence of that estimate.

The recent conversion of interstate work to private contractors came from a bill by Del. Leo Wardrup, Jr., chairman of the House Transportation Committee. According to Wardrup, privately managed maintenance could increase the speed of delivering the service, and could save VDOT the expense and trouble of buying and running maintenance vehicles.

There is a case for outsourcing these services in a deliberate way. Savings are generated by more aggressive asset management, private sector flexibility in staffing, private sector flexibility in the kinds of equipment they use and better service to the customer. This is not to say that many state employees don't do a great job maintaining their sections of roadway in their states. However, we all will concede to the point that these benefits to outsourcing just mentioned are not always available to them because of a myriad of governmental restrictions. TW