In This Issue

	Maryland Transportation Head Returns
	INDOT Changes Super 70 Plans
	Fuel Surcharge Could Cut Emissions
	Transurban Buys Sydney Roads
	Smoothing Roads Early Earns Workers a Day Off
	New Nevada Gov.: No New Taxes for Roads
	Pamela Lowe Named as Idaho Transportation Director
	Twin Cities Light Rail Pushes Forward
	Gov. Proposes Vote for Alaskan Viaduct
	SCDOT Director Steps Down
	N.J. Gov. Looks to Lease, Sell Assets

Maryland Transportation Head Returns

ANAPOLIS – Maryland’s Gov.-elect has nominated John Porcari, the former Transportation Secretary under Gov. Parris N. Glendening, to return to his post as the head of the state highways, tunnels, airports and ports. While serving as the Secretary from 1999-2003, Porcari directed an expansion at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and required all projects to meet the standards of Smart Growth.

Porcari left the department after the election of Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in 2002 for a communications job at the University of Maryland.

“He’s a consummate professional, a terrific administrator and someone who deeply values providing public service, especially when it comes to improving our transportation network,” said Gov.-elect Martin O’Malley about his pick for secretary of one of the state’s largest agencies. The transportation department has over 9,000 employees and has a budget of $3.7 billion this year for operating and capital expenses.

O’Malley has said he plans to continue building the Inter-County Connector, a long-delayed project which was a transportation priority of outgoing Gov. Ehrlich. There is also pressure on officials to dedicate more funding to relieve the gridlock in the suburban Washington area, possibly through an increase in the gasoline tax.

INDOT Changes Super 70 Plans

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Department of Transportation is reconsidering plans for the Super 70 project, the enormous rejuvenation of a six-and-a-half mile stretch of I-70 in Indianapolis. The most heavily traveled road in Indiana has needed a facelift for several years, which is planned between the north split downtown to I-465 on the east side.

“We are going to take the old concrete out and build new concrete from the ground up. We will be adding 75 lane miles of concrete but no new lanes and we will be widening the inside shoulder,” said Andy Dietrick, INDOT communications director.

As new plans for the project will attempt to keep workers safe while completing the project at a much quicker pace, they may have unintended consequences on local businesses. Phase One of the project, scheduled from February to July, will close several ramps due to safety concerns. Several businesses will be impacted by the closures, including Community Hospital East; administrators are worried about the construction affecting patients getting to and from the hospital.

INDOT says they never actually planned to close down all the exits for ten months. Mayor Bart Peterson said he is anxious for the project to be completed quickly, but understands the difficult position in which it puts everyone.

Fuel Surcharge Could Cut Emissions

California – California’s Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed the Global Warming Solutions Act which aims to cut its emissions of greenhouses gases by 25 percent. As the U.S. attempts to raise it’s fuel-efficiency standards, Germany’s success is a model worth studying. The country has found a good way to attain its air-quality goals is to impose an “ecotax,” which raises the price of gas with this surcharge.

As Germany, France, and the Netherlands already charged nearly $6 per gallon, Germany raised the price by an additional 10 cents per year from 1999 to 2003. Germans now pay almost $6.50 a gallon at the pumps, which sent a clear signal to consumers: gas would not be getting cheaper. The gradual increase allowed drivers time to react to higher prices by choosing to use a more fuel-efficient car, carpooling, using mass transit, driving less, biking, or walking. It also allowed people to plan in ways that unexpected shocks – such as 50-percent gas price increases in the U.S. after hurricanes Rita and Katrina – do not.

Between 1999 and 2004, German fuel consumption dropped by around 7 percent, those using public transportation rose by 6 percent, and cars like the Volkswagen Lupo, with 80-miles-per-gallon fuel efficiency became available.

America’s goals for higher fuel-efficiency standards may be doomed to fail because efficiency can undercut itself by making consumption less expensive. If Americans can suddenly drive 100 more miles on one tank of gas, they are likely to drive more, not less.

In its Global Warming Solutions Act, California states that the mechanisms to reach the 2020 target must be specified by Jan. 1, 2009. In the self-proclaimed “first-in-the-world comprehensive program,” a target has been set without a concrete way to achieve it.

Transurban Buys Sydney Roads

Australia - Australia’s second largest toll-road owner, Transurban Group, will now be the nation’s biggest owner of toll roads, after agreeing to buy Sydney Roads Group for as much as $990 million in stock. Sydney Roads operates three highways in Australia’s most densely populated city.

Transurban will pay one share for every 5.7 Sydney Roads shares, according to a statement by the companies. Sydney Roads bid values increased 16 percent after the announcement.

With the recent acquisition, Transurban will more than double the amount of vehicles it can charge in Sydney and add nearly $630,000 per day. The company is attracted to the steady earnings toll roads bring, which it predicts will spur $200 billion of acquisitions in the industry worldwide in the next decade.

Transurban entered the U.S. market earlier this year by purchasing Virginia’s Pocahontas Parkway for $611 million, giving them the right to operate the 8.8 mile highway for 99 years. With increasing traffic and the prospect of raising toll rates, toll roads “generate strong and predictable cash flow,” according to Paul Xiradis, a manager of Transurban shares.

Smoothing Roads Early Earns Workers a Day Off

JEFFERSON CITY – 6,107 highways workers were given a holiday treat this year – an extra day – as a reward for completing the “Smooth Roads” initiative a year early, according to Sally Oxenhandler, a Missouri Department of Transportation spokeswoman. The holiday will cost taxpayers approximately $950,000, she said.

Employees were given the choice of either Friday or Tuesday as their day off, since Christmas falls on a Monday this year. Oxenhandler said employees will coordinate their schedules with their supervisors so that no offices will be closed.

The Smooth Roads initiative challenged the state to repave 2,200 miles of the Missouri’s most heavily traveled roads by the end of 2007. Voters approved funding for the $388 million project with a shift in the vehicle sales taxes. Construction workers completed the final project just before Thanksgiving.

Pete Rahn, director of MoDOT, sent out a memo to employees, congratulating them for speeding up the program, which he said will prevent an estimated 14 deaths and 761 crashes.

Congratulations to Pete and the many dedicated men and women of Missouri Department of Transportation. Other good things are happening in Missouri with the start of the $420 million I-64 Design Build Project in St. Louis (largest in the state’s history) and the bridge asset management program that is “in process.” TW

New Nevada Gov.: No New Taxes for Roads

LAS VEGAS – Nevada Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons says he is against any tax or fee increases to generate revenue for transportation despite the state’s $3.8 billion shortfall in highway project funding. Gibbons has dismissed the findings of a task force report that will be presented to the 2007 Legislature which suggests raising funds by inflation-driven increases in state gasoline taxes, or doubling the cost of drivers licenses to $40 for four years.

In keeping with his no-new-taxes campaign promise, the incoming Republican governor said there are other ways to develop the needed funding. Gibbons said there may be surplus funds available for some new road work, and money could be saved by starting projects earlier, and utilizing public-private partnerships.

Gibbons announced the promotion of Deputy Director Susan Martinovich to become the first woman to head the department, at a news conference in Las Vegas Tuesday. Martinovich, who has been the deputy director and chief engineer for the agency since 2003, and served a total of 23 years with the Transportation Department. She said improvements to I-15 and I-80 were the department’s top priorities. Former Director Jeff Fontaine resigned recently to become executive director of the Nevada Association of Counties.

Congratulations to Susan who has earned this position through hard work and capable leadership. She is taking over the reins at a time when needs are at historic levels in the state with the 2nd highest growth rate in the nation. Those of us who know Susan recognize that she is definitely “up to the task.” TW

Pamela Lowe Named as Idaho Transportation Director

BOISE – The Idaho Transportation Board named Pamela Lowe as the department’s director. Lowe has served as the deputy director since September to interim director Dwight Bower, who will conclude his tenure on Jan. 12. Bower took over the agency after Dave Ekern announced his retirement in August.

Lowe has worked for the department since 1993, and was the first female state highway engineer in Idaho, as she supervised a staff of 200 engineers and technicians in 2000.

“Pam brings a wealth of experience to the director’s position, having worked in the private sector, with the Federal Highway Administration, the Arizona Department of Transportation and key positions within the ITD,” said ITD Board Chairman Frank Bruneel. “We have great faith and confidence in her and are pleased that she is already familiar with the direction and vision of the board.”

Among her first responsibilities will be to finalize the ITD’s 2007-08 budget request to present to the Idaho Legislature in January. As deputy director, she was instrumental in shaping the department’s presentation.

Congratulations to Pam for a well deserved appointment. For many years she has distinguished herself as a capable engineer-from her early days at ADOT, to her tenure at ITD where she worked as a district engineer, as the director of the motor vehicles division and more recently as the deputy director.

The appointments this week of two very capable women to head their respective state DOTs is a credit to all women in the transportation industry. In each case, these were not gratuitous or political appointments but selections made based on tough criteria and the highest of standards. TW

Twin Cities Light Rail Pushes Forward

ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Last Thursday marked a milestone in the progress of a light rail line connecting Minnesota’s two biggest cities, as the federal government gave approval for planners to begin detailing engineering work on the 11-mile rail line.

The proposed line between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along University Ave is expected to have daily ridership of 38,100 by 2020 and 43,300 by 2030. Local business owners who once objected to mass transit have changed their position due to the success and growth spurred by the Hiawatha line.

Officials will make vital decisions for the light rail line’s path, station locations and designs, including whether to build underground route near the University of Minnesota over the next two years. The next major decision regarding whether the line will enter the final design stage is expected to be made by late 2008. However, cost issues still need to be resolved.

Gov. Proposes Vote for Alaskan Viaduct

Washington – Gov. Christine Gregoire has called for a vote for Seattle residents to decide whether they want a new viaduct or a tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct along the city waterfront.

“I don’t believe that, without a vote, either option will move forward,” said Gregoire. “We need to hear directly from the people for who this decision has the most impact.” The vote will be scheduled around April, near the end of the next legislative session in May.

Seattle City Council President Nick Licata and the council’s Transportation Committee chairman, Councilman David J. Della said they agreed with Gregoire’s proposal. She said that proponents of a new elevated structure and supporters of the tunnel “intend to obstruct a path forward through legislative or permitting processes” and the vote will hopefully “break the stalemate.”

So far, the state of Washington, including federal earmarks, has secured $2.4 billion in funding. Recent cost estimates for the cost of building a new elevated structure are about $2.8 billion, while the tunnel would cost $4.6 billion. The Washington DOT estimates about 25% of the 110,000 vehicles that travel the Alaskan Way Viaduct each day are going to or leaving West Seattle.

SCDOT Director Steps Down

COLUMBIA, SC – South Carolina Department of Transportation Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry stepped down Tuesday following a closed-door meeting of the Transportation Commission. The Commission, which oversees the agency, agreed to pay $40,000 to the state retirement system which will allow Mabry to retire on Dec. 31 with full benefits, said department spokesman Pete Poore. State Highway Engineer Tony Chapman has been named as acting director.

A report released by a Legislative Audit Council last month said that the department paid double the necessary amount to hire temporary employees, lost millions of prepaid dollars for projects eliminated from contracts, and spent additional millions of dollars because of environmental violations.

A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said the DOT’s problems “have never been about any one person. The problems at the DOT are due to a structure that perpetuates a lack of accountability. Until that structure is fixed, we doubt that no matter who occupies that role, that the results are going to be much different.”

Sanford has wanted to make the Transportation Department a Cabinet agency with its director appointed by the governor, for some time. House Speaker Bobby Harrell says although he supports the idea, but doesn’t think there are enough votes in the General Assembly.

N.J. Gov. Looks to Lease, Sell Assets

NEW JERSEY – In looking for a solution to New Jersey’s mounting state debt and unfilled spending needs, Gov. Jon S. Corzine is strongly considering leasing and selling state assets. He says he sees no other way to pay off the increasing debt and fill spending needs ranging from school construction to property tax relief to open space preservation.

The most commonly discussed assets that may be leased are toll roads including the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike, and the Atlantic City Expressway.

The plan is facing preliminary opposition by a coalition of interest groups who vow to fight any deal to privatize the state’s toll roads for profit rather than for public good. The coalition, made up of taxpayer and environmental advocacy groups and the toll workers’ union believe leasing the three major toll roads would give a private company control of ceaseless tax increases with no guarantee all maintenance and needed expansion would be taken care of.

“New Jersey’s transportation infrastructure should be managed for the public’s interest, not for private profit,” said Abigail C. Field, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Public Interest Group.