In This Issue

	Collapsed Freeway Can Be Repaired
	New Viaduct Surface Option Proposed
	Delaware Bridge Faces Contract Setbacks
	NY Lawmaker: Congestion Plan is Regressive
	Washington DOT Head Resigns
	TxDOT Estimates Questioned
	Texas Legislature Passes Privatization Moratorium

Collapsed Freeway Can Be Repaired

SAN FRANCISCO - A fiery collision involving a burning tanker truck forced the shut down of an overpass near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Sunday. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that one of the two collapsed connectors could be opened within seven to ten days.

“Progress on repairing the collapsed freeway connectors is moving at lightning speed,” said the governor. He also said the federal government has agreed to the state’s request to pay for the repairs. Crews finished clearing the debris from the collapse Tuesday, and later determined that the ramp connecting westbound I-80 to southbound I-880 was warped, but had remained structurally sound and could be straightened.

The tanker explosion destroyed the overpass between eastbound I-80 and eastbound I-580, which will need to be replaced. The severe traffic jams authorities feared would result never quite occurred, although the Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system saw record ridership Tuesday, increasing from a typical 340,000 riders to 375,000.

New Viaduct Surface Option Proposed

SEATTLE - Seattle is studying replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a surface street option, after voters in March said they didn’t want a four-lane tunnel, or a new elevated viaduct. City Council members are pondering whether viaduct traffic can be dispersed throughout city streets, carpools, and onto buses.

The council plans to discuss a new version of a bill introduced by Councilman Peter Steinbrueck Monday which asks for a $8 million study to find out if the surface option would begin working by the end of the year. The previous version of the bill, introduced just after the advisory vote, was opposed to by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. It ordered a study of the “surface transit” option.

The new proposal, which titles the study an “urban mobility plan,” includes a similar, yet broader surface-transit emphasis, including trip reduction programs, increased bus service, lane priority for buses, dedicated bus lanes, more bicycling facilities, and more restrictions on street parking. Mayor Nickels supports the new version of the bill.

Delaware Bridge Faces Contract Setbacks

Delaware - After what officials called protracted litigation regarding the bidding process for Delaware’s Indiana River Bridge construction, the state is for the third time accepting bids for designing and building the bridge. The initiation of another new bidding process will push back completion of the project to as late as 2011. Engineers have estimated the bridge will become unsafe between 2008 and 2010. “It could be a delay of maybe a year,’ said Darrel Cole, DelDOT director of public relations. The estimated $124 million bridge project will be the largest in the state’s history.

Following an internal review of the bid process, DelDOT officials said the 2006 Bond Bill provisions authorizing the design-build project are unclear. “Such ambiguity renders it impossible to assess the legality of the process,” said DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks. DelDOT officials are working with the General Assembly on a path toward getting the bidding process back on track.

Transportation officials had planned to award the contract to a joint venture of PCL Civil Contractors Inc.and Buckland & Taylor Inc. of Florida, by using a point system, even though Kiewitt & Bilfinger-Berger had the lowest bid. Kiewitt, which came in second, filed an appeal backed by state union officials, saying the bidding process was flawed. Under the state-contract point system, PCL won the contract with 96.87 points; Kiewitt finished with 93.12 points.

NY Lawmaker: Congestion Plan is Regressive

New York - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledges that if his congestion pricing toll plan for the Manhattan area doesn’t pass during his term in office, it likely never will. “The time has arrived,” said the mayor. “I don’t think anybody would have predicted how many people are really signing onto the concept. If not now, when? If we don’t do it, who will?”

However, Queens lawmaker Anthony Weiner says the plan is a regressive tax that will do more harm than good. “For every one car that someone might take off the road, all you’re doing is creating more space for people who can afford to pay anything to drive into the city to do it,” Weiner said. “First, let’s improve mass transit. Then, we should think about offering people incentives to take that mass transit. Right now, there aren’t those types of options for many people.”

Congressman Weiner said he would back a plan which included toll increases for truck drivers and a commuter tax.

Washington DOT Head Resigns

Washington - Washington Department of Transportation head Douglas MacDonald announced last Friday that he is resigning effective July 30 the position he has served in for six years. “It’s time to move on to other things in life,” said MacDonald, 62. “I feel much satisfaction, but it is time for me to step aside. I’m going to do new things and I feel good about it.”

MacDonald’s successes include the nearly complete new Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a new Bellevue transportation project that stayed within budget, and his progress toward putting toll lanes on state highways. He says he is most proud of a $388 million project planned to construct a new six-lane I-90 highway between Hyak and Keechelus Dam, avoiding regions with recent rockslides. Work will begin in 2011.

MacDonald has recently been in the middle of the debate over how to replace the quake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct. Lawmakers and transportation officials he worked with say he brought accountability back to the department. His leadership is also credited by many for the failure of a ballot measure to repeal the most recent gas tax increase and threaten many highway projects, including the viaduct. At this time there is no indication of his replacement.

TxDOT Estimates Questioned

AUSTIN – Texas auditors are saying that the cost estimates provided by transportation officials to justify toll roads in the state are inaccurate, and “may not be reliable for making policy or funding decisions.” Over half of TxDOT’s $86 billion road construction “funding gap” needed through 2030 was questioned in the audit.

Auditors were also suspicious of transportation planners’ estimates on how much funding will be available for future projects. Of the $45 billion auditors questioned as inaccurate, the report said $8.6 billion in local government costs should have been excluded from the cost estimate because that amount is not included in the state funding plan. The audit also stated that $37 billion in metropolitan and urban costs could not be verified.

TxDOT Executive Director Michael Behrens said the state audit proves the state is billions of dollars away from meeting its funding needs for transportation. “Today’s report is further documentation of a multibillion-dollar funding gap between the transportation system our state deserves and the one we can afford with current resources,” Behrens said. “No matter what number you choose, Texas has big problems.”

Mike is right. Pick a number. No matter what it is, Texas has a huge funding gap with demand and costs going up every day. You can chisel at the edges in every state. But, at the end of the day, congestion will be worse next month, next year and five years from now if investment in transportation is not made. Also, it will never be cheaper than it is today to make needed improvements. TW

Sinkhole Closes Seattle Bridge

SEATTLE – Two vacant cars were swallowed by a sinkhole caused by rushing water from a broken main that undermined the road Wednesday morning, according to police. The sinkhole opened under the south end of the busy University Bridge over Portage Bay, preventing residents from over 50 houseboats from driving to their homes. The bridge was closed as a precaution, but officials still allowed boats to pass underneath.

“We have discovered some undermining of the soil, but there’s still a lot of water down there,” said Gregg Hirakawa, spokesman for the Seattle transportation department. The main spewed water for about three hours after the sinkhole opened. The utility believes there’s a horizontal break in the 24-inch cast iron pipe, and are not sure when the bridge will reopen.

This was the second major water main break Seattle residents have seen in a week. Several streets and businesses in the South Lake Union area. were flooded by a 20-inch water main shooting water like a geyser on April 25.

Roads aren’t the only part of our infrastructure that is aging. We don’t speak of the poor condition of many of the utilities that support our citizens but the reality of this unique crisis will have to be dealt with sooner than later. In the transportation world we find utility problems every day as we relocate and rebuild many systems as part of our projects. I tell people that light rail projects are really just utility relocation projects with some incidental track and electrification work thrown in. TW

Texas Legislature Passes Privatization Moratorium

Texas – A two-year moratorium on privatizing Texas toll roads was approved by the state legislature Friday after the practice was publicly criticized for providing companies with excessive profits from recent deals. The rapidly-growing state has been the leader in U.S. privatization, and credit analysts say the move may encourage other states to advance cautiously, if at all.

“There was great concern expressed by the public…about the proliferation of highly lucrative toll road deals and the long terms,” said Steven Polunsky, an aide to Republican state Sen. John Carona of Dallas. The moratorium bill also permits localities to compete for the multi-billion-dollar contracts, he said. The measure limits any new deals to 40 years instead of the 100-year period sought by TxDOT.

Texas’ Republican Gov. Rick Perry released a statement, reiterating his opposition to the bill, saying it failed to “address the serious concerns raised by the Federal Highway Administration earlier this week. I will review this bill carefully because we cannot have public policy in this state that shuts down road construction, kills jobs, harms air quality, prevents access to federal highway dollars, and creates an environment within local government that is ripe for corruption.” The governor did not say whether he planned to veto, although Polunksy said the bill passed with a veto-proof majority.