In This Issue

	HOT Lane Plan has its Allies
	Gov. Approves Local-Option Vehicle Fees2
	Engineers Use Bridge Collapse to Improve Highways
	Future of Turnpike Authoirty in Question
	Contract Awarded to Rebuild Highway Collapse
	Fl. Senate Approves Leasing Existing Toll Roads
	Officials: Boston’s Big Dig may Hit $15 Billion
	Texas May Lift Gas Tax for Summer
	Is it Time for a D.C. Congestion Charge?

HOT Lane Plan has its Allies

LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia - A coalition of state agencies in Georgia has applied for a federal grant to replace HOV lanes with high-occupancy toll lanes on a stretch of I-85 in Gwinnett County. If the $74.4 million federal grant is approved next month, the I-85 project between I-285 and Old Peachtree Road will include 14.3 miles of lanes free of charge to buses, motorcycles and vehicles with three or more people.

Rates for the HOT lanes would vary based on time of day and amount of congestion, and would average about $2.75, according to officials. The funding proposal also includes money for two new park and ride lots along the route and 40 new buses to carry people into downtown. So far, the plan appears to be supported by commuters in the Gwinnett County area. “I think it would be worth it with the amount of people who commute downtown,” said resident Cameca Fenderson, who has commuted from Lawrenceville to Midtown for two years.

If approved, the state will pay $18.6 million toward the project, for a total of $93 million. U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman Brian Turmail said between one and three proposals of the 26 submitted will be approved. Transportation officials in Georgia are confident that their submission will be chosen because of the quick results the project will provide, a characteristic the federal agency is looking for in choosing.

Gov. Approves Local-Option Vehicle Fees

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Governor Christine Gregoire has given her approval for a new law that allows cities and counties in the state to charge a vehicle fee of up to $20, without the approval of voters, to help fund transportation and transit projects. The governor said in an interview that she had no reservations in signing the measure, which it is strictly a local-option device for governments short on cash to consider.

The legislation is an extension of a law passed in 2005 which permits local transportation support districts to request voter approval for increases in sales, tolls, gas and property tax, bonds, transportation impact fees, and up to $100-per-year-per-car in vehicle fees – either individually or as part of a package.

“Cities and counties often struggle to maintain their transportation systems in the face of escalating costs and limited revenues,” said the governor. “This bill encourages local governments to partner with each other to invest in local transportation infrastructure, providing cities and counties with an additional tool to improve transportation.”

Engineers Use Bridge Collapse to Improve Highways

OAKLAND, Calif. – In the aftermath of a fiery highway collapse in the Bay Area, engineers are examining concrete pieces and bent steel, hoping that in the future, better highways may be built which can withstand the flames that brought these connectors tumbling down. The results of their analyzing won’t be used in the rapid rebuilding of the busy overpass, because of time considerations and officials say it is pointless to fortify it against such an unusual occurrence.

But eventually, scientists hope to use what they have learned from this accident. “This is the most valuable thing that can come out of this tragic collapse,” said Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, a University of California civil engineering professor who is leading a team of scientists analyzing the disaster with a $25,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

The highway collapse occurred after a gasoline tanker crashed and ignited last weekend, producing such intense heat that the steel girders supporting the connectors above the incident weakened and bent. Dr. Astaneh-Asl, believes the damage from the fire may have been minimized if the two decks were built further apart. He plans to identify other critical double deck highways, such as the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland, and see if concrete jacketing or fire-resistant paint could be installed.

“This was an extraordinary, rare event,” said Mark DeSio, Caltrans director of external affairs. “Such an occurrence is enormously more unlikely than the earthquakes and floods that California’s bridges are currently being designed to resist.” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the lower section, between westbound I-80 and southbound I-880, could be reopened as early as next week.

Mark makes a good point. While the natural reaction is to go out and take some action to fix all bridges to avoid such an event again, the reality is that this was an unusually rare occurrence their money is better spent on more probable situations. Caltrans and their industry have responded well to this problem as state DOTs have been known to do over the years. TW

Future of Turnpike Authoirty in Question

Pennsylvania - A Pennsylvania lawmaker says that regardless of whether the Pennsylvania turnpike is privatized, the authority that runs it is inefficient and rife with political patronage, and should be abolished. State Sen. Jane Orie, R-Allegheny, has proposed that control of the toll road be turned over to the state department of transportation.

Orie believes the state should follow in the footsteps of New Jersey, where all transportation agencies are led by a single chief, and Delaware, where the state department of transportation runs the toll roads. Sen. Orie says that although previous attempts to eliminate the agency have failed, she thinks voters would approve the move because it would save the state money by eliminaing the authority’s highly-paid administrators and excess staff.

Turnpike Commission spokesman Bill Capone says the current two-entity structure is best for both the state and for commuters, citing the Valentine’s Day storm which stranded thousands of motorists on interstates maintained by PennDOT while the turnpike remained open. “We’re smaller, we’re not part of a giant agency, so we’re more nimble, more able to respond,” Capone said. “If the issue is efficiency, I struggle to see how merging us with a much bigger, slower agency would be better.”

PennDOT has 11,584 employees; the Turnpike Commission has 2,279. The commission’s operating revenue for 2006 was $612 million, with $580 million for operating expenses; PennDOT’s budget was $5.9 billion. Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, who is looking to lease the turnpike, has not taken a stand on the authority elimination.

Contract Awarded to Rebuild Highway Collapse

SACRAMENTO – Transportation officials in California announced Monday that C.C. Meyers, Inc. has been awarded the contract to rebuild the collapsed overpass following a fiery gasoline tanker crash. The contractor, out of Rancho Cordova, Calif., had the low bid of $867,075 for the emergency work on I-580, which Caltrans estimated to cost between $5 million and $20 million.

Officials are anxious to reopen the main artery between San Francisco and its East Bay suburbs, and have offered the contractor a $200,000-a-day incentive to complete the bridge repair before June 27. The maximum incentive is $5 million; however, if the emergency project goes beyond the June 27 completion date, the contractor will be docked $200,000 per day.

Federal and state transportation officials estimate the road closure is costing the San Francisco Bay Area economy between $4 million and $6 million a day in lost worker productivity and commuter costs. The I-580 contract is in addition to $8 million in construction to reopen a ramp connecting westbound I-80 to southbound I-880 on Monday and almost $9 million for onsite accident clean up and to boost public transit.

Fl. Senate Approves Leasing Existing Toll Roads

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Senate approved the leasing of existing toll roads Thursday, which could possibly lead to allowing private companies to operate the state’s well-known tollways including the Sunshine Skyway bridge and Alligator Alley. The measure, approved 37-2 in the Senate, is now headed back to the House. Many fear the bill could also lead to statewide toll increases.

Under the bill, the Department of Transportation would be allowed to lease existing toll facilities, with the exception of the Florida Turnpike, and auxiliary turnpike facilities including the Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County and Polk Parkway near Lakeland. The transportation package would also permit authorities to raise toll rates as often as once a year, based on the consumer price index.

Other significant provisions contained in the package include an increase in the Florida Turnpike’s bonding capacity to $10 billion, which would result in an additional $900 million in turnpike construction projects. It would also require local governments to consult the state transportation department before making land-use planning decisions that could affect rock mining.

Officials: Boston’s Big Dig may Hit $15 Billion

BOSTON - Boston’s Big Dig highway tunnel project may reach a final cost of nearly $15 billion by the time it is completed in 2010, Massachusetts state officials announced last Friday. In a report released by Gov. Deval Patrick’s finance team, led by Secretary of Administration and Finance Leslie Kirwan, a ceiling tunnel collapse last summer and other delays could increase the cost by $173 million, and contractor dispute claims could raise it another $160 million, totaling a $333 million increase.

“Additional quality issues may emerge,” officials said in a statement regarding the sale of $1 billion in state bonds this week. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority will also need to fund $210 million to pay for parts of the project already underway, including parks being constructed on top of the downtown Boston Tunnels, the state said.

The Turnpike Authority released a statement as well on Friday, saying it does not expect costs to hit $15 billion, because some of the costs associated with the bridge collapse may be recovered, and the state is contesting $244 million in contractor claims which are the source of the $160 million in estimated potential additional costs.

The Big Dig was originally estimated to cost $2.8 billion when construction began in 1991. The U.S. Government capped its contributions to the project at $8.5 billion.

Texas May Lift Gas Tax for Summer

AUSTIN – Lawmakers in Texas House have tentatively adopted a measure that would suspend the state’s 20-cent gas tax over the summer traveling season. If the measure makes it through the Senate and is signed by Gov. Rick Perry, gas prices will immediately drop 20 cents per gallon for 90 days.

State Senators don’t seem quite as excited to give motorists some relief at the pumps as gas prices hover near $3 a gallon. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the gas tax suspension isn’t a done deal yet, “Particularly at a time when we’re trying to find more resources to build highways and reduce congestion.”

The amendment would cost Texas approximately $500 million to $700 million toward transportation and public education. The money would be made up for by tapping into the state’s $8 billion budget surplus, currently divided between money set aside for school property tax funds and the state’s Rainy Day fund.

There are many reasons that gas prices are headed up this summer. As prices increase, the relative portion reflected in the gas tax diminishes. I remind our readers of the Illinois experiment with this some years ago when they suspended 5 cents and prices stayed down a nickel for about 20 minutes. Better the budget surplus money went to fixing Texas’ funding deficit and eliminates the opportunity for fuel companies to fill the price gap after the tax is removed. TW

Is it Time for a D.C. Congestion Charge?

WASHINGTON - A handful of Washington, D.C. officials are considering a congestion tax, similar to the one New York City officials are looking into, and the one in effect in London which has cut traffic in the city center by over 25 percent. The cost of driving into central London is approximately $16 per day.

London’s congestion charge program, launched in 2003, has raised nearly $244 million in taxes, which is mainly spent on improving bus service in the restricted area. The congestion tax has had no effect on businesses and retail in the restricted zone, and has not adversely affected roads surrounding the zone, according to independent studies.

Washington, D.C. suburbs are second only to New York for the longest commuting time in the nation, with up to 40 minutes of daily traffic jams for many drivers. Commuters also have other options to get to D.C., with the third-most highly used public transit system in the nation available to them. Supporters of the D.C. congestion charge say it is one of the only ways to solve their greatest fiscal frustration: their inability to charge a commuter tax on suburb residents who earn a living in the city. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty was the first to raise the idea, but he is not certain he will push for the tax.