In This Issue

	Restrictions to Cross-Border Program Become Law
	Gov. Sends New Transportation Plan to Senate
	2007 Safest Cars
	Leaders Dispute 405 Widening Plans
	Lawmakers Debate Transportation and Taxes
	Secretary Peters Backs Hudson Tunnel
	Commuters Celebrate Reopened Connector
	Truckers Speak Out Against Truck Lanes Tolls

Restrictions to Cross-Border Program Become Law

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Department’s pilot program to open the Mexico border to truckers is facing a road block after President George W. Bush signed legislation with a provision restricting the program. Program plans must be better publicized, according to the provision, which requires several notices to be published by the DOT in the Federal Register.

Both the Senate and the House approved the bill on Thursday, May 24. The list of laws and regulations mandated by the legislation include commercial driver’s license requirements to be designated by the transportation secretary if the U.S. accepts compliance with corresponding Mexican law. An analysis of the differences between U.S. and Mexican laws must also be provided by the DOT.

The data and information on the pre-authorization safety audits performed on those Mexican motor carriers with authority to operate in the states will also be made public. The Office of Inspector General is now responsible for monitoring and reviewing the conduct of the program. Six months after the program begins, the inspector must present an interim report to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation.

I am not sure what the solution is for cross-border transport of goods between the US and Mexico. However, having worked at the ADOT Port of Entry in Nogales I do know that there has to be a better way than what is going on right now. There were miles worth of trucks waiting on the Mexican side of the border for a day or more to cross to the warehouses just north of Nogales where goods are transferred from Mexican carriers to their U.S. counterparts. The whole INS and DEA processes show a great need for something better. TW

Gov. Sends New Transportation Plan to Senate

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Hotel room taxes may soon help decrease the funding deficit in Nevada under a proposal by Governor Jim Gibbons, introduced by the state Senate Tuesday. The plan calls for diverting Las Vegas-area room taxes to provide minimal relief to the $5 billion funding shortfall through 2015.

Governor Gibbon’s plan states that the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority would devote $20 million the first year, then 30 percent of any room tax growth each year afterward. The new bill uses portions of the governor’s initial proposal which would have used vehicle sales and live entertainment tax. The reallocated money in the governor’s plan is in addition to projects funded by the DOT’s general $1.4 billion budget.

The governor has promised not to raise taxes to pay for the state’s escalating transportation needs. Brent Boynton, the governor’s spokesman, said he was not sure how much funding the new proposal would provide for transportation. His original plan would have covered about half of the needed funding. The Senate committees on Taxation and Transportation and Homeland Security were expected to review both plans this week.

2007 Safest Cars

The Audi A4, Acura RL and Saab 9-3 all made it to the top of Forbes list of the safest cars of 2007. The three vehicles not only received the highest possible marks for safety, but also received Consumer Reports highest-possible accident-avoidance ratings.

Forbes used data from Consumer Reports, the Department of Transportation, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) to compile their list. To make the list, vehicles had to have at least two of the following:

• CR’s highest rating for accident-avoidance capabilities
• Perfect IIHS crash test scores
• Perfect NHTSA crash-test scores
• A significantly better-than-average (in this case, lower-than-average) frequency of insurance injury-claim filings, according to the HLDI

The NHTSA defines a five-star crash test rating as the chance of serious injury being 10 percent or less in a head-on collision with both vehicles are traveling 35 mph. CR judges the most important factors as brakes and emergency handling in its accident-avoidance capabilities tests. Other cars that made the list include the BMW Z4 coupe and the Lexus SC convertible.

Leaders Dispute 405 Widening Plans

WESTMINISTER – Leaders of Los Angeles and Orange Counties are clashing over the widening of the 405 Freeway in Northern Orange County. Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials fear the project will create a massive bottleneck at the county line.

Orange County Transit Authority’s $500 million project, still a decade away, plans to add a lane in both directions of the 405 Freeway from Costa Mesa to Seal Beach. Traffic experts concur that the most recent disagreement demonstrates the need for better regional planning among organizations with conflicting opinions on how to relieve congestion.

MTA officials say they are already bracing for more bottlenecks at the Los Angeles County line as the OCTA widens the Santa Ana Freeway to ten lanes over the next three years. The MTA is planning to widen its portion of I-5 from six to eight lanes by 2016.

Lawmakers Debate Transportation and Taxes

Pennsylvania - Legislative leaders in Pennsylvania have vowed to prepare a $27 billion 2007-2008 state government budget without a general tax hike. However, Gov. Ed Rendell has said a tax increase is not out of the question, despite higher-than-expected state revenues. Governor Rendell has suggested raising the general tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to pay for transportation programs and health care.

Other considerations on the table to raise funding for mass transit and road and bridge maintenance include instituting a $1 congestion fee for certain toll exits, tolls on I-80, and new taxing rights for regional transportation authorities. Some of the governor’s major policy priorities for the year are taken care of outside the general fund, such as increasing state aid for under-funded mass-transit agencies and increased road and bridge maintenance spending by $1.7 billion this year.

Rendell is hoping for legislative authority to request bids for the long-term lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private consortium. House Democrats are expected to release an alternative plan this week with various tax and fee increases.

Secretary Peters Backs Hudson Tunnel

New Jersey - U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters sat down with Gov. Jon Corzine last Friday for a news conference to discuss the key transportation issues in New Jersey, and the importance of buckling up. Secretary Peter’s agency worked with Corzine on a public service advertisement, using his near-fatal car crash to encourage motorists to buckle up. Secretary Peters said preliminary data shows traffic deaths on U.S. roads dropped slightly last year, to 43,300 from 43,443 the year before, but “Even one death is too many.”

Secretary Peters’ discussions with Corzine about other significant traffic issues included the administration’s support for the $7.5 billion Hudson River commuter rail tunnel. Corzine plans to dedicate $1.5 billion in federal and state highway congestion relief funds to the project, and New Jersey Transit hopes the federal government will finance more than half of the total cost of the project.

The tunnel under the Hudson River will be built next to the existing commuter rail tunnel, and give 100 more New Jersey towns direct rail access to New York City. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has committed $2 billion to the project. Once approved, could begin construction as soon as 2009.

Commuters Celebrate Reopened Connector

California - Bay Area commuters celebrated the Friday before Memorial Day weekend as they sailed across the newly reopened connector just 26 days after a gasoline tanker fire caused the overpass to collapse. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined politicians and bureaucrats in applauding Caltrans and contractor C.C. Myers for the speedy repair to I-580.

The overpass was completed at about 8:40 p.m. on Thursday night, and commuters said it was difficult to notice the brand-new $5.9 million stretch of the I-580 connector. Myers credited his dedicated team, and Caltrans stepping up with the same great attitude in getting the work done so quickly.

The week following the April 29 collapse, congestion in the Bay Area dropped by 11 percent. It remained 2 percent lower than normal as drivers returned to the freeways in the 2 ½ weeks following. “The fact that congestion didn’t go through the roof show that people were able to change their behavior,” said Rob Hranac of Berkeley Transportation Systems, which analyzes Caltrans freeway data. The data shows that drivers avoided gridlock by shifting their travel times and routes to avoid the I-580 connectors.

The public has shown an ability to be very creative in circumstances like this. After the Northridge earthquake in Southern California, transit ridership increased and drivers found alternate routes until damaged freeways were repaired. The same is true during construction. With proper notice, the public is able to deal with rather harsh circumstances for extended periods of time. We need to leverage that creativity more often to the benefit of the traveling public as we build projects in our states. TW

Truckers Speak Out Against Truck Lanes Tolls

Georgia – Truckers in the Georgia area are taking up arms against GDOT’s truck lane plans that may force big rigs to use the lanes at their own expense. How to deal with the increasing truck traffic between the Atlanta airport and Savannah ports and who should pay for it has not been decided.

Perry Wilson, who sends hundreds of Little Debbie trucks out onto Georgia’s roads, is a strong supporter of truck-only lanes to make the roads safer and less congested. However, he doesn’t agree with lanes the truckers would be forced to use, and to pay. “I didn’t know they were going to be tolled,” said Wilson. If they’re mandatory, “that’s going to put it on the back of the trucking companies to build the roads.”

Currently, 10,000 trucks per day travel on the north end of I-285, and parts of I-75 see 30,000 trucks daily. National and state trucking companies strongly disagree with the notion of mandatory truck lanes, saying they pay 24.4 cents federal tax per gallon of diesel to car drivers 18.4 cents per gallon of gas, even though they carry goods the car drivers eat, wear, and use. Some trucking officials in the region have even threatened to take their business elsewhere if the mandatory truck lanes become reality in the state.

GDOT has begun a series of public meetings on expanding I-575 and I-75, offering a detailed study with alternative options of what to build. The study states that for truck lanes to be affordable, “they may have to be mandatory for through-trucks.”

The trucking industry has supported dedicated lanes and roadways to make their travels more efficient. However, they are generally not in favor of specific strategies aimed at them to pay for these lanes or roadways as evidenced by the quote in this story. There are no “free lunches” in this business. Everyone wants to tax the “other guy” to avoid the personal pain of paying for the services we want. My sense is that we have run out of “other guys.” TW