In This Issue

	TDOT Loses $18.4M in Federal Funds
	States Awarded Funds for Faster Road Construction
	TxDOT Moves Forward on Toll Plans
	$58B Plan Proposed for San Diego Freeways
	New CDOT Director Supports I-70 Transit
	Solutions Presented as ARC cuts Billions in Projects
	Transportation Chief Vows to Fix Turnpike
	Republicans Fume over Last Minute Toll Road Sale Funding
	VDOT Release Six-Year Plan

TDOT Loses $18.4M in Federal Funds

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Transportation is losing another $18.4 million from the agency’s federal allocation of funds for the 2007 fiscal year. Since December 2005, a total of $171.4 million in federal funds has been rescinded from TDOT.

“Nearly 50 percent of the department’s budget comes from the federal government, so a reduction in these revenues significantly impacts the resources available to TDOT,” Commissioner Gerald Nicely said in a statement. “This loss of funds, coupled with inflation in the cost of construction materials further reduces our ability to address transportation needs in the state.

Tennessee uses federal funding to support various state programs, including road building, public transit and environmental programs. “Continuing federal shortfalls will force us to make difficult decisions in all of these areas,” said Nicely. The FHWA told TDOT the funds are being rescinded under the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery and Iraq Accountability Appropriations act of 2007.

States Awarded Funds for Faster Road Construction

National - The first round of recipients have been announced for the FHWA’s Highway’s for Life program to receive grant money for traffic congestion relief near construction zones in their states. Arizona, Georgia, Maine, Missouri, Oregon and Virginia will receive $1 million apiece to build roads more quickly, while making them last longer and cost less to maintain.

Additional states will be announced as grant recipients in the coming months. Among the first grants are: $1 million to help construct a new interchange on I-85 in Troup County, Ga. Georgia will also receive a state waiver of the 20% state match, saving the state $15.9 million. Missouri will receive $1 million to help rebuild part of I-29/I-35 in Kansas City, including the Missouri River Crossing.

Oregon will receive $1 million to reconstruct five bridges on Oregon 38 between Elkton and Drain. Virginia will receive $1 million to help fix a two-lane ramp at I-66 at U.S. 50 in Fairfax County. The state will receive two waivers as well, one for that project and one for a bridge replacement on Route 15/29 in Prince William County.

TxDOT Moves Forward on Toll Plans

Texas - TxDOT is moving forward with controversial plans to add toll lanes to a long stretch of Loop 1604 in San Antonio. The proposal suggests that tolls be used to construct the new lanes from Highway 151 on the northwest side, to Loop 1604 and I-10 on the west side. Some motorists are disputing the toll idea, saying they have already paid for the road, and shouldn’t have to pay any more.

Construction could begin by this time next year. TxDOT reported in the environmental impact statement that “the existing roadway was not designed to accommodate high volumes of traffic.” The department hopes the improvements will make the road safer as well as less congested. The report stated that in 1981, there were 162 crashes on the Loop. By 2005, the number of crashes was up to 1,863.

$58B Plan Proposed for San Diego Freeways

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A $58 billion regional transportation plan was released by the San Diego Association of Governments Friday. The plan for San Diego’s 300-mile freeway system calls for the addition of dozens of new toll and carpool lanes.

The document proposes adding 130 miles of carpool lanes to San Diego County’s 13 existing miles, and more than half of those would double as toll roads, by 2030. The association said the plan won’t necessarily improve commutes, but will prevent current conditions from worsening.

Included in the plan are proposed improvements to the corridors between El Cajon and downtown San Diego, between Escondido and downtown, and between Sorrento Valley and Chula Vista.

New CDOT Director Supports I-70 Transit

Colorado - The new director of the Colorado Department of Transportation is speaking out in favor of light rail as part of a study for how to deal with the congestion on Interstate 70. In the past, CDOT officials have said the potential cost of $7 billion to $8 billion of rail is too expensive.

CDOT Director Russell George, who previously served as House speaker and as head of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, says more rail, trails, and transit are needed for I-70. When the Eisenhower Tunnel on I-70 opened in 1973, it carried less than 8,000 vehicles a day. That number has nearly quadrupled to average over 30,000 vehicles passing through daily.

George says the public will make the final decision on how to fund the state transportation projects. Voters rejected to even study such a system in 2001. George said the CDOT only has a $1.1 billion budget and is facing another $100 billion in near-term needs.

Solutions Presented as ARC cuts Billions in Projects

Georgia - As Georgia lawmakers prepare to debate finance plans to raise critically-needed transportation funding, the Atlanta Regional Commission is set to cut $4.5 billion in projects – and is prepared to present a solution to the problem. On June 27, the ARC reviewed the multi-billion list of projects that cannot be built through 2030 because of the major funding shortfall that will likely worsen the region’s gridlock.

For the first time, the ARC used a system of ranking projects by their ability to relieve congestion, environmental impact and other factors as they decided which projects to cut. The plans’ biggest loss is the over $2 billion worth of HOV lanes that were cut. Any HOV lanes remaining in the plans will probably be tolled if they are built. An additional $1 billion in bus rapid transit lanes on interstates were also cut.

Two ideas have been proposed to make up for the Georgia Department of Transportation’s estimated $200 billion shortfall across the state over the next 30 years. David Doss, GDOT board member and former chairman, has suggested a referendum for a statewide penny sales tax, along with a list of projects to be funded – many of which are not in the ARC’s plans. The Metro Chamber of Commerce has proposed a regional penny sales tax to pay for unspecified projects.

The ARC, tentatively supporting the Chamber’s proposal, plans to present it’s own plan by its July 25 board meeting. “We have an obligation, as the metropolitan planning organization representing half the citizens of Georgia, to put our own ideas forward,” said ARC director Chick Krautler.

$100 billion in Colorado and $200 billion in Georgia. The numbers are staggering but real. A penny sales tax or nickel gas tax here and there just isn’t going to put a dent in this kind of need. A lot of smart people are working on the answer. The guarantee is that we’ll all have to take a little “medicine” whether we raise the money or decide to live with the congestion. TW

Transportation Chief Vows to Fix Turnpike

Massachusetts - A massive overhaul of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, including new financial controls and appointing an interim director, are among the first moves made by transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen as he prepares to become chairman of the Turnpike’s board of directors Sunday. This new assignment and the return to an executive director for daily management of the authority are the primary elements of a 2004 legislative attempt to pull the agency out of a $2 billion debt.

“Political battles and leadership turnover in the last administration squandered a lot of time and energy,” said Cohen. “All of these woes have taken a toll on this agency and left it with a damaged reputation, unclear mission, and an uncertain future.”

In a press conference Wednesday, Secretary Cohen announced the appointment of Mary Jane O’Meara, the director of Tobin Bridge operations, to be the temporary head of the authority while he continues to search for a permanent executive director. Cohen is hoping to raise the salary for the new director from $140,000 to $190,000.

Cohen also called for the establishment of a new maintenance plan for urban roadways and the Big Dig. Other immediate actions will include new monthly financial reports and a top-to-bottom organizational review.

Republicans Fume over Last Minute Funding for Toll Road Sale

New Jersey - Republicans are raging over a single sentence at the end of the 291-page, $33.48 billion state budget approved by the Legislature last week. They claim it gives Gov. Jon Corzine unrestricted authority to spend money in preparation to sell and lease state assets including the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway to raise needed revenue.

The southern New Jersey lawmakers say they didn’t see the document until hours before they had to make a decision on the budget. Some Senators say the party could increase opposition from New Jersey residents, who have shown in polls that they are not in favor of the governor’s plan.

Corzine has not released his asset-monitization plan yet, but has said it won’t involve selling toll roads, and likely won’t involve leasing them to a private consortium. He said his plan will probably entail the creation of a nonprofit organization. One thing appears to be certain though, that toll increases are coming to New Jersey. The parkway has had just one toll increase in its 50 years of existence: tolls were raised to 35 cents in 1989. The most recent turnpike toll hike was in 2003.

This is the reason publicly held toll roads are so different than private operations. Raising the toll once in 50 years is a reflection of what happens when you manage a business (toll roads are a business) by public opinion polls. Would Toyota be profitable today if its management determined the sale price of its 2008 models based on the mood of the public who could fire them? Hardly. The Chicago Skyway was a losing money for years until it started running like a business - in the hands of the private sector. TW

VDOT Release Six-Year Plan

Virginia - Virginia roads will be getting an extra $3 billion infusion over the next six years, thanks to an improvement plan approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board last week. The new funding will pay for $10 million worth of projects in Central Virginia in the next ten months. Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads will see more of the money because their needs are more critical.

Projects including Belmont Bridge construction, truck climbing lanes on I-81 and interchange improvements at Zion Crossroads will all be funded from the additional $600 million allocated by the General Assembly for transportation in the upcoming fiscal year.

“The new projects that people will see are, for the most part, projects that are already in the plan but didn’t have sufficient funding to move ahead,” said VDOT spokesperson Lou Hatter.