In This Issue

	Hwy. 212 Work To Wrap Early
	Environmentalists Call for ‘Independence Day from Excesses of Eminent Domain’
	Tampa Bay Regional Transit Board Becomes Law
	Sole Bid for the Huey P. Long Bridge Comes in High

Hwy. 212 Work To Wrap Early

Minnesota - The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s work on Hwy. 212 to Hwy. 41 in Chaska is living up to the project’s slogan “Sooner than you think.” MnDOT officials announced last week that it will likely be completed this year, nine months ahead of schedule.

That portion of the new Hwy. 212 project was expected to be complete by fall 2008. Residents and businesses along the route were happy to hear the news while in the midst of the busy summer construction season, as backups beginning as early at 6:30 a.m. frustrate them on some days.

MnDOT says the project is ahead of schedule because its 500-person work force has been working longer hours on the 11.8 mile stretch of the four-lane highway from Eden Prairie west past Chaska. The first phase, from Dell Road to Eden Prairie, was completed in November. This second phase, between Dell Road and Powers Boulevard in Chanhassen, is expected to be open to traffic this fall.

Environmentalists Call for ‘Independence Day from Excesses of Eminent Domain’

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Environmental Affairs Council in California is seeking public and private backing to halt plans for a freeway expansion called the South Stockton 6-Lane. The agency, devoted to bringing attention to land use abuse and environmental threats, says the project will radically alter existing homes, neighborhoods, and communities.

“We have been involved in fights like this from one end of California to the other. But this may be the most serious assault of the public trust I have ever seen,” said Steve Hamilton, president of the council. Despite an outpouring of opposition, Caltrans continues to press forward with this outrageous proposal. The people should not stand for it.”

Caltrans says the project will “result in over seventeen and a half miles of continuous 6-lanes of State Route 99, between mile posts 5.3 and 22.9, from the south end of the City of Manteca, north into the City of Stockton.” The Environmental Affairs Council is specifically opposed to the “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Alternative” which they say will use eminent domain to destroy neighborhoods for the sake of the less-congested freeway.

Tampa Bay Regional Transit Board Becomes Law

Florida - The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority has become a reality after Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation for its creation. TBARTA has been created to enhance mobility and expand multimodal transportation alternatives for passengers and freight within its seven-county region.

"This legislation will give us an entity to address our transportation needs," said Stuart Rogel, president of the Tampa Bay Partnership, the driving force behind the legislation. "The real work is still ahead of us, but the effects of this bill will be felt for decades to come."

The agency will have the authority to plan, finance, develop, build, and operate regional transportation facilities, for which no organization has had the responsibility in the past. Backers of the legislation say the regional transportation approach makes sense because of the interconnected nature of businesses, commuters, and tourists in Tampa Bay.

The Florida Department of Transportation has committed to providing staff support to TBARTA. Next a list of prospective board members must be presented to Gov. Crist. He will appoint the 16-member board. The new board will meet within 60 days of the signing of the bill, to develop a regional transportation plan, including mass transit, in concert with FDOT.

"Local officials really stepped up to make this happen," Rogel said. "They stepped out of their comfort zones to help, allowing us to achieve the first goal of the effort -- regional cooperation."

Sole Bid for the Huey P. Long Bridge Comes in High

Louisiana - The sole bid for the Huey P. Long Bridge widening project in Louisiana has come in at 50 percent higher than original engineer’s cost estimates. However, after the originally $299 million third phase went through three postponements and at least one estimate increase, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development may have to proceed with the contract anyway.

A joint venture of Massman Construction Co., Kansas City, Traylor Bros. Inc., Evansville, Ind., and IHI, Inc. of New York City was the lone bidder on the project, at $489,105,568. Massman is currently working on the $83.1 million first phase of the project to widen five bridge piers. Phase I is on schedule to be completed near the end of 2009.

“Because this is a public bid process, we can’t negotiate with the contractor,” said John Oglesby, project control engineer. “It’s either take it or leave it.” The original completion date was 2012, but after Hurricane Katrina, it has been tentatively moved back to 2013. One of the potential bidders for Phase III, Boh Bros. has been contracted to complete the $12.1 million Phase II contract for railroad revisions by the end of this year.