In This Issue

	SC Supreme Court Rules in Favor of DOT
	PennDOT Under Fire After Massive Traffic Jam
	NJ Transit Funding Sources Questioned
	Texas Co. Offers to Build, Maintain Mississippi River Bridge
	Bay Area Projects Recommended for Bond Funding
	Company Raises Tolls on 4 Private Alabama Bridges
	Viaduct Dispute Threatens Future Roads
	Caltrans, City Battle Development Costs
	Texas Bill Would Stop Toll Road Construction

SC Supreme Court Rules in Favor of DOT

South Carolina - A recent decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court has set a statewide precedent, by ruling that property owners are not owed compensation if road projects reduce traffic flow, or make access to their land less convenient. The decision, involving two cases, was applauded by local governments, but condemned by a property rights group.

In one instance, a hair salon owner sought compensation from the South Carolina DOT because a road project eliminated her salon’s direct highway access and required customers to wind through a neighborhood to get to her business. The second property owner sued SCDOT for removing a median break on Dave Lyle Boulevard, eliminating direct access to and from her property and the eastbound lanes.

Trial courts and the court of appeals ruled that the road changes resulted in a reduction in the value of the properties for which the owners were owed compensation. A Supreme Court majority disagreed Feb. 12, saying that the property owners continue to have access to the public road system and that their property rights have not been disturbed, regardless of the ability to perhaps only turn one way onto the boulevard.

This is an affirmation of principles that have been applied for many years. If the Supreme Court had sided with the property owners there would have been a deluge of claims for every curb cut eliminated or median installed that affected a property owner. TW

PennDOT Under Fire After Massive Traffic Jam

Pennsylvania - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is receiving heavy scrutiny after many roads were covered with snow and ice last week, causing the closure of three interstates for two days. Governor Ed Rendell called the situation an “almost total breakdown in communication” among state agencies was the reason for the colossal traffic jam that left some motorists stranded for as long as 24 hours. The governor issued a public apology and said the state would perform a complete investigation into what happened.

The National Guard delivered food, fuel, and baby supplies in Humvees to motorists on I-78 in eastern Pennsylvania after a severe Valentine’s Day storm resulted in several jack-knifed tractor trailers, which seriously tied up traffic. However, even after the trailers were cleared, large trucks behind them could not move because there was no traction, or their fuel had frozen. Interstates 78, 80, and 81 were subsequently closed, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority stopped collecting tolls for two days as cars were detoured from the interstates.

State officials say they could not prevent the massive 50-mile jam, for which they are receiving mounting criticism. “The situation was completely unacceptable. The question is, could we have done anything to handle it better?” asked Allen D. Biehler, Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary. “That’s what we have to concern ourselves with now.”

Sometimes, in the course of events, things are not preventable. PennDOT is a capable agency that has historically dealt well with storms and other emergencies. The combination of a record storm and the ensuing accidents created circumstances that were beyond their control and which were difficult to remedy once in place. The classic response from politicians is to blame someone because if something bad happens then someone must be at fault. I don’t personally know the men and women at PennDOT who worked on this problem but I am sure they were working their hearts out to solve it. TW

NJ Transit Funding Sources Questioned

New Jersey - Transit officials in New Jersey are considering another fare increase for NJ Transit, the state commuter agency, after recently deciding to cease using capital project money to pay for operating expenses. Belmar Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle, a NJ Transit board member says the agency’s expenses need to be analyzed to determine for what amount riders should be responsible, and what should be financed by other sources.

Advocates of mass transit criticize the agency and lawmakers for increasing fares on passengers for the third time since 2000, especially since motorists haven’t had a toll or gas tax increase in years.

NJ Transit authorities have predicted a $60 million shortfall without a 9.9% fare increase to cover fuel, expanded services, and labor contracts. The agency board plans to vote on the fare increase in April.

Damien Newton, Tri-State Transportation Campaign New Jersey Coordinator, blames the legislature for not coming up with a reliable funding formula for NJ Transit’s operating expenses.

The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers President Douglas Bowen says transit riders should be rewarded for reducing congestion, not punished by repeatedly raising their fees. He says legislators are simply refusing to tackle the long-term funding issue, which results in the repeated fare hikes.

Texas Co. Offers to Build, Maintain Mississippi River Bridge

ST LOUIS – A Texas company has proposed to build and operate a toll bridge at St. Louis, giving the long-awaited Mississippi River crossing “a new starting point,” according to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt. However, Illinois officials remain adamant that they will not support any proposal that utilizes tolls.

Gov. Blunt met with Missouri DOT director Pete Rahn and St. Louis business leaders to review the unsolicited proposal from Zachry American Infrastructure. “We all agreed it represents a new starting point in our efforts to find long-term solutions to grow the St. Louis region,” Blunt said in a statement. He plans to meet with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to discuss the bridge proposal and other issues concerning the St. Louis area.

Illinois transportation officials said the proposal is unattractive to Illinois, not only because of the toll aspect, but also because it called for the state to pay the $640 million cost to build a connector to I-64 and a tri-level interchange at the Interstate 55/70 and I-64 junction in East St. Louis, Ill.

Congress agreed in 2005 to put $239 million toward a new eight-lane bridge to relieve traffic on the existing Poplar Street Bridge. However, the estimated cost of the bridge is between $1 billion and $1.8 billion. Missouri and Illinois officials have been debating for the past 18 months over how to come up with the funding. Illinois, anti-tolls because thousands of Metro-East residents commute to St. Louis daily, has suggested a less expensive bridge that would at least divert I-70 traffic off the Poplar Street Bridge.

Bay Area Projects Recommended for Bond Funding

SACRAMENTO - Nine Bay Area projects, including the Caldecott Tunnel, I-580, and carpool lanes on U.S. 101, are at the top of the list of projects the California Transportation Commission staff is recommending to receive funding in the first major expenditure of the transportation bond funds approved in November. The Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission requested 30 projects, dedicated to improving traffic flow, to receive a collective $2 billion in funding from the bond revenues.

Among the nine Bay Area projects recommended for funding, which total just under $686 million, are: An eastbound carpool lane on I-580 in the Tri-Valley ($63 mil.), a fourth bore for the Caldecott Tunnel ($203.2 mil.), carpool lanes on Highway 101 in Sonoma County ($187 mil.), widening Highway 4 in eastern Contra Costa County ($103.4 mil.), widening Highway 101 in Santa Clara County ($74 mil.).

Company Raises Tolls on 4 Private Alabama Bridges

Alabama - The Michigan-based owner of four Alabama toll bridges plans to raise the charges next week for drivers on all four roads. Tolls on the Black Warrior Parkway in Tuscaloosa, the Emerald Mountain Expressway in Wetumpka, and the Alabama River Parkway in Millbrook will be increased by 50 cents to $1.25 as of March 1, according to the owner, Alinda Roads, LLC. The Foley Beach Express bridge will be raised from $1 to $1.50 for residents of Orange Beach, and from $2 to $3 for everyone else.

The company, based in Detroit, said it plans to use the extra money for bridge maintenance and expansion. Gordon Jarvis, Alinda Roads CEO, said the company plans to enhance and expand all of its properties in Alabama. They would like to accelerate plans to build a $20 million additional span along the Foley Beach Express bridge to double its capacity.

“The company has made a sizable investment in Alabama,” Jarvis said. “We like the state, how things are going, and we’re hoping to find other opportunities for infrastructure in Alabama.” Other improvements planned by the company for Alabama include $2 million for the construction of a connector road between the bridge and the beach for the Foley Beach Express.

Viaduct Dispute Threatens Future Roads

OLYMPIA – Washington state leaders’ decision to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a $2.8 billion elevated highway, overriding Seattle’s preference, may put billions of transit and road project dollars in the Puget Sound region in jeopardy. However, local officials still say that the March 13 advisory vote will take place, and the will of the voters will preside.

Following a state report which concluded the city’s preferred $3.4 billion four-lane tunnel preference wasn’t feasible, Gov. Christine Gregoire and state officials said they would proceed with the $2.8 billion elevated viaduct replacement.

However, Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, says Seattle’s problems are bigger than just the viaduct. The city plays a key role in an $8.5 billion transit and roads plan that a three-county coalition of transit, business, and environmental groups hoped to have on the November ballot. Even though the proposal does not use money that would go to the viaduct, the political atmosphere in Seattle is already tainted by the warfare viaduct replacement warfare. The regional package depends on Seattle’s support, where interest groups have literally disintegrated over the viaduct debate.

“This certainly complicates matters,” Murray said. “But (the plan) has bigger problems than the viaduct,” he said. “There’s a lot of anger in Seattle but I think the anger about (the regional transportation plan) is going to be related to SR 520 and the viaduct. And 520 is potentially still the more explosive issue.”

We usually don’t report week after week on a particular story but I think many of our readers are following the chain of events in Seattle on the Alaskan Way Viaduct so we included this article this week. It is a story whose final chapter hasn’t been written. TW

Caltrans, City Battle Development Costs

SACRAMENTO - Caltrans is urging local governments and developers statewide to consider the effects of growth on freeways, as a proposed 24-story office tower in the heart of downtown Sacramento promises to add hundreds of new commuters to the already slammed I-5 during rush hour. Caltrans is objecting a recent conclusion by city officials that there is nothing the city can feasibly do about the increased congestion the high rise Capitol Mall building will cause on local freeways.

“We don’t believe they have fulfilled (legal) responsibilities to mitigate highway impacts,” said Caltrans official Wayne Lewis. “It is important that growth help pay for its impacts.” “It’s not about 500 Capitol Mall itself,” said Caltrans official Wayne Lewis. “It’s about reducing the impacts of all development. There is this huge wave of projects coming through (in Sacramento) that we are concerned about.”

In the last several years, Caltrans has sued three cities over development-related traffic. Two of the cases were settled out of court after both sides agreed to compromise on potential impact fees. The third case is pending.

Nine major office, housing, and retail projects were in various stages of review in downtown Sacramento at last count, according to the city. A city traffic study last year concluded that, in total, these projects would bring a potential 28,000 more people through downtown throughout the day, with 2,400 new morning commutes and 3,100 afternoon commutes.

Caltrans and city officials say that despite the current disagreement about Capitol Mall, they have started collegial discussions about how to work together to avoid similar disagreements in the future.

Herein lies the problem. State DOTs issue no building permits. They are never the ones who are courted by developers. Never the less, when a local government advances a project like this and there are impacts to the state highway system, improvements will ultimately have to be made to accommodate the increased traffic demands. We need to do better working together on this sort of issue at the local and state level. TW

Texas Bill Would Stop Toll Road Construction

NORTH TEXAS – A bill in the Texas state legislature could halt the construction of all new toll roads through September 2009. Even though TxDOT says toll revenues are the only way to stay on top of the demand for new highways, Texas State Representative Garnett Coleman hopes to put a temporary stop to them.

“Texans already pay for state highways through the gasoline tax and now they’re being asked to pay twice with tolls. So clearly, the public is being nickeled and dimed,” said Coleman. The gas tax in Texas has not been raised in 14 years, and TxDOT says the gas tax of 1993 is not keeping up with the exploding population and increased demand for roads.

Coleman says the gas tax should be increased to fund the roads over the next five years. However, TxDOT argued that it would take an enormous increase to cover all the road projects planned for that time span. Under Coleman’s bill, toll roads already built or under construction would not be affected.

No one is paying twice for roads. After 14 years the gas tax in Texas is woefully inadequate to meet their exploding transportation needs. For whatever reason, tax revenues have not been increased to keep up with Texan’s demand for mobility. In some situations across the country, toll roads are the price the public pays for Congress’ and a state’s unwillingness to address the revenue needs of our transportation systems. There would be no need for toll roads if transportation revenues were sufficient to address the growing need for roads, highways and transit systems across the country. Until that happens, toll roads will continue to be the solution for certain situations. TW