In This Issue

	San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Closed
	Toll Road Supported to Help Ease Congestion on Illinois 120
	MTA, Transport for London Consulting Deal up for Vote
	Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension to Open Nov. 15
	Report: Amtrak Understated Passenger Service Loss
	WSDOT seeks Firms to Replace Half of the Alaskan Way Viaduct
	Toll Haters Stewing Silently?
	Florida DOT Closes $900M Port of Miami Deal
	ADOT: 15% Cut would Decimate Staff, Services
	Accelerated Schedule Announced for I-69

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Closed

SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was closed after a cable snapped on the span's upper deck at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, during rush hour traffic. California Highway Patrol Officer Peter Van Eckhardt said two roads and a 5,000-pound crossbeam fell onto the westbound direction of the roadway, damaging three cars and slightly injuring one driver.

The California Department of Transportation said crews had completed welding on the section that failed but the repair would need to be tested for safety before the bridge could be reopened. The portion of the Bay Area's busiest bridge that collapsed was part of a repair done over Labor Day weekend, which was made after crews found a cracked link during a seismic safety upgrade. The rods that snapped held a clamp over the cracked link.

The Wall Street Journal reported that drivers of the 270,000 vehicles who use the bridge daily seemed to take the shutdown in stride. Scheduled repairs closed the bridge over three of the past four Labor Day weekends, which turned out to be practice runs for organizations such as the U.S. Postal Service. "We just implemented whatever plan we had back then to route the mail around not using the bridge," said James Wigdel, a local post-office spokesman.

Toll Road Supported to Help Ease Congestion on Illinois 120

Illinois - A nine-mile toll road has received the backing of Lake County officials, following over three years of study on the bypass known as the notoriously congested Illinois Highway 120. The $461 million Central Lake Thruway project is expected to take ten years to finish, and be paid for by tolls and public funds.

The toll road concept emerged from a $1 million feasibility study commissioned by a collaboration of 10 communities and the county, which formed the Route 120 Corridor Planning Council in 2005. Officials say Highway 120 is already at capacity with a daily average vehicle count of 20,000 vehicles, and projections for 2030 show traffic doubling to 40,000 vehicles per day, which experts say could be handled by the new thruway.

Plans show a four-lane highway with 17 mostly at-grade intersections, running from east of U.S. Highway 45 at Almond Road to west of Wilson Road. The thruway would run just south of the existing Highway 120, which creates a bottleneck by going to two lanes from four throughout the corridor.

MTA, Transport for London Consulting Deal up for Vote

NEW YORK - The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has proposed a financial arrangement with Transport for London to share employees and ideas, three weeks after former London transit executive Jay Walder took office as the MTA’s new chief. The authority’s finance committee this week passed a two-year contract for consulting services at maximum cost of $500,000. The contract calls for the exchange of information, collaborate research initiatives and comparing of ideas between the two research giants, and will be voted on by the full MTA board of directors on Wednesday.

New MTA chief Jay Walder, who previously spent six years as the managing director for finance for Transport for London, negotiated the deal. MTA officials say the agreement calls for the two agencies to reimburse each other for the cost of employees’ expenses and time.

“The basic idea is that it is a two-way street, with talent going both ways and the agencies simply covering costs, with no profit in either direction,” MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said. “For the MTA, the agreement provides access to talented people who have direct experience with the types of technology projects the chairman has prioritized.” Soffin said that the MTA anticipates “significant savings” from the arrangement because using private consultants for the same services would be considerably higher cost.

Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension to Open Nov. 15

California - This week transportation officials announced the $890-million Metro Gold Line Eastside extension will open Nov. 15. The six-mile extension runs between Union Station to Atlantic Boulevard in East L.A., with 1.7 miles of the track consisting of twin tunnels.

The line “is going to greatly benefit the community by linking it with schools, hospitals, shopping and business opportunities throughout the county,” Ara Najarian, chairman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, said in a statement. Construction began in 2004 on the extension to the Gold Line, which currently runs from Union Station to Sierra Madre Villa.

Free rides on the entire Gold Line will be offered by Metro on opening day, a Sunday.

This was an impressive project constructed by a Washington/Obayashi team working for Metro. It services a critical area of the city and will bring many benefits to those neighborhoods. The twin bore tunnels were complex, the local issues challenging and they had an excellent safety record. I was privileged to serve as the chair of their DRB. TW

Report: Amtrak Understated Passenger Service Loss

WASHINGTON – American taxpayers shelled out an average of $32 per Amtrak passenger in 2008, amounting to four times the estimates from an internal Amtrak probe, according to an internal study. The study performed by Subsidyscope, a unit of the Pew Charitable Trusts, found that Amtrak lost money on 41 of its 44 total routes. The study took into account equipment depreciation, as opposed to the rail operator’s review.

The biggest loss for the line was the train traveling between New Orleans and Los Angeles – the Sunset Limited – that lost $462 per passenger. By contrast, the Northeast corridor, which has the highest passenger volume of any Amtrak route, greatly enhances efficiency; the corridor’s high-speed Accela Express made a profit of about $41 per passenger.

Stephen Van Beek, president of the Eno Transportation Foundation, a think tank, said Subsidyscope’s analysis could help guide decisions on how to allot the $8 billion spending set aside for high speed and intercity rail in the federal economic stimulus bill. Van Beek said passenger rail lines throughout the world lose money and require government subsidies to cover expenses, and rail service should not be held to a higher standard than other forms of transportation.

“Let’s not hold rail up and say it needs to make money when highways don’t make money, transit doesn’t make money and a lot of small airports don’t make money and they all get subsidies,” Van Beek said. Marcus Peacock, project director for Subsidyscope, said his group’s study should bring more scrutiny to the Amtrak routes that are losing the largest amounts of money.

WSDOT seeks Firms to Replace Half of the Alaskan Way Viaduct

SEATTLE – WSDOT issued an advertisement for bids on Oct. 26 to replace the southern mile of the seismically vulnerable Alaskan Way Viaduct. The construction contract is expected to cost more than $200 million and sustain an estimated 1,017 jobs. In addition to replacing nearly half of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, this project will improve nearby surface streets, sidewalks and bicycle routes.

“After many years of analysis and debate, we know the risk of the loss of the corridor is great,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “This is why this contract is so significant. We are replacing a mile of the seismically vulnerable Alaskan Way Viaduct structure and improving one of the state’s most heavily traveled freight and vehicle corridors.”

Set to break ground in March 2010, the project will replace the viaduct between S. Holgate and S. King streets with a new side-by-side roadway that has wider lanes, meets current earthquake standards and improves mobility for people and goods in the south of downtown area. The project was designed to connect any future replacement of the remaining viaduct along the waterfront, including the proposed bored tunnel.

Toll Haters Stewing Silently?

Maryland – If drivers are concerned about the fact that they could be paying some of the highest tolls in the nation to drive on the Intercounty Connector, they’re staying quiet. About a dozen people spoke at a public hearing on Wednesday on the proposed toll rates of 20 to 35 cents per mile for two-axle vehicles, depending on travel times. Large trucks would pay up to $2.63 per mile during peak hours, under the proposed ICC toll rates, which state transportation officials say are comparable to those on newer roads.

Toll rates across the country typically range from 2 to 25 cents per mile, according to the AAA. Maryland transportation officials referenced two newer tollways in Colorado and three in California, on which maximum peak rates vary from 27 to 37 cents per mile.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Prince George’s) asked the board to offer discount tolls to drivers who live near the highway. “My constituents can’t afford this road,” Frush said. “Quite frankly, we find that this road is beyond our means.”

Maryland transportation officials say the ICC is needed to help east-west traffic flow smoothly and safely past the Capital Beltway. The $2.56 billion highway is scheduled to open in phases, with the first 7.2-mile section expected to open in fall 2010, and the entire road complete by spring 2012.

The Maryland Transportation Authority board is scheduled to vote on the tolls Dec. 17.

I do the partnering facilitation on all three of the current ICC contracts. Earlier this week I drove from Beltsville to Rockville (the basic limits of the project) during the evening rush hour, which took me almost two hours. I could have made that commute in less than 30 minutes were the ICC opened. About 15 minutes into it, I would have paid a lot more than 35 cents a mile to get out of that mess. TW

Florida DOT Closes $900M Port of Miami Deal

Florida – The Florida Department of Transportation has reached a financial close on the Port of Miami Tunnel Project, which will be delivered as a public-private partnership. With the assistance of national law firm Nossaman, FDOT, in partnership with Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami entered into an agreement with MAT Concessionaire, LLC (MAT) for a $900 million deal to provide MA

This is the second transportation project in the country to use an availability payment structure, following the recently closed FDOT I-595 Corridor Improvements Project.

The Port of Miami Tunnel will link the Port of Miami facilities on Dodge Island with MacArthur Causeway and I-395 via twin 42’ diameter tunnels under Biscayne Bay, increasing the Port’s competitiveness and relieving congestion in downtown Miami by diverting passenger and freight traffic to I-395 and improving access to I-95. The project also includes widening of MacArthur Causeway and other roadway improvements.

ADOT: 15% Cut would Decimate Staff, Services

Arizona – The same day Arizona transportation officials announced the closure of 13 rest stops because of spending cuts, the agency released projections requested by the governor of what a 15% budget would look like. The Arizona Department of Transportation told Gov. Jan Brewer’s office that it would have to close all rest stops, shut down most Motor Vehicle Division offices and suspend all highway maintenance except for emergency repairs, if the state uses budget cuts alone to close the budget deficit.

Gov. Brewer requested all state agencies to describe how a 15% budget cut would affect them, as lawmakers are insisting on a cuts-only approach instead of the governor’s proposal for a temporary sales tax increase to raise state revenue.

ADOT director John Halikowski said in the 15% cut scenario, he would be forced to lay off 60% of the workforce, or 2,400 employees, in the current fiscal year. The agency cut 450 positions earlier this year through attrition.

The cuts could also cause ADOT to lose federal matching funds, resulting in many highway improvement projects not started. “We need to maintain a level of funds in our highway account or our federal highway money will be going to other states. We are trying to avoid that,” said ADOT spokesman Doug Nintzel.

Accelerated Schedule Announced for I-69

Indiana – The I-69 extension is on the fast track and set to be completed long before the original estimates of 2015, according to Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. The governor has announced the 68-mile stretch of interstate from Evansville to Crane warfare center will be complete just before his term ends in January 2013, and within the original $700 million budget.

“It doesn’t have to look like every other interstate,” Daniels said. “What we need and what our workers need is a road that’s there and in reality as fast as possible.” Construction has already begun on the first section of the project near I-64 and Highway 57 in Gibson County.

Daniels said the project, part of his Major Moves plan for building roads in Indiana, could be built more quickly and at a lower cost, using what he calls some “creative methods.” These include the possibility of narrower medians, and using cables instead of concrete. The pavement may not be built to federal thickness standards; instead crews would pour enough to last 20 years, at which time another layer could be added. “We’ve had those in some of our regular projects and we’ve seen them be quite successful and a huge cost savings,” said INDOT spokesperson Cher Goodwin.