In This Issue

	Virginia Senate Approves Gas Tax Increase
	Utah Lake Bridge is a Go, says Developer
	Las Vegas Monorail looks at Options Beyond Crushing Debt
	Committee Approves Privatization Bill for Illiana Expressway
	NH Official calls for Tolls on I-93
	Nebraska Senator Promises Road Funding Bill Next Year
	Florida begins $1.2B Improvement Project on I-595
	MTA to Cut 1,000 Jobs in ‘Painful’ Bid to Cope with Deficits

Virginia Senate Approves Gas Tax Increase

RICHMOND, Va. – The gas tax in Virginia would increase based on raised federal fuel efficiency standards under a proposal just approved by the state Senate. With a 31-9 vote, the Senate agreed to advance a measure that would annually adjust the fuel tax by the percentage increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard. The 2011 projection requires 30.2 miles per gallon for cars. By 2016, that number would rise to 35.5 miles per gallon according revenue projections.

The proposal may have a tough road in the GOP-controlled House, which has traditionally rejected tax increases. Virginia’s 17.5-cent gas tax has not increased for over two decades. If the bill passes, the first increase would be implemented in April 2011.

Utah Lake Bridge is a Go, says Developer

PROVO, Utah – A private partnership says they are only months away from beginning construction on a toll bridge across Utah Lake, just south of Salt Lake County. Leon Harward, a partner for a private group called Utah Crossing Inc., said the bridge is anticipated to cost $300 million. While he would not specify the source of funding, Harward said the venture is well-funded and will not need bonds to pay for the span connecting suburban communities on the west side of Utah Lake with the Provo-Orem cities to the east. Advocates say the populations in the surrounding regions could reach a half-billion in 20 years.

The Utah Valley Earth Forum, an environmentalist group, wrote a letter to Dick Buehler, director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, claiming the demand for bridge travel does not exist. Buehler’s agency controls Utah Lake.

“Many of the toll roads and bridges that have been built around the country have failed financially,” wrote Jim Westwater, chairman of the skeptics’ group, in the Feb. 15 letter. “Given the current lack of need for such a bridge, it seems that this toll bridge could suffer the same fate.”

Harward contended that even in the worst-case scenario – he builds the bridge and then has to walk away for some reason – the state will have ownership of a bridge that did not use taxpayer dollars to build.

Las Vegas Monorail looks at Options Beyond Crushing Debt

Proponents of the Las Vegas Monorail are still pushing for the line’s extension to McCarran International Airport, in spite of the monorail bankruptcy proceedings currently underway. The monorail filed for bankruptcy last month, reporting that it owed $500 million to $1 billion.

Monorail advocates are optimistic that the upcoming ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bruce Markell will grant the monorail’s request to proceed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, thus allowing the Regional Transportation Commission to reorganize its massive debt.

If this happens, former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury says, “We then think it makes sense to improve and expand the system. Most people I’ve talked to say the monorail is a good thing, but that it needs to go to the airport. In order to attract any funding for that, we would have to get the debt restructured.”

Possible options for the monorail’s future – dependent upon the Chapter 11 ruling – include financial backing from China or merging the monorail with the RTC’s public bus system. A third possibility would be to get Federal Transit Administration funding, but it would require them to get sponsorship from a government agency in Nevada.

Committee Approves Privatization Bill for Illiana Expressway

A House transportation committee in Indiana has advanced a bill allowing the proposed Illiana Expressway to be built as a toll road and operated by a private entity. The Indiana House Roads and Transportation Committee voted 10-2 this week to advance SB382 to the House floor. The measure would remove prohibitions in existing law that prevents the roadway from being tolled or built with a public-private partnership.

For years, lawmakers have struggled to find a way to pay for and build the 23-mile Illiana Expressway which is planned to connect I-55 in Illinois with I-65 in Indiana. If the toll plan is approved, it would not be the first privatized toll road for Indiana. In 2006, Gov. Mitch Daniels leased the Indiana Toll Road to private investors for a one-time, upfront sum of $3.85 billion.

The Illiana Expressway proposal differs from the Indiana Toll Road because it would be a brand-new roadway. This type of project is called a “greenfield” project.

NH Official calls for Tolls on I-93

New Hampshire’s transportation chief says the state will soon be applying to the federal government for permission to toll 20 miles of I-93 as a way to pay for improvements to the roadway. Transportation Commissioner George Campbell’s announcement had a cool reception with local chambers of commerce and highway users.

To date, no existing interstates have been converted into toll roads, which require the Federal Highway Administration’s permission. Missouri and Virginia have been selected to participate in the FHWA’s Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program but have not yet begun those projects. New Hampshire is vying for the third and final spot in the program, amid fierce competition from Pennsylvania’s highly publicized bid to toll I-80. Wyoming officials are also pushing to toll their own section of I-80.

New Hampshire department of transportation spokesman Bill Boynton said the state is $250 million short of the $800 million needed to widen I-93, and tolls could bridge the funding gap. Over 100,000 vehicles use interstate to cross between the New Hampshire and Massachusetts border each day, Boynton said, while the highway was built to handle a capacity of 60,000.

Nebraska Senator Promises Road Funding Bill Next Year

LINCOLN, Neb. – A lawmaker in Nebraska is promising a road funding bill next year, and legislators gave unanimous first-round approval to a bill which would require that highway preservation be the top priority of the state Department of Roads when developing its long-range plan. When funding for roads began its rapid decline two years ago, the agency made maintaining the existing 10,000-mile highway system its main priority.

Sen. Deb Fischer of Valentine, chairwoman of the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, said this week that she wants to put that top priority into state law as a precursor to her plan to introduce a bill next year to send money to the state’s highway trust fund.

Fischer told lawmakers during a brief debate on Monday that the state roads department will not have enough money over the next two years to maintain the state’s highway system at its current level.

Florida begins $1.2B Improvement Project on I-595

Construction will begin next week on a $1.2 billion project to improve traffic flow on a ten-mile stretch of I-595 in Florida. Tolled reversible express lanes will be built between existing lanes to carry eastbound traffic during the morning commute and westbound traffic during peak hours in the evening.

The majority of the project’s cost will go toward replacing 66 bridges and on- and off-ramp improvements. The ramp upgrades include separate ramps for cars entering I-595 to go up and over cars exiting the interstate. Other improvements will completely redo a turnpike interchange; add noise barriers and build a pedestrian greenway along the 84 canal. Most of the work will be done at night, as the contractor is not permitted to close primary travel lanes during the day.

MTA to Cut 1,000 Jobs in ‘Painful’ Bid to Cope with Deficits

New York – The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) this week announced initial details of aggressive plans to reduce costs and operate more efficiently, beginning with eliminating more than 600 administrative positions. The cuts represent 15 percent of the administrative payroll across the MTA with deeper cuts at MTA Headquarters. The agency also said it will begin laying off up to 500 NYC Transit station agents. The MTA operates the largest commuter rail in the nation, with about 70,000 employees.

The actions were necessitated by MTA’s deteriorating financial situation over the past three months. While the legislative rescue package passed in May 2009 was projected to balance MTA’s budget, forecasted revenues have failed to materialize. The MTA budget passed in December relied on a package of service cuts and the administrative layoffs to close a $383 million deficit. Since that time, an additional $378 million gap has developed based on revised State revenue projections.

Surcharges on real estate transactions pumped $1.6 billion into MTA accounts in 2007, but they dropped to just $400 million last year. “The MTA has taken a $1.2 billion hit in this one area alone,” MTA Finance Committee Chairman Andrew Saul said during a committee meeting.

With much discussion about funding for capital improvements on transportation systems around the country, it is clear that transit agencies far and wide are struggling with generating needed revenues. Some of the legacy systems found in places like New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia seemed to be crushed by the current economic times without ready solutions. This is another problem that cannot be ignored. TW