Enhancing passenger rail service can improve the lives of millions of Americans by cutting the time they spend commuting, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and enabling new growth patterns such as transit-oriented development, where…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Let’s Look at Vision Zero for a New Road Safety Mindset
I remember when automobile drivers and passengers could legally choose not to wear seat belts. Since the mid-1980s, legislators have taken away that…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Coordinated and Adaptive Ramp Metering for Faster, Safer Highways
I doubt any driver likes being held back by a traffic signal while trying to enter a highway. But from a regional traffic-management perspective, there’s…
Transportation Troubleshooting: How States Are Approaching Electric Vehicles and Highway Maintenance Funding
The way roads and highways are funded must change. Motor fuel tax revenues are declining due to the increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles, and this trend will accelerate as plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs) command a greater share of personal…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Seven Essential Best Practices for the Changing Federal Infrastructure Funding Opportunities
With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, local and state governments as well as publicly owned utilities have vast opportunities to secure funding for a wide range of infrastructure projects. This law and Biden Administration policies also highlight funding…
Transportation Troubleshooting: How NEVI Will Jumpstart Growth of U.S. Electric Vehicle Charging Networks
Everyone in the U.S. transportation industry is excited about NEVI—or they should be. Enacted with the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program commits $5 billion to subsidize electric vehicle…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Five Steps to Build a Case for Road-Usage Charging
In the mid-1970s, the average fuel economy of a U.S. passenger car was less than 15 mpg. Thanks to regulations and advances in vehicle technology, that figure today is more than 25 mpg. With hybrid and electric-vehicle (EV) sales growing, we can expect…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Infrastructure Investment Law Is Working
A video of Paula Hammond’s congressional testimony can be watched above or at bit.ly/3LVAL0u. The full text can be found at bit.ly/3M1q7VX. On March 28, 2023, I appeared before a congressional panel, the “U.S. House Transportation…
Transportation Troubleshooting: Lessons About Sharing Risks in Major Tunnel Projects
As Washington State Secretary of Transportation, I oversaw the development phase leading up to construction of the State Route 99 Tunnel, also known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement tunnel. The 1.7-mile underground tunnel features a state-of-the-art…
Transportation Troubleshooting: AASHTO Manual Will Create a One-Stop Shop for Transportation Operations
One of the things that keeps me excited about working in transportation is how rapidly the technological tools for moving people and goods are evolving. As I noted in my December 2022 column, “Mobility Marketplace Will Improve How We Use Transportation…
