New Plan to Replace 6/10 Interchange in Providence Addresses Community, Safety Concerns
Governor Gina M. Raimondo joined today with Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza and Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Peter Alviti to announce a new road design for the 6/10 Interchange that keeps motorists safe, preserves project budget and timeline, improves regional traffic flow, helps to reconnect surrounding neighborhoods, creates miles of new bike paths, and makes acres of new land available for development. "As Governor, I come to work every day focused on providi...
U.S. Department of Transportation Awards LSU Consortium to Address Regional Transportation Needs
BATON ROUGE – A consortium of universities led by LSU has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a regional transportation research center. The Transportation Consortium of South-Central States, or Tran-SET, will focus on improving transportation infrastructure through the use of innovative materials and technology. It aims to support all phases of research, technology transfer, workforce development and outreach activities of emerging technologies that can...
U.S. Drivers Log 2.4 Trillion Miles In First Nine Months of 2016
WASHINGTON – New data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that U.S. driving topped 2.4 trillion miles in the first nine months of 2016, lengthening a series of consecutive monthly increases that started in April 2014. The new data, published in FHWA’s latest “Traffic Volume Trends” report – a monthly estimate of U.S. road travel – show that more than 265.5 billion miles were driven in September 2016 alone which is a 2.9...
New Report Documents Progress and Needed Investment to Move Freight Programs Forward In the 21st Century
WASHINGTON –The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Association of Port Authorities are today releasing a national freight infrastructure report, The State of Freight II—Implementing the FAST Act and Beyond, marking the one-year anniversary of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. “Transportation matters more today than ever before, and this report serves as a blueprint for state DOTs, Congress and the new administration in Was...
Jacksonville Transportation Authority Selects Pond | Michael Baker International JV Team’s Innovative ‘JAXIS’ Design for New Regional Transportation Center
Pittsburgh – Michael Baker International, a global leader in engineering, planning and consulting services, as part of the Pond | Michael Baker International JV, was selected by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) to design a state-of-the-art regional transportation center in the LaVilla area. The $40 million combined mass transit hub will improve the flow of traffic by integrating multiple modes of transportation, including local and regional bus networks, taxis, rental car service...
FRA Wants All Passenger Train Operators Tested for Sleep Apnea
Federal regulators want all passenger train operators in the U.S. tested for sleep apnea after the engineer in September’s deadly New Jersey commuter train crash was found to have the dangerous, fatigue-inducing disorder. The Federal Railroad Administration issued a safety advisory Friday calling for mandatory sleep apnea screening and treatment. It told railroads that engineers with severe sleep disorders shouldn’t be allowed to operate trains until they are treated. Amtrak and some commu...
Razor Secure CEO Warns Transport Companies of More Cyber Threats
Following the recent ‘cyber-jacking’ of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni), Alex Cowan, the CEO of transport cyber defence experts Razor Secure, has warned rail, aviation and car manufacturers and operators that many more attacks on their distributed IT assets and networks will happen in the coming new year. The Muni hackers were able to use crypto-locker software to disable parts of their infrastructure, leaving the company unable to charge passengers for their journeys...
Will 2017 be the Year of Driverless Cars?
You’ve heard about driverless cars, right? We’re talking about real cars that can actually drive themselves around, thanks to radar, lidar and other technological devices. Things are moving fast in the automotive industry, and many believe that 2017 will mark a new beginning for connected and automated vehicles. Still, on Facebook, comments on autonomous vehicles articles show that people have mixed feelings. Some just don’t want to give away their freedom to drive, others don’t trust these f...
Honolulu Rail Transit Project Makes Roads & Bridges’ 2016 Top 10 Bridges List
The Honolulu Rail Transit Project ranked No. 4 on Roads & Bridges 2016 Top 10 Bridges list. HNTB Corporation led design for the first 10 miles of an elevated guideway and a maintenance and train storage facility on the project, which includes a new 20-mile transit line connecting West O’ahu with downtown Honolulu and the Ala Moana Center. A Roads & Bridges article explained that urban density made work challenging, and more than seven miles of the guideway were built on shoulders...
Technology Companies Move into Transportation
(Pleasanton, CA) December 05, 2016—Tech companies are moving to the automotive market, because that’s where the money is. In mid-November, Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel Corporation, took the stage at the Los Angeles Auto Show to deliver his company’s first keynote address at an automotive event. The headline news in the widely anticipated speech was that Intel Capital will be investing $250 million in autonomous (i.e., computer-controlled) driving over the next two years. Technologies that will b...