Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials will hold a webinar to evaluate the large truck fatalities of bicyclists and pedestrians. The webinar is designed to improve safety and involve new stakeholders by evaluating these accidents and will feature case-study examinations as well as outline community resource opportunities that may help improve safety on the roads. Read More »

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) released data Wednesday relating to U.S. rail traffic from January to October 2015. In October, the total amount of carload traffic totaled 1,124,470 carloads, which is a decrease of 83,578 carloads, or 6.9 percent, compared to October 2014. The combined U.S. intermodal and carload originations for the month amount to 2,213,780. Read More »

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) recently announced Jeff Roach is the Fairbanks International Airport's new manager. Roach’s experience includes over 30 years with the aviation industry in Alaska. His most recent positions have been the Northern Region Planning Manager at ADOT&PF in the Aviation and Highways Department. Read More »

Crews recently finished working on roadway ruts and bridge expansion joints on I-5's Union Slough Bridge near Everett, Washington. Important to a bridge’s structural integrity, it is crucial to maintain expansion joints for bridge safety and function, which can degrade after long periods of use and temperature change. Within this project, 41 expansion joints will be replaced. Read More »

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will close US 60 eastward from Superior in order to complete blasting work to widen the shoulders of the roadway and to construct a new passing lane. The closures will take place on November 10 (from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. as well as 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) and November 12 (from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. as well as 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Read More »

The new program, the first by San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, will train electricians, maintenance and auto machinists, and transit power line workers. Attendees can begin their apprenticeships in July 2016. “The apprenticeship program is a crucial investment in the future of Muni,” Tom Nolan, Chairman of the SFMTA Board of Directors, said. Read More »

Officials from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) weighed in on the most recent report on U.S. rail traffic, which showed that as of the week ending October 24, total traffic at 553,144 intermodal units and carloads had decreased 5.6 percent from the same period in 2014. "The freight rail industry continues to adapt to shifting freight traffic trends,” AAR's Ed Greenberg said. Read More »

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently granted its first TIGER grant award to the Port of Hueneme in California. This grant, which is worth $12.3 million, will fund important improvements at the port to keep it operating smoothly. Upgrades include deepened berths, modernized cargo infrastructure, strengthened wharfs, and newly connected dock rails. Read More »

Bill Shuster (R–PA), the chairman for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recently released the names of the conferees who will be involved in the multi-year surface transportation bill. The House committee recently approved the new bill. Now the leaders are moving on to the next step in advancing the bill. "This is an outstanding, hard-working group of members,” Shuster said. Read More »

The International Regional Magazine Association honored Arizona Highways, a magazine published by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), with 16 awards at the association's dinner last week. The only magazine to receive more awards than Arizona Highways was Texas Highways, which walked away with 17 awards. The awards were based on items published in 2014. Read More »

The Rail Office of the Indiana Department of Transportation is accepting applications for 100 percent reimbursable grant funds for rail crossing safety improvements. Improvements eligible for grants include pavement markings and warning signs or surface improvements at rail crossings. Other improvements may be discussed with INDOT to see if they are applicable for the grants. Read More »

The U.S. Maritime Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation released the 2015 Shipbuilding Economic Impact Study, a current look at the industry that is an important part of the national economy as well as the military security of the U.S. Ships maintain domestic commerce on waterways and also connect energy supply chains throughout the nation. Read More »

The State of Alaska International Airport System (AIAS) hosted its 2015 Alaska International Air Cargo Summit event in Shanghai, China on October 29. The purpose of the event was to improve international relations with China and create synergy throughout the Trans-Pacific market. This is the first time that AIAS has hosted its event outside of the State of Alaska. Read More »

The Lake County Division of Transportation in Illinois will hold a public meeting Nov. 12 an intersection improvement study involving Long Grove Road and Ela Road. The study focuses on improving the safety of the intersection. The meeting will address the future travel demands as well as the current capacity of the intersection, including bicyclist and pedestrian features. Read More »

In preparation for the new road work, MnDOT as well as SEH, Inc. crews will be conducting preliminary survey work near Highway 104, Highway 29, and Highway 28. This work will be done over the next several months before the project begins. Officials have encouraged local business owners as well as residents to submit their email addresses in order to receive updates about the project. Read More »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday it will include automatic emergency braking (AEB) as a recommended safety technology in its 5-Star Rating System. The NHTSA will include this advanced safety technology, which automatically applies the brakes to prevent crashes, to its updated rating system beginning in the 2018 model year. Read More »

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new tool this week to help improve health using transportation. The Transportation and Health Tool helps users see how many people are walking and bicycling as healthier alternatives to traditional transportation at the state and local level. Read More »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued penalties for defects in Takata air bag inflators. The penalties include a $200 million civil fine on the company. The NHTSA also ordered Takata to speed the recall of the air bags in U.S. vehicles and replace them with safer ones.These are the largest civil penalty orders that have ever been issued by the NHSTA. Read More »

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) said that funding through its Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program will be used to improve safety for truck drivers in eight states. The growing need for drivers and safety is one of the reasons USDOT gave $25 million in TIGER grants to the Regional Truck Parking Information and Management System. Read More »

The Beyond Traffic 2045 speaker series hosted by Volpe, the National Transportation Systems Center, is scheduled to continue Thursday with MIT Professor John Heywood discussing alternatives and options for decreasing the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions. Previous speakers in the series included Next Generation Air Transportation System Assistant Administrator Edward Bolton. Read More »