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 »

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 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 »

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 »

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 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 »

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 »

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 »

Idencia will be used to track precast deck panel information that has been specifically created to rehabilitate Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. Workers from the concrete producer will embed the Cast-A-Code® RFID tags from Idencia into the panels as they are being manufactured. Later, workers from MassDOT will scan the tags to record information about the use of the panels. Read More »

Automotive News released a special issue Monday celebrating its 100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry and praising their accomplishments. The leading women come from 14 automotive disciplines. They range from designers to manufacturers to dealer principals to engineers. These women make formidable decisions and have a significant impact on their companies. Read More »

GE said it has been awarded a contract from India's Ministry of Railways to supply 1,000 diesel locomotives for Indian Railways. GE said the contract is worth approximately $2.6 billion over 11 years. As part of the deal, GE said it will build a manufacturing facility in the state of Bihar. This is the largest deal GE has made in the 100 years it has been working with India. Read More »

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the city of Auburn Hills opened the new University Drive and Interstate 75 interchange in Auburn Hills on Tuesday. The new diverging diamond interchange (DDI) enables better safety for drivers who are entering or exiting the freeway. DDI erases conflict points, like left turns, and improves the safety of pedestrians. Read More »

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded a $20.8 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program grant to be used to replace unreliable vans and buses in rural communities throughout Texas. The grant will be dedicated to replacing over 300 unreliable public vehicles throughout Texas, which has the largest rural population in the U.S. Read More »

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (ADOT&PF) said Monday it has opened the new West Dowling Extension between C Street and Minnesota Drive in Anchorage. The $47 million extension project was part of a complex, multiphased, multimodal connection designed to improve the east-west links throughout the Anchorage community. Read More »

Members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and transportation leaders will meet Friday in New Orleans to discuss water infrastructure issues at a congressional roundtable titled “The Importance of Port, Waterway, Flood Control and Ecosystem Restoration Improvements to the Nation’s Economy: Concepts for the Next Water Resources Development Act.” Read More »

Seattle's Department of Transportation and Department of Planning and Development will holdi an open house Nov. 18 to seek feedback about ongoing development as Sound Transit prepares for a new light rail line to Ballard. The departments are working with nonprofits and neighborhood groups to create a study recommending improvements for multimodal transportation in the area. Read More »

The U.S. House voted 236-187 last week to reject proposed legislation that would have put heavier trucks on U.S. highways and cost billions of tax dollars in damaged bridges and roads. The controversial proposed amendment to highway funding legislation would have allowed trucks on U.S. highways to weigh up to 91,000 pounds. Currently, trucks can weigh a maximum of 80,000 pounds Read More »

IHS Inc. opened its new website that is specially designed to serve the worldwide maritime industry to the public on Wednesday.The website, fairplay.ihs.com, aims to be the top resource for important analysis and news about the maritime industry. The website replaces www.ihsmaritime360.com and gives readers in-depth, daily, analytical editorial content about the maritime industry. Read More »

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) criticized a new report that calls rail bridges unsafe. The AAR said the analysis from Waterkeeper Alliance uses flawed assumptions as well as naive evaluations to make people doubt the safety of bridges used by railroads. The report used anecdotal observations made by Waterkeeper members who were not bridge safety experts, AAR said. Read More »

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) released data on U.S. rail traffic for the first week of November, which ended Saturday. U.S. rail traffic for the week amounted to 539,165 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.2 percent from same week in 2014. Four of the 10 carload commodity groups showed an increase when compared to the first of November in 2014. Read More »