The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee is holding a hearing Tuesday about how to best prevent and respond to dirty bombs that may arrive in U.S. ports. The hearing will focus on ocean transportation, which is used by the U.S. to import and export approximately 95 percent of cargo tonnage. Read More »

The U.S. Department of Transportation released an interim final rule that doesn’t allow battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices, such as e-cigarettes, e-pipes and electronic nicotine delivery systems, or personal vaporizers in a passenger's checked baggage. The rule also prohibits passengers from charging their devices or batteries while they are on board the plane. Read More »

U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) said Monday she applauds the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) for investing in South Dakota rail through a partnership between the Rapid City Pierre & Eastern Railroad (RCP&E) and the state of South Dakota. RCP&E has gained a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant worth $6 million from USDOT to increase capacity. Read More »

The Arizona Department of Transportation recently announced that crews will start work on the eastern frontage road portion of Interstate 19 at Canoa Ranch Road. The project will widen an approximately half-mile long portion of the road between mileposts 35 to 36. Drivers using the frontage road in the Green Valley region should allow extra time in their commutes for short delays. Read More »

The Michigan Department of Transportation said various design and schedule changes have been made in the 2016 plans for the M-66/M-55 widening project near Lake City. The plan is to widen and reconstruct M-66/M-55 to three lanes in Lake City, from Jennings Road to 1st Street. The project is now scheduled to start in late spring 2016 and most of the work will continue after July 4. Read More »

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved bipartisan legislation to fund as well as extend the authorization of federal transit and highway programs and also extend the deadline for implementing Positive Train Control technology. The programs and their funding now will reach until November 20. Approving the act guarantees that the nation can fund transportation projects as Congress progresses with its multi-year bill for infrastructure. Read More »

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), recently announced that it has updated its National Transportation Statistics (NTS). Updated every quarter, the NTS is an online reference guide that posts reports involving data from national-level transportation in the U.S. The database includes a variety of information about the U.S. transportation and infrastructure system, including data for safety. Read More »

Officials from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced a new webinar with Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) Institute that will emphasize Pennsylvania’s bridge replacements. Anthony Foxx, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, recently launched BATIC. The webinar is scheduled for November 4. Read More »

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) recently announced that it will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday for the new U.S. Highway 52 project in Rushville, Indiana. Completed on the west side of Rushville, the $4-million project involved installing water mains and storm sewers, removing the current roadbed, construction of the full-depth asphalt pavement on top of treated subgrade, and adding sidewalks that have ramps that comply with the ADA. Read More »

Rep. Bill Shuster (R–PA), the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, recently released a statement about the bipartisan Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2015. In it, Shuster expressed confidence the House and Senate could reach a workable solution on the bill to fund as well as extend the authorization of federal highway and transit programs. Read More »

TransCore of Nashville, Tennessee will develop the initial design for a Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program that was awarded up to $20 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation last month. Up to 10,000 cars, busses, and limousines will eventually be retrofitted with this technology that may significantly reduce traffic congestion and lessen greenhouse gas emissions. Read More »

Officials from the city of Ironwood and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday for the reopening of U.S. 2 in Ironwood. The two-year $14.4-million project included lane widening, utility upgrades, construction of a center left-turn lane and sidewalks along U.S. 2, a major route connecting Michigan and Wisconsin. Read More »

The Association of American Railroads' most recent weekly report on U.S. rail traffic puts total traffic at 553,144 intermodal units and carloads for the week that ended Oct. 24, a decrease of 5.6 percent when compared to the same period in 2014. Total carloads amounted to 284,523, a decrease of 7.4 percent when compared to the same week from last year. Read More »

Federal, state and local leaders met Tuesday in Denver, Colorado, for the last of 11 regional forums on the Beyond Traffic draft framework.Beyond Traffic, the U.S. Department of Transportation's draft framework for the future, is an outline of the challenges the transportation and infrastructure network will face in the next 30 years. Read More »

While funding for federal transportation projects lurches from one short-term extension to the next, Henderson County, part of the metropolitan area of Ashville, North Carolina, has remained more or less unaffected by the lack of stability. “I am not aware of any direct impact of federal funding on current transportation projects in Henderson County,” County Commissioner Bill Laspley said.  Read More »

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) released a report based on the efforts of over 1,500 people who were asked to walk or bicycle to conduct safety assessments. The report, titled "Pedestrian and Bicyclist Road Safety Assessments," showed a variety of factors that affect safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, such as physical barriers including missing crosswalks or missing curb cuts. Read More »

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) announced it started its first phase with the Waze Connected Citizens program, which will help drivers access real-time traveler information through phones, websites, and mobile apps. The Waze data comes from the Waze mobile app that is gathered through crowd-sourced data from drivers who report on traffic disruptions. Read More »

The $29-billion Capital Program will finance thousands of new train cars, subway cars, and buses. It also set aside an additional $2.8 billion to improve subway stations, instal countdown clocks at most of the subway stations, and finish the implementation of the Positive Train Control technology on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North Railroad. Read More »

The Arizona Department of Transportation recently launched a new project, which will provide students and local residents with a new pedestrian hybrid beacon on State Route 86 in Sells, Arizona. The project, which is in collaboration with the Tohono O’odham Nation, will have crews install a crosswalk signal that will be activated by pedestrians. Completion is expected in January. Read More »

Seattle Department of Transportation is asking for its citizens' help and input on Pedestrian Master Plan. In 2009, Seattle announced a 20-year master plan to make Seattle the most walkable city in the nation. This plan is to help Seattle Department of Transportation improve walkability in the city. The short survey will be open for comments through the end of November. Read More »