Obama Signs $305 Billion Transportation Bill
- President Obama signed into a law a five-year, $305 billion highway bill on Friday, with just hours to spare before the scheduled expiration of the nation’s road and transit spending.
- The state is trying to encourage towns to get involved in its complete streets program by earmarking $12.5 million in gaming income to road projects.
- The Federal Highway Administration and Colorado Department of Transportation said Nov. 30 that they have signed a formal “finding of no significant impact” that helps pave the way for CDOT to begin work in Denver on a major project to add toll lanes and extra capacity to state road 470.
FUNDING
- After cobbling together resources to fund the first long-range transportation bill in more than 10 years, U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster said Friday it is important to begin identifying sustainable funding sources for future bills as soon as possible.
TRANSIT
- The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has launched a nationwide transit-oriented development (TOD) initiative to encourage development near transit systems that boosts the local economy; provides easy access to jobs and services; and creates compact, mixed-use, walkable communities.
REPORTS & RESEARCH
Public Perception of Mileage-Based Use Fees
- The report explores proposals to replace the current motor fuel tax with a road usage charge assessed on vehicle-miles traveled, often called a mileage-base user fee (MBUF).
