- The state and the railroad CSX Transportation have agreed to a plan to remove a bottleneck for freight shipping beneath the streets of Baltimore and have requested $155 million in federal funding to help pay for the project they say will boost the Maryland economy.
- A number of state departments of transportation are telling lawmakers and residents to expect their highway systems to continue to deteriorate unless legislatures provide more project funding, and some states are eyeing unusual steps to keep projects moving.
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Redefines I-30 Corridor Alternative as Six-Plus Lanes
- The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department no longer has a 10-lane alternative as part of its $630 million project to widen the Interstate 30 corridor through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.
PLANNING
- March 16, the day Metrorail shut down completely for a safety check, meant a bad trip for many commuters, but it could have been so much worse.
- Louisville will have to spend about $58 million more each year to create a transportation system that reduces automobile travel while emphasizing mass transit, biking and walking to give residents alternative ways to get around.
TRANSIT
- Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks to Fred Salvucci, senior lecturer in civil and environmental engineering at MIT and former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation, about what state and local governments should be doing about transportation for the future.
- During the housing boom of the early 2000s, New Jersey’s population grew by 2.8 percent. But car-dependent suburbs saw their populations grow by 4.1 percent, according to a study by Tim Evans, research director at New Jersey Future, which advocates for transit-oriented development. Meanwhile, neighborhoods within a half-mile of a transit station barely grew at all.
FREIGHT
- On Monday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued a call for proposals to develop a three-decade master plan for expansion of its terminals and cargo volumes, to engage stakeholders and to create a blueprint for growth.
FUNDING
- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urged support Thursday for a $120 billion proposal to raise taxes to expand rail and highway development in the traffic-choked region.
