Virginia Has New Way to Rate Its Transportation Projects
- The Virginia state government on Thursday took its first crack at a system meant to take some of the politics out of picking transportation projects.
- City and county planners have been awarded $115,000 from the Montana Department of Transportation to identify the area’s most pressing transportation safety issues and develop strategies to address those issues.
- When the season’s first major storm covered Western Pennsylvania with snow and ice last week, a multi-vehicle crash jammed up the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Somerset in the afternoon.
PLANNING
- Chances are you’ve heard something about oil prices recently. They’ve been dropping like a stone for months but reached harrowing lows in the first weeks of 2016.
- Ask Arlington drivers what the most traffic-clogged North Texas highway is and they’re likely to answer State Highway 360. Ask Collin County residents and they’re bound to say the Bush Turnpike interchange with the Dallas North Tollway. Just don’t expect a definitive answer about where to find the worst congestion in North Texas.
MPOs
- Bonnie Prigge, executive director of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC), was elected president of the Missouri Association of Councils of Governments (MACOG) during the group’s Jan. 7 meeting in Jefferson City.
- Despite some very vocal opposition, the CRTPO has given the green light for the I-77 toll lane project.
FUNDING
- Gov. Mark Dayton says a gas tax increase to fund road and bridge repairs should still be on the table.
- Faced with plummeting gasoline tax revenue, state transportation officials have announced plans to cut funding for road and transit projects by $754 million over the next five years, the greatest reduction in two decades.
RAIL
- Amtrak and the Southern Rail Commission are conducting a tour along the Gulf Coast to consider new ideas for intercity passenger rail, the federal rail corporation said Monday.
TRANSIT
- An updated master plan will consider bringing the separate public transit systems in Lewiston and Asotin County under one roof.
Signals from Bus Riders’ Smartphones Are Giving Researchers New Insights into Transit Use
- Transportation officials are forever struggling to figure out how best to meet bus riders’ needs within their limited budgets.
