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01.30.12 -
Land Line Magazine – January 12, 2012
Governors of two neighboring states are pushing for transportation funding for their region, announcing plans to solve their infrastructure needs. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said in his State of the State speech that improvements need to be made to improve the efficiency of the state’s transportation network.
“That means roads on which traffic and freight move freely, ports that handle bigger ships, and airports that process people and packages more efficiently,” Deal said in his Jan. 10 remarks. He is also urging voters in 12 state regions to approve a 1-cent sales tax referendum for a predetermined list of road, bridge and transit projects when they cast ballots this summer.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley is also urging voters to approve more transportation funding in his state, with plans to borrow up to $2 billion for road and bridge projects. Alabama voters rejected a November 2010 plan to transfer $1 billion from the Alabama Trust Fund to pay off road and bridge improvement bonds. The fund receives money from natural gas wells drilled along the coastline in state-owned waters.
Gov. Bentley announced to the media in Birmingham that the state transportation department is moving forward with plans to build toll roads in south Alabama. State lawmakers will work on the specifics of the governor’s plan and other transportation bills when the session convenes Feb. 7. The Tom Warne Report
01.23.12 -
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser – January 9, 2012
Hawaii state senators are looking to increase jobs by giving the construction industry a boost, through an ambitious through infrastructure projects financed through up to $500 million in bond financing. The lawmakers intend to aggressively seek the plan with emphasis on small repair and maintenance projects that can be launched right away to put people to work.
“We have under spent on infrastructure, just like the rest of the country, for decades and decades. And so there’s things that need to be done. You need roads fixed,” said Carl Bonham, executive director at UHERO , who also serves on the state Council on Revenues. “So it’s not a really tough decision, and at the moment we still have very aggressively low interest rates.”
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has already requested lawmakers approve $300 million in new bond-financed construction projects in the supplemental budget as part of a $1.2 billion boost in construction spending. If it passes, the state’s capital improvement project plan will be $2.2 billion next fiscal year. The senators said their $500 million proposal could include items on the governor’s list or trade projects that are lower priorities or that are not ready for construction.
In November, the Abercrombie administration finished a record-high $1.3 billion general obligation bond sale, taking advantage of very low interest rates. This brought the state’s bond debt to $4 billion. The Tom Warne Report
01.16.12 -
Land Line Magazine – January 6, 2012
AUSTIN, Tx. – The Texas Department of Transportation has found a win-win solution for a tolled bypass of downtown Austin by offering an incentive to get more truckers to use the route. A trial run of the discount between December 21 and January 4 was so successful that the agency has extended it through January 25. During the trial, TxDOT lowered the toll rates to $9 for truckers who would normally be charged $29 for cash tolls or $25 for TxTag payment on the SH 130 toll road.
“We’re pleased to see more through traffic choosing to use the tolled bypass around Austin, skipping some of that traffic in the Austin metro area and hopefully getting to their destination a little bit faster,” said TxDOT spokesperson Karen Amacker. She said the agency is going to look at the numbers and look for a compromise after January 25 that will keep traffic using the toll road and still charge enough to generate revenue to pay for the roadway.
“We’re going to continue to monitor the number of transactions and the revenue that comes in at this toll-rate level. We’ll try to determine what our path forward is from here, what combination of incentives we can offer the trucking community or regular passenger-vehicle traffic to get to that revenue sweet spot but also increase the amount of traffic on the tolled bypass and relieve some congestion through central Austin,” Amacker said. The Tom Warne Report
01.09.12 -
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser – December 30, 2011
A six-year, $2.79 billion construction spending plan has been approved by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) for the city’s rail project for the period from 2013 to 2018. The plan includes $1.83 billion for construction spending on the 20-mile raised guideway, and $482 million for equipment purchases. As the largest public works project in Hawaii history, the entire rail project is estimated to cost $5.27 billion.
HART officials estimate that the city has spent $342 million in federal and local funds on the rail project so far on planning, preliminary designs, environmental studies and other work. Construction on the elevated guideway, which will carry the train, is scheduled to begin in the first part of 2012. The Tom Warne Report
12.19.11 -
Hudson Star-Observer – December 14, 2011
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has turned down a scaled down version for a new St. Croix River crossing, after the agency analyzed the proposal from the group called “Sensible Stillwater Bridge Crossing.” The lower-cost three-lane crossing is an alternative to the current $690 million plan for a wider span. MnDOT officials said that the partnership’s plan for a diagonal concept had been previously rejected because it would have a greater environmental impact on the St. Croix River.
The department also said the three-lane bridge proposal “did not adequately meet the transportation needs” of the region.” Transportation officials added that if a new site was a possibility for consideration, the project would be delayed for up to six years to allow for additional environmental reviews, public meetings and completion of design concepts.
“With Congressional approval, there is only one plan for a new bridge that can be permitted and built,” said Ken Harycki, Stillwater mayor and co-chair of the Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing. “The proposed St. Croix River Crossing works because it’s the only plan that balances all the needs, interests and laws that impact the St. Croix River Valley.” The Tom Warne Report