The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is the worldwide alliance of toll operators and associated industries that provides a forum for sharing knowledge and ideas to promote and enhance toll-financed transportation services.
News Roundup
January 20, 2005
State News
California
Toll road plan could speed fixes to SJ's I-5 route
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) - San Jose, CA, USA
... serious consideration to remedy this problem. A toll road was once proposed but no longer is planned. The South Bay needs a true ...
Bridge 'congestion pricing' unpopular
Contra Costa Times (subscription) - Contra Costa County, CA, USA
... new trend to pay for highway and bridge work with "congestion pricing," which levies ... want to see one agency in charge of planning the region's road and transit ...
One vote to collect tolls on key roads
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) - San Jose, CA, USA
... the federal and state level, as traffic planers look to more pay-as-you go pricing. ... In 1956 Congress put a stop to new toll road construction on the interstate ...
Governor's support could help build more toll roads
San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco, CA, USA
... The Toll Roads are operated by a pair of public agencies that the Legislature created in 1986 to build, operate and pay for a 67-mile toll road system at a ...
Toll plan puts solo drivers in carpool lane
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) - San Jose, CA, USA
... has announced that it will recommend highways 85, 87 and 101 as the best candidates for its two experimental HOT -- or high occupancy toll -- lane projects....
Florida
Bridge toll headed for feasibility study
Marco Island Sun-Times - Marco Island, FL, USA
The possibility of a Jolley Bridge toll to pay for a new bridge, Greg Niles' departure and a new police pension plan were among the highlights of the Jan. ...
Marco considers toll for new bridge
Naples Daily News - Naples, FL, USA
City Council members on Monday night discussed the aging bridge for nearly two hours and weighed the options of adding a toll to help pay for a much-needed ...
Georgia
GDOT delays vote on 316 toll road
Atlanta Business Chronicle - Atlanta, GA, USA
... Department of Transportation board has decided yet again to postpone a vote on upgrading Georgia Highway 316 and converting it to a limited-access toll road. .
Traffic may shift with Ga. 316 toll
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
... 316 a toll road. ... 316 intersection, says making the four-lane highway a toll road will likely make the side roads a whole lot more crowded. ...
State wants toll studies for Ga. 400, I-75, I-575
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
The state Transportation Board and Road and Tollway Authority have called for studies to ... The study of I-75 and I-575 would examine "value pricing" on high ...
Do not ask for whom the road tolls . . .
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
... consortium trying to convert Ga. 316 to a toll road. So far, though, public sentiment is running strongly against that conversion. ...
Study cautions taxpayers about toll roads
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
A regional environmental group released a study Friday that raised questions about the effectiveness of a Virginia toll road system that has been held up as a ...
Toll road: Widening also a possibility
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
... 316 between Gwinnett County and Athens into a toll road under a 2-year-old law allowing private companies to propose ways to privately fund some transportation ...
Toll proposal faces first big hurdle today
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
... the highway. But the details on how the toll road would work won't be decided today, said Bert Brantley, a DOT spokesman. The board ...
Toll plan a dead end
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - Atlanta, GA, USA
... now close to final approval, the highway that those people depend upon every day of their lives will be converted to a privately run toll road that they'll ...
Illinois
Central Parking Corporation Partnership Selected for Chicago ...
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco, CA, USA
... the Company operates. We have been managing the San Joaquin Toll Road System in Orange County, California for nearly two years. ...
Most would take pass on toll change
Chicago Tribune (subscription) - Chicago, IL, USA
Motorists may be buying I-PASS transponders in record numbers to avoid higher tolls, but not everyone thinks the new two-tier toll rates are a good idea ...
Truckers opting off toll road
Chicago Tribune (subscription) - Chicago, IL, USA
Truck traffic on a northern stretch of US Highway 41 has doubled since the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority imposed a hefty toll increase on truckers ...
Indiana
Indiana Toll Road sale needs to be re-evaluated
Munster Times - Munster, IN, USA
Before we consider selling the
Daniels says he's not ready to sell Toll Road
Fort Wayne News Sentinel - Fort Wayne, IN, USA
SOUTH BEND -- Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels said he was not ready to put the
Daniels names INDOT chief
Indianapolis Star - Indianapolis, IN, USA
... will lead a Department of Transportation reorganization expected to include examining the possibility of selling the
Kansas
Kansas Turnpike - Taking a toll
Topeka Capital Journal (subscription) - Topeka, KS, USA
... He proposes eliminating the toll on the Kansas Turnpike for local traffic in cities like Topeka with multiple exits. In Topeka it ...
Turnpike work to begin Monday
Lawrence Journal World - Lawrence, KS, USA
Commuters driving the Kansas Turnpike between the Lecompton interchange and East Topeka exit will see early stages of construction when they head to work Monday ...
Turnpike Project
WIBW - Topeka, KS, USA
The Kansas Turnpike plans to begin work next week on widening a stretch of the toll road between its Lecompton and east Topeka exits. ...
Louisiana
Toll on raised La. 1 could save it
Times Picayune - New Orleans, LA, USA
... But now state officials say a state and federal financing package for an 11-mile elevated toll road to Port Fourchon could be completed this spring. ...
Maine
TURNPIKE AUTHORITY GEARS UP FOR EZ PASS
WLBZ-TV - Bangor, ME, USA
... the kick off date. Turnpike officials say the program offers the same convenience and discounts as Transpass. They also say there ...
Maine Turnpike Authority to recycle toll transponders
Foster's Daily Democrat - Dover, NH, USA
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- The Maine Turnpike Authority plans to begin recycling soon-to-be obsolete devices used to track drivers' toll charges because they ...
Maine Turnpike Authority to Recycle Obsolete Transponders
WLBZ-TV - Bangor, ME, USA
... The turnpike authority's switch from its existing electronic toll system to the multistate EZ-Pass system prompted the recycling drive. ...
Maryland
More toll lanes seen as way to ease local traffic
Washington Times - Washington, DC, USA
By Candace Smith. Virginia and Maryland transportation leaders are looking more to toll lanes as a way to ease congestion. Virginia ...
Massachusetts
Editorial: Give relief for the suffering tollpayers
Dover-Sherborn Press - Framingham, MA, USA
The Massachusetts Turnpike is the most important highway in MetroWest, and revenues from MetroWest tollpayers are most important to the Mass. Turnpike. ...
Editorial: Relief for the tollpayers
Newton TAB - Needham, MA, USA
The Massachusetts Turnpike cuts our city in half. And its toll policies are not only a burden to Newton residents, but they invite ...
Swift taps campaign funds for $193,000 in legal bills
Boston Herald - Boston, MA, USA
... Former acting Gov. Jane Swift's legal battle over her attempted firing of a former member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has a hefty price tag. ...
Turnpike chief says agreement reached with AG on Big Dig
Boston Globe - Boston, MA USA
... Ginsburg's departure became certain yesterday when
Big Dig job botched by contractor short cuts
Boston Herald - Boston, MA, USA
... billion project. ``This was an accident waiting to happen,'' Turnpike Authority Vice Chairman Jordan Levy said last night. ``The ...
Romney Eyes Merging Highway, Turnpike Authority Again
Boston Channel.com - Boston, MA, USA
BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney said the financial picture is clearing up in Massachusetts, and he'd like to send taxpayers a bonus -- a cut in turnpike tolls. ...
Turnpike boss, AG reach agreement on cost recovery
Boston Herald - Boston, MA, USA
BOSTON - Turnpike Authority Chairman
Gov to push Pike/MassHighway merge in speech
Boston Herald - Boston, MA, USA
By Kimberly Atkins. When it comes to his plan to fold the state Turnpike Authority into MassHighway, Gov. Mitt Romney [related, bio ...
Romney set to propose break on tolls
Boston Globe - Boston, MA, USA
... will propose giving Bay State drivers a break on tolls by using more than $170 million he says can be gleaned immediately by merging the Turnpike Authority ...
State slow on $200M: Turnpike critic wants rest stops sold ...
Boston Herald - Boston, MA, USA
Even as taxpayers boil over the Big Dig's $14.6 billion price tag, the cash-strapped Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is sitting on a $240 million proposal to ...
Big Dig manager hit again
Boston Globe - Boston, MA, USA
... managers Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff emerged yesterday at the center of yet another controversy on the $14.5 billion project, as the Turnpike Authority ...
Drip, drip, drip: Leaks plague Boston's Big Dig
Chicago Tribune (subscription) - Chicago, IL, USA
... That wall leak has been patched temporarily, and engineers for the state turnpike authority, which is in charge of the project, say the nearly 4 miles of Big ...
Mississippi
Port, I-10 toll road debated
SunHerald.com - Biloxi, MS, USA
JACKSON - PORT Toll road linkage to I-10 is a proposal going nowhere at this time. Sen. ... "We need a road, not a toll road," Gollott said. ...
Missouri
Save Your Quarters: States Build More Toll Roads
Kansas City infoZine - Kansas City, MO, USA
Toll roads are booming because gas tax revenues are woefully inadequate to pay for constructing and improving highways. Stateline ...
New Hampshire
Lawmaker proposes commercial advertising as part of toll system
Foster's Daily Democrat - Dover, NH, USA
... Murray said the provision probably would run afoul of clauses in the state's $800 million in turnpike construction bonds that specify that money raised from ...
Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske: Whose road is it anyway?
VeloNews - Boulder, CO, USA
... you must allow all comers: As respects the general objects and use of the proposed road, it is in no respects different from the numerous turnpike roads ...
New Jersey
NJ Turnpike to cut back E-ZPass discounts in 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription) - Philadelphia, PA, USA
TRENTON - Motorists who use E-ZPass on the New Jersey Turnpike will lose their 15 percent discount during rush hours and weekends, but not for another year.
State seeks to ease traffic on turnpike
East Brunswick Sentinel - East Brunswick, NJ, USA
A long-dreaded merge on the New Jersey Turnpike in Middlesex County would be remedied under a road-widening plan announced recently by Acting Gov. ...
Turnpike bottleneck will get more lanes
North Brunswick Sentinel - North Brunswick, NJ, USA
A long-dreaded merge on the New Jersey Turnpike in Middlesex County will be remedied under a plan announced recently by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey. ...
Townships differ on NJ Turnpike, pipeline projects
Bordentown Register News - Bordentown, NJ, USA
Mansfield and Bordentown township officials have differing views on the expansion of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Williams/Transco gas pipeline project. ...
New York
Highway toll collectors handing out red ribbons
WSTM-TV - Syracuse, NY, USA
ALBANY, NY Highway toll collectors on the New York State Thruway are doing more than just taking your change this holiday season. ...
North Carolina
Dell plans bring out road needs
Winston-Salem Journal - Winston-Salem, NC, USA
... The Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation, is studying the possibility of building a toll road that would link the proposed Northern Beltway in ...
Ohio
Truck Tolls
WKBN/WYFX-TV - Youngstown, OH, USA
The Ohio Turnpike Commission is cutting tolls by about 25 percent for two of the most common truck classes and by 57 percent for trucks ...
Turnpike workers reject pact, threaten to strike
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Cleveland, OH, USA
Ohio Turnpike toll takers and maintenance workers are threatening to strike as early as Jan. ... "I'm confident that union trucks won't go on the turnpike. ...
Turnpike Workers Turn Down Contract Proposal
WTOL - Toledo, OH, USA
TOLEDO -- The Ohio Turnpike is now facing a strike deadline. Turnpike ... However, the strike could spell good news for turnpike users. The ...
Turnpike Workers Prepared to Strike
WTVG - Toledo, OH, USA
VALLEY VIEW, Ohio (AP) - The union representing Ohio Turnpike workers met again yesterday with the Turnpike Commission in an attempt to head off a strike ...
Turnpike seeks compromise
Crain's Cleveland Business - Cleveland, OH, USA
The Ohio Turnpike Commission on Monday said it has accepted -- despite some reservations -- a fact-finder's report for implementation of a collective ...
Ohio Turnpike tested roadway rest-stop concept
Canton Repository (subscription) - Canton, OH, USA
History records that Vincent Barrod of Alliance was the first person to pay a toll to drive a passenger car on the Ohio Turnpike after the first section of it ...
Ohio Turnpike workers give strike notice
eTrucker - USA
By Lance Orr. Ohio Turnpike workers may strike by Jan. 25, though a turnpike official says the road would remain open. "The two ...
A needless fight
Toledo Blade - Toledo, OH, USA
ALL things considered, toll collectors on the Ohio Turnpike have it pretty good. They are public sector employees whose work as ...
Businessman Charges $1 Toll To Bypass Flooded Street
NBC4 Columbus.com - Columbus, OH, USA
ZOAR, Ohio -- A restaurant owner in this northeast Ohio village who charged a $1 toll for vehicles to drive through his parking lot because the street was ...
Plate-Scanning Technology Leads To Turnpike Arrests
NewsNet5.com - Cleveland, OH, USA
... The state just completed a four-month test of the technology on the Ohio Turnpike. The stolen vehicles recovered during the test ...
Turnpike now cheaper, faster for truckers
Port Clinton News Herald - Port Clinton, OH, USA
In an effort to move truck traffic from routes such as the heavily-traveled, crash-prone Ohio 2, to the Ohio Turnpike the Ohio Turnpike Commission will reduce ...
Turnpike Tolls Drop
WTOL - Toledo, OH, USA
ELMORE -- The majority of truckers are happy to be back in Ohio in 2005. On New Year's Day, the tolls dropped over 50% for trucks ...
Taft OKs drop in turnpike truck tolls
Toledo Blade - Toledo, OH, USA
Bob Taft yesterday signed a bill that would use $23.4 million in state gasoline-tax revenue to subsidize the Ohio Turnpike Commission's experiment with ...
Turnpike eyes better service for truckers
Toledo Blade - Toledo, OH, USA
A large truck stop and service plaza complex could be built in Fulton County on the Ohio Turnpike to replace two pairs of smaller plazas and entice more ...
AT A GLANCE: Marine database tracks families
Fremont News Messenger - Fremont, OH, USA
... BEREA -- The Ohio Turnpike Commission, with support from McDonald's, HMS Host and Hardee's Food Systems Inc., will continue the long-standing tradition..
Oklahoma
Wrong number leads to heavy breathing
ZDNet.com - USA
In a letter sent to 41,000 people, Oklahoma Transportation Authority spokeswoman Brigette Berglan said the state's turnpike authority had made an error. ...
Pennsylvania
Cars take toll on Turnpike
YorkDaily Record - York, PA, USA
--Joe Brimmeier, executive director of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. For decades the Turnpike has operated on the principle ...
Switch to flat tolls for Turnpike would be unfair to most ...
Allentown Morning Call - Allentown, PA, USA
Joseph Brimmeier, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said last week that the Turnpike might switch to a system of flat-fee tolls. ...
Turnpike panel details plans for replacing 2 bridges
Allentown Morning Call - Allentown, PA, USA
About a dozen people braved icy rain on Tuesday to learn more about the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's plans to replace two bridges that span ...
Turnpike access ramps topic of meeting today
Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription) - Philadelphia, PA, USA
... One of Chester County's most controversial transportation projects - E-ZPass interchanges connecting the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Route 29 near the Great ...
Construction on Route 309 set to begin
Norristown Times Herald - Norristown, PA, USA
UPPER DUBLIN - Preparations for reconstructing the Route 309 Expressway's Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange is set to begin next week. ...
Strike leads turnpike to study switch to flat tolls
Penn Live - Harrisburg, PA, USA
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A seven-day walkout by toll collectors and maintenance workers in November cost the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission some toll revenue, but ...
The turnpike series: Building & squeezing
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
... reliance on gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees are the consequence of expansion projects that have starved the Pennsylvania Turnpike mainline ...
Expensive projects inflate tolls, gas tax
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Motorists on the Pennsylvania Turnpike can expect higher tolls, increased gasoline taxes and construction delays in the coming years on the nation's first ...
Toll road projects criticized for cost, lack of return
Centre Daily Times - Centre County, PA, USA
PITTSBURGH - Two toll road projects in the western half of the state have failed to achieve projected ridership, nor have they sparked economic rebirth as ...
Texas
Some fear road may take its toll
Corpus Christi Caller Times - Corpus Christi, TX, USA
... owners Oscar Martinez and his wife, Janie, are not looking forward to a planned new section of US Expressway 281 with a proposed toll road, fearing ...
Woman arrested for racking up more than $17,600 in toll fees
Fort Worth Star Telegram (subscription) - Fort Worth, TX, USA
... She was arrested Wednesday after being pulled over on the
Joe Jaynes: Should we make Highway 121 a toll road?
Dallas Morning News (subscription) - Dallas, TX, USA
... The state further says that if Highway 121 does become a toll road, it could generate $250 million in bonds for the completion of Highway 121, with the ...
Most violators pay after whizzing past EZ Tag lanes, authorities ...
Houston Chronicle - Houston, TX, USA
... About 60,000 letters demanding payment are mailed to violators each month, a Harris County Toll Road Authority spokeswoman said. ...
Woman who piled up $17,651 in fines is caught in sting and jailed
Houston Chronicle - Houston, TX, USA
... "From time to time, we do EZ Tag stings," said Calvin Harvey, coordinator for the Incident Management Division of the Harris County Toll Road Authority. ...
Double-Wide Divide
Houston Press - Houston, TX, USA
BY SCOTT NOWELL. Ever wanted to own a toll road? How about one with 85 mile-per-hour speed limits alongside a congested interstate ...
High Traffic on Toll Road
KVTV13 - Laredo, TX, USA
Texas DOT (Department of Transportation) reports over 4,000 non-commercial vehicles used the toll road during the Christmas holidays. ...
Any Road Could Become Toll Road?
WOAI - San Antonio, TX, USA
The street you're driving on may someday become a toll road. In the past, we've been told that won't happen, only new roads will be potential tollways. ...
Granite Construction awarded toll road project
Register-Pajaronian - Watsonville, CA, USA
... venture with JD Abrams, LP, a heavy civil construction firm headquartered in Austin, Texas, has been awarded a $178 million design-build toll road project in ...
New trend could take toll on loop
Amarillo Globe News - Amarillo, TX, USA
... The idea of a toll road in Amarillo - where the lack of geographic barriers means plenty of alternate routes - has been met with some skepticism among the ...
Virginia
Rail or Bus?
Arlington Connection - VA,USA
... BUT RYLANDER SAYS THE variable pricing plan would create even more pain for motorists. "That means that if the road is congested at five o'clock in the ...
Public-Private Road Projects Get a Booster
Washington Post - Washington, DC, USA
... In addition to advocating "congestion pricing" proposals, such as those to create ... it easier for governments to lure private capital for road projects, Tyler ...
Washington
Reform sought in how state faces transportation issues
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Seattle, WA, USA
... this three-county investment district to put a package of primarily road projects and ... look at the gas tax, tolls, other user fees, congestion pricing and ...
International News
Canada
Macquarie's free to take Canada toll
Melbourne Herald Sun - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
MACQUARIE Infrastructure Group has won another round in its battle for unfettered rights to increase charges on its toll roads, with a Canadian court ruling it ...
Chile
Fitch Discusses MBIA-Wrapped Chilean Toll Road in New Report
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco, CA, USA
... published a report on Autopista del Maipo Sociedad Concesionaria SA that describes the analysis behind Fitch's rating of Chile's Santiago to Talca toll road. ...
Germany
Germany launches motorway toll for trucks
Turkish Press - Turkey
FRANKFURT (AFP) - Germany, one of the few countries in Europe where motorways are still toll-free, is to start charging trucks for use of the country's ...
Germany announces toll charges for trucks
Business Report - Johannesburg, South Africa
Berlin - Toll charges for heavy trucks went into effect on German autobahn highways on Saturday, ending the tradition of free use for all and providing the ...
Germany's New Truck Toll Starts Without Glitches, Stolpe Says
Bloomberg - USA
Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Germany's delayed highway truck-toll system is running without problems, countering fears that traffic jams, technical gremlins and fee ...
Ireland
Govt to review NTL toll road deals
Business World - Ireland
The Government is to decide whether its agreements with NTL, made in 1987 and 2001, for the building of the West-Link toll bridges will be the subject of a ...
Hauliers and AA criticise toll plan for Shannon tunnel
Ireland Online - Dublin, Ireland
The Irish Road Haulage Association and the AA have criticised a plan to impose a toll on a new tunnel due to be constructed under the river Shannon ...
Jamaica
Herald Angels on the toll road
Jamaica Observer - Jamaica
... themselves to good works and some serious gospel. Better yet, they could sing along the toll road and THEN they would get courage. ...
Phillipines
Higher toll fees await N Luzon expressway motorists
Philippine Daily Inquirer - Makati City, Philippines
... CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines -- The planned toll rates at the North Luzon Expressway, which will be more than 500-percent higher than current ...
Switzerland
Taxing time for transport policy
NZZ Online - Zurich, Switzerland
... "We expect a relative reduction in 2005 when Germany introduces a road pricing scheme for heavy vehicles," says the chamber's transport expert, Helmut ...
United Kingdom
Transport Select Committee hears evidence on road pricing
Auto Industry -
Road
No doubts for Darling
ic Birmingham.co.uk - Birmingham, UK
... at Birmingham International Airport and the remodeling of New Street Station, and signaled his eagerness for the region to introduce road pricing schemes. ...
Britain's transport strategy depends on Edinburgh 'yes' vote on ...
The Scotsman - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
"If Edinburgh votes against congestion charging, it will kill off the prospects of the government introducing national road pricing. ...
The toll of two cities
The Scotsman - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
... of congestion charging, they knew exactly who to call upon for help: Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, and architect of his city's controversial £5 road toll ...
Legal challenge to Edinburgh charging proposal
Transport News Network - UK
Edinburgh city council is to hold a referendum in February to consult on introducing road-pricing in the city from 2006. The council ...
Road Pricing Could Come Ahead of Schedule - MPs Told
The Scotsman - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Some form of nationwide road pricing could be introduced ahead of the 12 to 15 years predicted by the Government, MPs were told today. ...
6,000 claims for M6 Toll road blight fight
Express and Star News - Dudley, UK
... "A length of road like this ... if the value of their property has depreciated by more than £50 as a result of the construction of the £900 million toll route. ...
'The worst roads in Britain'
BBC News - London, England, UK
... But he said "one good bit of news" was the success of the one-year-old M6 toll road which links junction 4 of the existing M6 at Coleshill, Warwickshire, with ...
Thousands urged to sign up for alternative toll poll
Scotland on Sunday - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
... congestion charging. West Lothian Council is holding its own vote on Edinburgh's road toll proposals in February. All registered ...
How lure of the open road brings ton-up drivers to toll motorway
The Times - UK
... Local car dealers have even recommended the toll road to customers who want to test powerful new cars. In October JayJay Okocha, the ...
Toll road '90mph racetrack' fear
ic Birmingham.co.uk - Birmingham, UK
... out on Wednesday, it claims that, when posing as potential customers wanting to buy a sporty car, dealers in the area regularly suggested the Toll Road …
Congressional News
The 109th Congressional session has convened and work on redrafting and reintroducing legislative language to succeed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) is underway though the ultimate timing of any approved legislation remains unclear. TEA-21 technically expired in September, 2003, and is presently operating under its fifth extension which is in effect through May 31, 2005. In 2004 both the House and Senate cleared initial language proposing six year measures exceeding $300 billion. The Bush Administration made it clear that they would not support funding levels in excess of $258 billion. This fundamental conflict stymied efforts to adjust the respective House and Senate program proposals, though there was constructive work in negotiating lesser elements of the programs.
With a new Congress in place, the leadership and Committees are now established and it is expected that both House and Senate Public Works Committees will move to consider new measures incorporating those elements of agreement from 2004 but overall funding levels remain an open question. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has written to all House members soliciting their requests for projects to be included in the TEA-21 successor. The deadline for such submissions is February 7th. A Committee “mark-up” of the new House package is expected before the end of February and full House approval will be sought before March 17th, the deadline for FY 2006 Budget resolution. The T&I Committee would like their measure approved before the budget resolution in order to avoid constraints that the budget measure may impose while the House leadership would like the budget issues addressed first.
The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee has experienced significant turnover in its members and it is anticipated that they will be a bit slower in getting their new version of the legislation together.
Federal News
U.S.Dept. of Transportation Seeks Public Comments on their regulatory effort and processes
The Department of Transportation intends to conduct a review of its existing regulations and its current Regulatory Agenda. As part of this review, the Department invites the public toparticipate in a comment process designed to (1) help the Department improve its rules to make them more effective and less costly or burdensome, (2) identify rules no longer needed and/or new rules that may be needed, and (3) help the Department prioritize its rulemaking activities. The Department also intends to hold a public meeting to discuss and consider the public’s comments. Comments should be received on or before April 29, 2005
Improvement of our regulations is a continuous focus of the Department. There should be no more regulations than necessary and those that are issued should be simpler, more comprehensible, and less burdensome. Most rules are issued following notice to the public and opportunity for comment. Once issued, rules should be periodically reviewed and revised, as needed, to assure that they continue to meet the needs for which they originally were designed. To help implement this goal, the Department wants to obtain written public comments and to hold a public meeting in Washington, DC, on April 12 and 19, 2005 on how to (1) improve our rules to be more effective and less costly or burdensome, (2) identify rules no longer needed and/or new rules that may be needed, and (3) help prioritize our current rulemaking activities, which are set forth in our semi-annual Regulatory Agenda (69 FR 73492, Dec. 13, 2004).
FHWA Seeks Grant Proposals for Value Pricing Pilot Program
The Federal Highway Administration is seeking proposals for the FY 2005 Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP). The FHWA invites the following 15 States (who are currently approved partners in the program), or local governments or other public authorities within these states, to make grant applications to participate in the VPPP for FY 2005: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
The solicitation may be downloaded from:
A Federal Register Notice available at <http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/frmay7.htm> provides application guidelines. Applications are due in electronic format by March 15, 2005 to the following e-mail address: Susan.Lee@fhwa.dot.gov
The Congressional Budget Office has released a report entitled: Federal Terrorism Reinsurance: An Update
URL: http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=6049&sequence=0&from=7
As has sometimes happened after an unexpectedly large natural disaster, insurance markets did not function well in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Although property and casualty insurers were able to pay insured claims, they sharply reduced the availability of terrorism insurance and raised premiums substantially. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which lawmakers enacted in November 2002, can be seen as an effort to prevent the economic effects of an overreaction to the heightened risk of losses from terrorism. After September 11, analysts anticipated that insurers would need some time to recover financially from their losses, adjust their models of risk, and reenter the market. Consequently, TRIA created a temporary program designed to immediately boost the supply of terrorism insurance and bring down premiums. It also provided time for property owners and insurers to reassess risks. That program is scheduled to expire at the end of calendar year 2005.
