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Bridges 2010 Conference: San Fran, November 17-19

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

“With more bridges being declared structurally deficient or obsolete, there is a need for immediate and novel engineering solutions in order to be well prepared for potential disasters and minimize future maintenance costs.”

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Posted in Aging Infrastructure, Bridges, Funding, National, Sustainability, The Infra Blog, Urban Planning

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Bridges getting better, but still a LONG way to go

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

The House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit met on Wednesday to discuss bridge inspection in the U.S. (a responsibility of the Federal Highway Administration).  According to James Oberstar, Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman , “With over one-half of our bridges built before 1964, it is increasingly important that we have […]

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Posted in Accountability, Aging Infrastructure, Bridges, Democrat, Funding, National, Republican, Roads, The Infra Blog, Transit

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High-Speed Rail: Are We Going Fast Enough?

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

High-speed rail could be the most exciting development in transportation since the construction of our national highway system. America 2050, AASHTO, the United States Conference of Mayors and, of course, the Obama Administration are just a few of HSR’s many advocates. Construction is beginning soon in Florida, and other states and regions already have plans in the works. A national high-speed rail system is more attainable than ever, but will it come fast enough?

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Posted in High Speed Rail, National, Rail, The Infra Blog, Transit

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New Political Realities May Sidetrack the Transportation Reauthorization

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Over the past eight months the U.S. Department of Transportation has been conducting a series of “listening sessions” around the country to solicit new ideas from stakeholders and interested citizens for the next multi-year surface transportation bill…The latest listening session took place amid growing speculation by political analysts that the Democrats may lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November. This speculation has been reinforced by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs who commented on last Sunday’s “Meet the Press” and again at his regular press briefing the following day, that “there are enough seats in play that could cause Republicans to gain control.”

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Posted in Bipartisan, Democrat, Highway, Innovation Newsbriefs, National, Policy, Republican, Roads, The Infra Blog, Transit, Urban Planning

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NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN: CONNECTING AMERICA

Thursday, July 15th, 2010
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An interactive map of broadband stats including use and availability across the country is offered by the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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Posted in Broadband, Economic Stimulus, National, Policy, Technology, Telecommunications, The Infra Blog

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Get Monthly Rail Traffic Updates Anywhere

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
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According to the Association of American Railroads, freight rail traffic is a good indicator of the status of the economy both in the U.S. and abroad. So, to see if we really are on the road to economic recovery, check out AAR’s new traffic report widget. This tool can be placed on any blog or web site and automatically updates every month with new statistics. Visit AAR to get instructions for using this tool.

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Posted in Employment, Local, National, Rail, Recovery, The Infra Blog, Transit

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The Accidental Legacy of the High-Speed Rail Program

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

…the HSR initiative could turn out to be of considerable economic benefit to the nation — but not quite in the way the program has been sold to the public and not exactly in the manner it is still being envisioned by the Conference of Mayors and other passenger rail boosters.

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Posted in Competitiveness, High Speed Rail, Innovation Newsbriefs, National, Policy, Rail, Recovery, Smart Growth, The Infra Blog, Transit

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Interactive Map: Transit Funding Cuts Across the Country

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
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Public transportation ridership is at record highs, according to Transportation for America, but transportation agencies across the country are making service cuts, layoffs, and fare increases. T4A’s interactive map shows the cuts in various transit systems across the country. Along with current budget deficits, it displays other useful data like total number of riders, fare increases, and service changes. T4A also allows users to join the action by sharing their transit experiences for an upcoming congressional lobbying campaign.

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Posted in Funding, Local, National, Public Transportation, Recession, The Infra Blog, Transit, Urban Planning

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The Rail Debate Intensifies

Monday, June 28th, 2010

We think a strong case can be made that true high-speed rail will eventually be necessary in the U.S. between major city-pairs separated by less than 300-400 miles, in order to relieve unacceptable levels of airport and air traffic congestion. In Europe, air service between Paris-Brussels [162 miles], Paris-Lyon (246 miles) and Cologne- Frankfurt [94 miles] has already been totally replaced by high-speed rail service.

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Posted in Aviation, Congestion, Funding, High Speed Rail, Innovation Newsbriefs, National, Rail, The Infra Blog, Transit

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