Ever since President Obama announced his high speed rail (HSR) program initiative and Congress approved $8 billion to fund it as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009, many States have lined up to stake out a share of the new money. States that had been working on high-speed rail plans for years saw it as an opportunity to finally bring their projects to fruition, while others scrambled to get rail corridor planning underway so that they too could qualify for a share of the pie. The prize looked particularly attractive because the dollars will flow directly to the recipient states without requiring a local match.
View this complete post...Archive for the ‘Rail’ Category
Is the High Speed Rail Program At Risk?
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010Unlocking Gridlock: Part 1 of a Series
Thursday, June 10th, 2010![America is Growing America is Growing](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/screen-shot-2010-06-10-at-42452-pm.png)
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS
Expanding the ability of the transportation system to meet the needs of the traveling public is critical to the health of our economy and the quality of life of our citizens. Meeting future needs will require a balanced approach, which preserves what has been built to date, improves system performance, and adds substantial capacity in highways, transit, freight rail and intercity passenger rail.
Connecting the Region with Transit: Implementing the Central Florida Regional Growth Vision
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010![Modes of Transit Modes of Transit](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/screen-shot-2010-06-08-at-112642-am.png)
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
The Federal Government supports a vision for high-speed rail to connect regions throughout the country. In Florida two high-speed rail corridors were identified to provide connections from Central Florida to Tampa and Miami.
The High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Program, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, offers stimulus money for passenger rail projects throughout the United States. FDOT applied for four separate projects to receive funding: High-speed rail connecting Orlando to Tampa and Orlando to Miami, Central Florida Commuter Rail (SunRail), and Amtrak-Florida East Coast Passenger Service.
View this complete post...Rail Transit Expansion Reconsidered — Commentary
Monday, May 24th, 2010…fiscal realities can do wonders to bring federal officials down to earth. The Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund is barely solvent. The U.S. DOT budget will grow by only one percent in 2011. With commendable consistency and fairness, the Administration seems to have decided to apply the same investment standard to transit as it has preached and laid down for highways: Forget about massive capacity expansion; focus on getting the most out of the assets already in place by maintaining them in a state of good repair. To critics of the DOT’s new posture— and there will be some—a good answer could be: It’s just a different way of looking at what it means to be pro-transit.
View this complete post...Transportation Facts
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010CENTER FOR TRANSPORTATION EXCELLENCE
-314 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in transit capital funding and more than 570 jobs are created for each $10 million invested in shorter projects.
-American families spend 18% of their household budgets on transportation, making it the second largest household expenditure after housing.
-Building more roads isn’t always the answer to this growing problem. Each of the cities in the TTI study would require an average of 37 more lane miles to keep pace with just one year of increased traffic demand.
Full Speed Ahead: Creating Green Jobs Through Freight Rail Expansion
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010![Freight Rail Jobs Created Freight Rail Jobs Created](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/screen-shot-2010-05-05-at-54115-pm.png)
BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE & ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE
Economic models estimate about 7,800 green jobs are created for every billion dollars of freight rail capital investment. Furthermore, the industry has nearly doubled the amount of goods it has shipped without increasing fuel consumption over the past three decades, and creates a fraction of the pollution of other transport modes such as trucking and aviation. Its continued growth will generate green jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and contribute to solving climate change.
Just Released: Infra report from Urban Land Institute
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010![infra2010water2 infra2010water2](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/infra2010water2.jpg)
Infrastructure 2010: Investment Imperative, the latest annual infrastructure report by Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young, focuses on water infra and urges decision-makers to view infrastructure as a long-term investment.
View this complete post...INFRASTRUCTURE 2010: INVESTMENT IMPERATIVE
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
Falling behind global competitors, the United States struggles to gain traction in planning and building the critical infrastructure investments that are necessary to ensure future economic growth and support a rapidly expanding population.
Recent federal stimulus spending addresses some pressing repair needs for transport- and water-related systems and provides seed funding for high-speed rail in important travel corridors, as well as new energy infrastructure. But recession-busted government budgets, entitlement and defense expenditures, and ballooning health care costs push infrastructure down most political priority lists—leaders continue to procrastinate when it comes to new investments as stressed taxpayers balk at more spending.
View this complete post...Port Infrastructure Projects: Interactive Map
Monday, April 12th, 2010![port-infra-projects port-infra-projects](https://www.infrastructureusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/port-infra-projects.jpg)
According to a U.S. DOT Report on freight traffic, the number of trucks on our highways will more than double by 2035. Inland waterways, or “marine highways,” could reduce congestion by taking on some of the freight burden.
To make the port-and-waterway system more familiar, the U.S. Maritime Administration offers an interactive map, with information on current maritime infrastructure projects around the U.S. The map also shows inland waterways, interstate highways, railroads, and port locations around the country.
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