Top News2018-01-09T09:19:03-08:00

Bullet train developers want to turn Houston’s Northwest Mall into major transit hub

The Texas Tribune » The developers of a high-speed train connecting the state’s two largest urban areas announced Monday morning they want to build their Houston station at the site of Northwest Mall, about eight miles from the city’s downtown. That spot is one of three sites Texas Central Partners was considering for the Houston station. All three were at or near the mall.

February 5, 2018|

Seattle rail agency begins planning, design for 2 rail extensions

Engineering News-Record » The West Seattle Link Extension, proposed for 2030, includes a new fixed bridge, while the 2035 Ballard Link Extension requires both a new downtown Seattle light rail tunnel and a movable bridge. Both extensions move light rail west of Seattle, with the West Seattle portion heading across the Duwamish River with a 4.7-mile track extension. The Ballard extension runs mostly northwest 7.1 miles and requires a 3.3-mile downtown tunnel.

February 5, 2018|

Will Trump plan help New Orleans’ crumbling infrastructure?

Westport News » The city needs about $11.6 billion to bring key parts of its infrastructure into “this century,” said city official Katie Dignan. That means repairing the roads, the infrastructure under them — sewer, water and drainage — as well as other parts of the drainage system that empties the city of water when it rains. Dignan said the city has about $2 billion available, some from FEMA to mitigate Hurricane Katrina damage and some from other sources.

February 5, 2018|

MnDOT study considers tolls as a possible fix for roads

Star Tribune » Almost everyone agrees Minnesota’s roads need fixing. But how to fund the fix has long vexed lawmakers. Last year, the Legislature instructed the Minnesota Department of Transportation to study whether it’s feasible to expand toll roads in the state with an eye toward raising additional revenue to maintain them. The 106-page tome released last month concluded that more study is needed — if that’s the direction the state wants to take.

February 4, 2018|

Congressional Republicans Pledge Infrastructure Plan. Can the Highway Trust Fund Cover It?

Inside Sources » Under current projections, the Highway Trust Fund will run out of money in the fall of 2020. This means that the $1.5 trillion needed to fund Trump’s ambitious infrastructure plan will need to come from an alternative source. After their success in passing tax reform at the end of 2017, few in Congress will relish the idea of raising any sort of taxes, even something like the fuel tax, which has not seen increases in 25 years.

February 4, 2018|

Could Mississippi River change course? New research raises question, but Corps says plan working

The Advocate » If you drive out to the middle of nowhere and keep going, you can see where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is battling with the forces of nature. At the confluence of the Mississippi, Atchafalaya and Red rivers, the Corps has erected towering gates that bend the flow of the water. Without human intervention, the current channel of the Mississippi River would slow to a trickle while the Atchafalaya would swell.

February 3, 2018|
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