Eno Transportation Weekly

The lesson from the 2019 Infrastructure Week is that throwing money at the problem is not enough. Panel discussions, speeches, and presentations this week did not dwell on the proposed multi trillion dollar funding amount but focused rightly on what the goals and objectives of a federal investment program should be. The major theme of the week has been creating a cohesive vision to help justify the need and target funding to the most worthwhile projects.

May 3, 2019 – This week, the bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced a bill (H.R. 2440) that would allow the immediate spend-down of $9.3 billion in balances that have built up in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF).

April 12, 2019 – An April 10 hearing before the the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee discussed waterborne transportation and appeared designed to make the case for legislation unlocking $9.3 billion in past collections for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund – legislation that seems very likely to be included in the forthcoming infrastructure initiative from House Democrats.

February 14, 2019 – Yesterday, Sen.

February 9, 2019 – The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the 116thCongress formally kicked off its work yesterday with a marathon seven-hour hearing entitled “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation’s Infrastructure Cannot Wait.”

January 31, 2019 – Projections for transportation excise tax receipts are up substantially in several areas in the new CBO ten-year baseline projections.

January 17, 2019 – As freight projections show a steep increase in freight movement over the next few decades, stakeholders representing inland waterway transportation said they are well-positioned to handle the growing demand but that the federal government needs to help them invest in the projects that will keep things running smoothly.

December 21, 2018 – The Department of Transportation today solicited applications for fiscal year 2019 grants under what is now called the INFRA surface transportation grant program created by the FAST Act (officially the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program, but no one can pronounce NSFHP). Applications are due March 4, 2019 for what USDOT anticipates will be between $855-902.5 million in funding.

December 14, 2018 – TRB’s new report on the future of the Interstate Highway System falls short of the bold vision needed to solve the system’s intractable problems.

December 14, 2018 – This week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued its biennial report updating a wide menu of revenue increase and spending cut options and the amount by which each of the 121 options would decrease federal deficits over the coming years.

December 7, 2018 – The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has issued a new update of its periodic report, “Critical Issues in Transportation.”

December 6, 2018 – As arctic waters become more easily traversable for shippers and tourists alike, the U.S. does not yet have the infrastructure in place to manage its northern waterways, according to a Senate Subcommittee hearing on the topic.

October 25, 2018 – As cities look for solutions to reduce freight-caused congestion and boost turnover at commercial load/unload zones, one possible solution—common carrier locker systems—seems poised to emerge as a tested and proven favorite.

October 22, 2018 – Chinese-backed companies are targeting U.S. freight rail car manufacturing, and their market dominance would threaten America’s economic and national security, according to a report released Monday.

October 18, 2018 – Ports across the country announced volume records this summer as shippers rushed to move goods ahead of the Trump Administration’s proposed tariffs—but what happens when the tariffs come into full effect remains to be seen.

October 17, 2018 – The books are closed on fiscal year 2018 and they reveal that net U.S. Department of Transportation spending (outlays) decreased by $946 million in 2018 versus 2017. But all is not as it seems.

October 4, 2018 – At a public event this morning, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao released her department’s long-awaited “AV 3.0” guidance document, formally called Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0.

September 20, 2018 – Everyone knows that automated technology is revolutionize air and ground transportation. But a recent Senate hearing shed light on new advances in maritime automation as well.

September 14, 2018 – As the Dec. 31 deadline to fully implement positive train control (PTC) or else qualify for an alternative schedule approaches, railroads and regulators are already turning towards challenges that will remain after 2018.

September 5, 2018 – In an effort to address occupational and skills gaps in the freight transportation industry, ports and private entities are teaming up with schools to help bring more young people into transportation and logistics careers.