Highways, Bridges and Roads

House Republicans should include a new surface transportation bill in their summer schedule, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association said this week.

In a letter to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), dated Thursday, ARTBA CEO Peter Ruane said this week that Cantor, the second highest-ranking Republican in the House, made an omission in his recently released floor schedule for the summer.

"We share your desire to focus on job creating legislation in the coming months," Ruane wrote to Cantor. "Unfortunately, the 'Summer Floor Schedule for America's Job Creators' you released last week omits one of the most significant employment boosting measures pending before Congress — the nearly two-year overdue reauthorization of the federal surface transportation program."

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The Federal Aviation Administration said Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew planes that had been struck by lightning.

A new toy will allow kids to play Transportation Security Administration agents.

A Chicago chef's knives made it through airport security, even though he was patted down.

San Francisco's transportation chief is leaving his job.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

An Ohio couple say they missed their honeymoon flight because they were held by the Transportation Security Administration over contact solution.

A Newark, N.J., flight was delayed when a flight attendant found graffiti in the bathroom of the plane.

Meet Rahm Emanuel's choice to lead the Chicago Department of Transportation.

High-speed rail is all the rage now, but some Amtrak trains in Detroit are going to be moving more slowly.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Nearly 25 percent of domestic flights in April arrived late because of thunderstorms at airport hubs.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced the location of the first of his promised 100 "protected bike lanes."

A newspaper wants California Gov. Jerry Brown to end his silence on a proposed high-speed rail there.

The new Airbus airplane now flies to Washington's Dulles International Airport.

The largest U.S. airfreight company will show off one of its new airplanes that it flies to South Korea, Hong Kong, Dubai and India this week at a Washington area airport.

FedEx will celebrate the first full year of service for the 777F with an event Wednesday at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va.

The company has said it is the first cargo airline to fly 777F airplanes, which debuted in 2008, and says the planes improve its ability to deliver packages from the U.S. and Canada to Latin America and South Korea.

FedEx president Mike Ducker, who is also the chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's International Policy Committee, will speak at the event on the benefits of the 777 and the importance of new trade routes and international trade agreements.

State could spend less overall on transportation if they spent more of the money they allocated to it on repairing existing roads, a new report released Wednesday said.

The report, titled "Repair priorities: Transportation spending strategies to save taxpayer dollars and improve roads," says that states currently spend 43 percent of their total transportation money on repair, compared with 57 percent on new projects.

However, the report, which was sponsored by Washington, D.C.-based Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense, also notes that new construction only accounts for 1 percent of state transportation projects.

"Federal taxpayers have an enormous stake in seeing that our roads are kept in good condition,” Taxpayers for Common Sense policy analyst Erich Zimmermann said in a statement. “Billions of tax dollars were spent to build our highway system, and neglecting repair squanders that investment. Keeping our roads in good condition reduces taxpayers’ future liabilities.”


Smart Growth America's director of land use and transportation, Roger Millar, agreed.

As Congress pivots from the Federal Aviation Administration to trying to pass a new transportation bill this year, another group is out with an ad trying to influence lawmakers.

This time however, it is a group that wants to convince elected officials to spend money on roads and bridges more wisely, not just spend more on them.

The Portland Cement Association announced Tuesday it was running radio commercials in 18 markets and print advertisements in 17 newspapers to promote "life-cycle budgeting" on projects in the forthcoming Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU.

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Your morning transportation speed-read:

A woman landed a plane in Denver with help from air traffic controllers and nearby planes when her pilot husband had a medical problem in flight.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) did not veto a sweep of the state's transportation trust fund that advocates were hoping for.

New York City bus ridership is down, though subway numbers are up.

The Department of Transportation has rejected a proposal to push back the beginning of construction of a California high-speed rail.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Rail-killing Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has taken a nosedive in the polls.

A 500-foot wheel has been approved for the Las Vegas strip by the FAA, which worried it would affect flights at McCarran International Airport.

Wisconsin DOT outsourcing is costing taxpayers millions.

Boeing is considering replacing 737s.

The Transportation Construction Coalition is out with a new ad suggesting as many as 80 million jobs could hinge on Congress passing a new transportation bill this year.

Congress is gearing up to begin work on the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, or SAFETEA-LU. A short-term version of the bill, which funds highways and public transportation, is in place until September.

The transportation coalition and other advocates want a longer six-year bill. The group said this week in a new ad that not doing so would cost America more than bumpy roads and bridges.

"The transportation infrastructure network is the backbone of our economy," the ad says. "Nearly 80 million American jobs in tourism, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, agriculture and forestry, general construction, mining, retailing and wholesaling rely on highways, bridges and rail systems every day."