In This Issue

	ICC Tolls Set at Low End of Range
	Major O.C. Freeway Project Breaks Ground
	Nebraska Gas Taxes to Rise to 27.1 Cents per Gallon
	Treasury Secretary Support Gas Tax Break for School Buses
	Toll Road Proposal Gains Traction for I-95
	Can the Hydrogen Highway Exist?
	RTD select Fluor to Build FasTracks to Denver Airport
	FTA Approves EIS for Honolulu Light Rail

ICC Tolls Set at Low End of Range

Tolls for the Maryland’s Intercounty Connector (ICC) have been set at the low end of the range under consideration by the Maryland Transportation Authority as work is completed for the first segment of the highway to be open early next year. The authority has announced it will charge 25 cents per mile during peak hours between I-270 and Georgia Avenue, for a total charge of $1.45 to travel the 5.6-mile length of the corridor.

The range under consideration by the agency’s executive secretary was 25 cents to 35 cents per mile. The first section of this long-awaited corridor will open late this year and the second, completing the portion from I-270 to I-95, will open around at the end of 2011 or early 2012. The drivers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, who are expected to use the corridor most, strongly protested the higher tolls. If the authority does not change the rates by the time the second segment opens, the total toll for a trip between I-270 and I-95 at peak time will be about $4.

Executive Secretary Ronald Freeland, who was given responsibility by the authority board to set toll rates up to 35 cents, said resident's input had a strong influence in the initial toll rates. He acknowledged that if traffic volumes rose quickly, peak rates could be raised to 35 cents to prevent increasing congestion.

Major O.C. Freeway Project Breaks Ground

Officials broke ground this week on what is said to be one of the largest construction projects to kick off in Orange County in the last decade. Construction work will officially begin in August on the West County Connectors project that will link carpool lanes on the I-605, I-405 and the SR-22 freeway, with an estimated price tag of $328 million.

“Today is about jobs … high paying jobs created as a result of this public investment,” said Will Kempton, chief executive officer of the Orange County Transportation Authority. The project will use $50 million in federal stimulus funding and is expected to create 5,000 jobs. Completion is set for 2014.

Nebraska Gas Taxes to Rise to 27.1 Cents per Gallon

The state gas tax will rise by three-tenths of a cent on July 1 to 27.1 cents per gallon, the Nebraska Department of Revenue announced on Tuesday. The increase will last through the end of this year and follows a hike of four-tenths of a cent that went into effect on Jan. 1.

The July 1 increase represents one of three components of the state gas tax – the relatively new tax on wholesale fuel, which retailers will likely pass onto consumers. The scheduled increase is the result of wholesale prices rising recently. Lawmakers approved the new taxing plan to make up for declining revenue as people drive less because of high fuel prices.

Nebraska is one of just a few states that have an indexing provision in place to account for changes in the economy. TW

Treasury Secretary Support Gas Tax Break for School Buses

Small school buses may have avoided recent congressional attempts to remove them from the list of vehicles eligible for exemption from paying the federal gas tax. Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent a letter to several congressmen stating his support of the IRS exemption which has been scrutinized in recent years as the federal highway trust fund has trended towards insolvency.

Geithner says all school bus sizes and models should continue to receive the IRS protection from fuel excise taxes. Four New York House members and one New York senator has since forwarded a letter to Geithner requesting clarification on the issue.

The National School Transportation Association reports that Geithner’s letter “promised that the IRS would be issuing new guidance on the matter soon and promised to address the concern with IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman.”

Who can be opposed to exempting school buses and also, local government vehicles. While we're at it let's exempt all public vehicles. In addition, there’s a very large fleet of federal vehicles that traverse our road system. My personal favorite in Utah is the exemption the concrete pumping industry got because their trucks spend all of their time sitting on job sites and not driving on the roads. Don’t they drive from one site to another and contribute wear and tear to the system? Part of our problem is the system of exemptions. It masks the true impact all these extra vehicles have on our roads and highways. My opinion--we need to stop exemptions and focus on equity. TW

Toll Road Proposal Gains Traction for I-95

FAYETTEVILLE – Officials in North Carolina are looking at tolls as a serious possibility for Interstate 95, the state head of transportation said this week. Currently, the state has “no real way” to fund improvements on the interstate, which will need $5 billion in upgrades and expansions over the next 20 years, Secretary Gene Conti said.

“We’re looking at tolling 95. We want to do it in a sensible way,” Conti said. “We want to do it in a way that doesn’t slow traffic down or doesn’t create a lot of local hardship.” I-95 serves as a major north-south artery on the East Coast, transporting people and products between the Canadian border to Miami, Florida. The busiest stretch of I-95 in North Carolina is a 25-mile section between Fayetteville and Benson, which Conti said is likely to be tolled first.

State transportation spokesman Ted Vaden said the state is studying possible funding routes and the needs of the I-95, which has 182 miles in North Carolina. The study results are due in spring 2011, and tolls could be in place by 2012 if the plan is approved, Vaden said.

RTD select Fluor to Build FasTracks to Denver Airport

A private consortium has been selected by the Regional Transportation District (RTD) for the single largest ever FasTracks contract to build and operate commuter rail lines to Denver International Airport (DIA). Denver Transit Partners’ proposal came in $300 million lower than RTD’s estimate and plans to open the airport line by January 2016, 11 months ahead of deadline. Denver Transit Partners’ proposal along with RTD’s project costs total $2.085 billion, compared with RTD’s budget estimate of $2.385 billion. DTP is a joint venture of Fluor Enterprises Inc. and Macquarie Capital Group Ltd.

“It is a remarkable achievement for RTD to get a project of this magnitude through a public-private partnership that meets our goal of contracting under our budget and ahead of our schedule,” said RTD Chair Lee Kemp. “We said three years ago that public-private partnerships would be a vital part of keeping our FasTracks program moving forward. The decision tonight shows that the faith placed in us by the Federal Transit Administration and our stakeholders through some difficult times was justified has been rewarded.”

With this decision, RTD will have 47 miles of new rail under construction or under contract, more than double the amount of rail in RTD’s existing light rail system. It also represents nearly 40 percent of the total FasTracks rail network now under contract. Early construction work, such as relocation of utilities and freight tracks along the East Corridor, is projected to start by late summer.

The project takes public-private partnerships to a broader level. In addition to final design and construction, Denver Transit Partners is introducing private financing and will also operate and maintain the rail service for 40 years. In return, RTD will make annual payments to DTP based on its performance in meeting RTD’s service standards. Through this arrangement, called Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain, RTD reduces its need for upfront cash. RTD also expects the project to attract $1 billion next year through the Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement process.

FTA Approves EIS for Honolulu Light Rail

The Federal Transit Administration has approved a final environmental impact statement for the Honolulu Rail Transit Project, Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced Monday. The FTA has approved $55 million of the $5 billion, 20-mile elevated rail line, and expects to fund a total of $1.5 billion. The project will also be funded by a one-half percent rail tax approved in 2007 which is anticipated to generate $3.5 billion for light rail construction and operation.

Last year, Kiewit Pacific Co. was awarded the design-build contract for the first 6.5-mile segment of the line between Kapolei and Pearl Highlands. The city plans to start service on the initial section in 2012, with the entire line expected to be open in 2019. The rail system connecting East Kapolei with Ala Moana Center will have 21 stations at locations including Aloha Stadium, Honolulu International Airport and Honolulu Community College. The EIS report estimates the proposed light rail line will have more than 115,000 daily riders, eliminate 40,000 vehicles from highways and reduce traffic delays by 18 percent by 2030.