In This Issue

	Ky. May Toll Bridges to Fund New Projects
	Council approves $100,000 Study of Urban Rail System
	Washington Launches ‘Electric Highway’
	Seattle Judge Dismisses Viaduct Tunnel Lawsuit
	Penn. Can’t Match Share for High-Speed Rail Funds

Ky. May Toll Bridges to Fund New Projects

A Louisville, Kentucky bridge authority has requested federal permission to add tolls to three existing bridges in the region to help pay for the multibillion Ohio River Bridges Project. The Louisville and Southern Indiana Bridge Authority is hoping to convert the Sherman Minton Bridge, the Clark Memorial Bridge and the John F. Kennedy Bridge into tollways. The authority submitted an “expression of interest” to the Federal Highway Administration in May to seek tolls on the existing bridges and the new bridges in the Ohio River Bridges Project.

The proposal for the Ohio River Bridges River Project includes two new bridges and the redevelopment of the often-congested Spaghetti Junction interchange connecting I-64, I-65 and I-71.

Six pilot programs are underway with the FHWA allowing interstate tolling authority to relieve congestion or for rehabilitation projects, but no existing interstate has successfully been converted to a toll road. The most recent attempt was Pennsylvania’s proposal for I-80, which the FHWA rejected because 100 percent of the toll revenue would not remain within I-80.

Council approves $100,000 Study of Urban Rail System

Austin city leaders have voted to spend $100,000 to study how to pay for a $1.3 billion urban rail system. The proposed commuter rail line would operate in downtown Austin, including service to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Public Financial Management, of Austin, will perform the study with results anticipated by this fall. The proposed line would supplement Capital Metro’s MetroRail, which opened in March with service between Leander and downtown Austin.

The Austin City Council also approved a plan to postpone a possible light rail line bond election for one year, to 2012.

Washington Launches ‘Electric Highway’

Washington has launched plans for an “electric highway” along one of the state’s busiest corridors – I-5 from Oregon to the Canadian border. With Gov. Christine Gregoire’s support and $1.3 million in federal stimulus funding, the state plans to build up to 10 stations no more than 80 miles apart. The Level 3 fast-charging stations can usually recharge a vehicle’s battery in 15 to 30 minutes, and will be constructed just off the highway in shopping centers.

“Washington’s ‘electric highway’ connects Puget Sound electric vehicle drivers with Portland and other west coast communities participating in the EV Project, a $230 million project to deploy a total of 4,700 electric vehicles and nearly 15,000 charge stations in 5 states (Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona and Tennessee) and the District of Columbia,” Gov. Gregoire said in a statement. “The state will partner with private companies to install fast charging infrastructure in critical charging zones in unserved locations along major interstates. The first charging sites will be placed along I-5 north of Everett and south of Centralia. The work on I-5 will be complemented with deployments along I-90 to include Central Washington.”

This “electric highway” project supports the state’s efforts on the West Coast Green Highway, a tri-state initiative to encourage the use of cleaner fuels along the 1,350 miles of I-5 from British Columbia to Baja California. For more information on the Electric Highways project, visit: http://wsdot.wa.gov/Partners/GreenHighways/electric_highways.htm

Seattle Judge Dismisses Viaduct Tunnel Lawsuit

A Seattle judge has dismissed a lawsuit attempting to halt construction of the tunnel replacement for the quake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct. Judge John Coughenour said the petitioners had failed to specify how they would be damaged by the lack of a full environmental impact statement on all of the viaduct construction projects. Therefore, the court “lacks jurisdiction” to allow the temporary restraining order sought by the group, Citizens Against the Tunnel, according to the judge’s ruling.

The group pleads "nothing more than that they are 'concerned citizens' who have filed this lawsuit in their search for 'answers that have been withheld from the public at large'," Coughenour wrote. The suit aimed to delay construction of the $482 million southern mile of the viaduct replacement project until a full environmental impact study had been completed for the entire project.

The ruling clears the way for construction to begin on the new south mile, which will eventually connect to a four-lane tunnel to be bored under downtown. The entire replacement is expected to cost $4.2 billion, including the $1.96 billion tunnel.

Penn. Can’t Match Share for High-Speed Rail Funds

Pennsylvania may miss its opportunity for a share of the $2.3 billion federal officials are making available for high-speed rail projects because officials say the state may not be able to afford its share of the cost. The funding from the 2010 transportation bill is to help pay for passenger rail service improvements, including new tracks and signal upgrades, but local governments must cover at least 20 percent of the cost for a project to be eligible.

State transportation officials and lawmakers agree that with a $472 million transportation funding shortfall, it may be very difficult to find the 20 percent matching funds.

“We’re having a hard time coming up with any funding right now for transportation,” said House Transportation Committee chair Joe Markosek, a Monroeville Democrat. “High-speed rail is a high priority, but so are our roads and bridges.”

Applications for the federal funds are due August 6, and grant recipients will be announced by the end of September.