In This Issue

	Independent Panel Report on Columbia River Crossing Project
	Thousands Seeks Aid from DOT’s 2010 Grant Pool
	More Toll Lanes may come to Colorado
	Road Builders Upset with Gubernatorial Candidates’ Toll Opposition
	Transit Agency kills $10 Registration Fee Hike
	‘Smarter’ Highway Signs to Debut in Seattle

Independent Panel Report on Columbia River Crossing Project

Salem, OR/Olympia, WA - On July 30, Governors Christine O. Gregoire and Theodore R. Kulongoski of Washington and Oregon respectively announced the release of the final report of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) they formed in April to review the current status of the $3.6 billion Columbia River Crossing Project. The panel was asked to assess three areas of the project: implementation activities, finance plans and performance measures.

The IRP was comprised of the following individuals:

• Tom Warne, Chairman (Tom Warne and Associates)
• Rodney Brown (Cascadia Law Group)
• E. Robert Ferguson (ERF LLC)
• Dr. Patricia Galloway (Pegasus Global Holdings)
• Diana Mendes (AECOM)
• Dr. Michael Meyer (GA Tech)
• Mary Lou Ralls-Newman (Ralls-Newman)
• Tim Neuman (CH2M Hill)

Administrative support was provided by Public Knowledge through Jennifer Vachon.

The IRP’s final report to the governors provided 30 recommendations, which offer a “road map” for the project to progress towards construction.

http://crcreview.org/documents/IRP_report.pdf

The panel conducted seven hearings and three community comment meetings; gathering significant information. Major recommendations are:

• Resolve current land use issues and transportation solutions on Hayden Island
• Resolve technical issues relating to the open web design for the Columbia River Crossing
• Complete a variety of NEPA requirements
• Reinvigorate the public involvement process
• Establish a long-term governance structure for the project

First, it was an amazing experience to work with the remarkable group of individuals on this panel. Second, the lessons learned from this review apply to many projects throughout the country. The CRC is an important project that must be built; and the recommendations provided by the IRP are the most direct route to that goal. TW

Thousands Seeks Aid from DOT’s 2010 Grant Pool

Washington, D.C. – More than 2,300 applications have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking tens of billions of dollars to aid infrastructure projects, from a “TIGER II” fund that has $600 million to award. DOT officials said they received pre-applications requesting $26 billion in federal funding by the July 16 deadline.

The list is expected to be narrowed down before the final application deadline on Aug. 23, but it represents how many projects around the country are competing for federal funding to repair aging infrastructure or make improvements.

The TIGER II grant pool was approved by Congress as a follow-up to the $1.5 billion in grants distributed by the DOT under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That fund attracted 1,400 applications amounting to $57 billion in funding requests. U.S. Transportation officials have spread the funding among 51 construction projects.

These numbers are staggering. $26 billion in requests for $600 million in available projects. In the absence of reauthorization, the trend is to increasingly grant programs that are oversubscribed – in this case by a factor of 43 times the available funding. This is not a solution. No matter how much a single state gets, they would still do better under a long-term bill with prescribed funding levels. TW

More Toll Lanes may come to Colorado

DENVER – Officials in Colorado say more toll roads are likely in the state as more people turn to fuel-efficient vehicles and gas tax revenues stay flat. Transportation officials say adding more toll lanes will bring much-needed revenue to build and maintain new road projects.

“Revenues have been declining and costs are going up,” said Peggy Catlin of the Colorado Department of Transportation. Officials are looking to add additional lanes on the entire Boulder Turnpike, and possibly adding toll lanes between Golden and Broomfield. Toll lanes on I-25 between downtown Denver and U.S. 36 bring the state $2.5 million in annual revenue. “It’s a very effective tool for managing congestion and (also a) tool for financing needed for infrastructure,” said Catlin.

Road Builders Upset with Gubernatorial Candidates’ Toll Opposition

MADISON, Wis. – The leader of a group representing Wisconsin’s road builders says it is unfortunate that all three major candidates for governor do not support toll roads. Wisconsin Transportation builders Association executive director Pat Gross said Thursday that the prospective governors’ opposition will not prevent the group from continuing to lobby for toll roads with the next governor.

Transit Agency kills $10 Registration Fee Hike

Voters in the Bay Area county of Solano will not be asked in November to approve a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees to fund road repairs and transit projects. The Solano Transportation Authority Directors voted this week not to put the proposed fee hike on this year’s ballot, even though officials had campaigned for the measure.

“I am disappointed that the residents didn’t have a say,” said District 3 Supervisor James Spering of Suisun City, the county’s representative on the STA board, who had urged fellow board members to put the measure on the ballot. “We’ll continue to rely on the state but, with state cuts, those projects could go away,” Spering said.

The $10 fee increase would have raised $3 million for transportation projects in Solano. Mayors voting against the measure said they didn’t think the fee increase would be approved by county voters and didn’t want the county to agree to pay for a ballot measure that was bound to lose.

‘Smarter’ Highway Signs to Debut in Seattle

SEATTLE – Engineers in Washington will activate a new high-tech traffic management system, Smarter Highways, along northbound I-5 in south Seattle on Tuesday, Aug. 10. Overhead electronic signs will automatically alert drivers to change lanes when an incident blocks traffic or to adjust their speed before reaching slower-moving traffic. The new signs will help reduce rear-end collisions, allow for earlier escape to alternate routes and smooth lane shifting caused by incidents like stalls or collisions.

“We’re asking drivers to get familiar with Smarter Highways ahead of time so they know what to do when they see a yellow arrow or a reduced speed limit,” said Patty Rubstello, WSDOT Systems Engineer. “This is new technology for us and the United States, so we know it will be a big change for drivers.” Local drivers have several options to boost their Smarter Highways knowledge; many are on Washington DOT’s website: www.wsdot.wa.gov/smarterhighways/.

WSDOT traffic engineers have rigorously tested Smarter Highways on I-5 since May to ensure the complex system of traffic sensors, electronic signs and software systems is ready to activate.

“Getting Smarter Highways up and running is more than plugging in signs and flipping a switch,” said Rubstello. “We need to make sure all system parts run together like clockwork.” In addition to I-5, WSDOT plans to install Smarter Highway signs this fall on SR 520 between I-5 and 130th Avenue NE in Bellevue, and on I-90 between I-5 and 150th Avenue SE in Bellevue in spring 2011.