Road maintenance
Funding Expected for TxDOT Road Projects by 2018
The new transportation funding formula approved by voters in Texas will bring new funding to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Iowa DOT Chief Takes Novel Approach to Transportation Infrastructure
The strategy of Iowa's Department of Transportation chief, Paul Trombino III, for maintaining the state's "25,000 bridges, 114,000 miles of roadway, and more than 4,000 miles of rail" is not to do so. In a word, "shrinkage" is part of the solution.
The 1989 Roots of Louisiana's Transportation Funding Mess
Incomplete projects proposed in the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development plan have saddled Louisiana with increasing debt and less money for maintenance.
Missouri Shows How Not to Expand Highways, Though Unintentionally
The Missouri Department of Transportation will adhere strictly to a "fix it" (as opposed to "fix-it-first") policy for the next five years, because there are no funds for roadway expansion.
California Governor Brown's Conflicting Road Budget Priorities
When his father was governor, California was awash in federal highway dollars. Now Jerry Brown's administration contemplates a risky tax hike, juggling the need for road improvements with a clean, transit-oriented agenda.
Increase Gas Tax—Fund Highway Expansions
While some states are cutting back on transportation expenditures as funds run short, Iowa is not one of them, having passed a 10-cent gas tax increase that took effect March 1. New highway expansions are funded in addition to "fix it first."
The Exorbitant External Costs Caused by the Trucking Industry
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office places the spotlight on the trucking industry in terms of the social, health ,and environmental costs it imposes on society but does not pay for, i.e., externalities.
How Much More Damage to Roads is Caused by a Hummer Than a Prius?
A Hummer weighs 2.6 times more than a Prius C, so it must contribute that much more to road wear, right? Actually, that's wrong, not even close. To understand the main cause of road wear, one must look at heavy, not light trucks.
Ohio's Experiment in Public-Private Partnership Just Tripled in Cost
The Portsmouth Bypass will provide Ohio's first test case of public-private partnership on a major transportation project. As such, the news about the project's ballooning costs could have been better.
Michigan's Sweeping Road Funding Amendment Loses in a Landslide
Proposition 1 would have enacted broad reforms in road funding policies and programs in Michigan. Despite Governor Rick Snyder and the State Legislature's efforts, however, voters soundly defeated the measure in a statewide election this week.
Op-ed: "Fix-It-First" is California's New Infrastructure Policy
In this San Francisco Chronicle Open Forum, Brian Kelly, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, makes the case that maintenance as well as capital costs be included when financing new infrastructure projects.
Local Revenue Funding More Bay Area Road Maintenance
The greater Bay Area is enjoying a substantial increase in road maintenance funding from local measures, like bonds, city and county sales taxes, and development fees, part of a growing trend in compensating for a shortage of state gas tax funds.
Wyoming Reports Road Improvements From 10-Cent Gas Tax Increase
Wyoming legislators passed its gas tax hike in Feb. 2013, an incredible 71 percent increase when the state then had the second to lowest tax. AASHTO reports that the WYDOT has already completed 12 projects with the additional revenue.
The Texas Miracle: Looking Beyond the Impressive Growth Numbers
Texas is booming—its growth in people and jobs puts it in a league of its own. But another set of growth data pales by comparison: Infrastructure, particularly in the water and transportation needed to accommodate the growth, is woefully lacking.
Post Peak Driving, America Needs a Road (Construction) Diet
Though it may be too soon to say for sure, it looks like the United States has reached peak driving. So shouldn’t we cut back on new road construction?
Driverless Cars: A Boon to the Federal Budget?
The federal government is notorious for putting off road improvements. The good news? If driverless cars become a reality, they can keep putting them off—forever.
A Chicago Suburb Seeks to Disown its Roads, Will Others Follow?
Facing a shortfall of more than $1 million to maintain its roads, the Chicago suburb of Long Grove is looking to privatize nearly half of them by asking residents to pick up the tab. Residents are unhappy about the plan, but see few alternatives.
Texas Roads Crisis: DOT Proposes To Let Counties Maintain Roads
Following-up on the depavement of 83 miles of "farm-to-market" roads, TxDOT now proposes a much larger budget-saving measure: "Turn back" control of 2,000 miles of these state roadways to counties and cities. TxDOT also wants to focus on urban roads.
Lacking Funds for Repair, Texas Unpaves its Roads
Unable to find funding to repair roads damaged by the booming oil industry traffic, Texas will convert asphalt roads to gravel. Texas's gas tax is among the lowest in the nation.
Ideas Floated to Meet Texas's Road Funding Shortfall
Texas State Rep. Joe Pickett faults a recent TRIP report for not recommending a funding strategy to address the state's revenue shortfall for transportation needs. Two groups view vehicle registration fees as a funding option.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
