FHWA Administrator Mendez: Safety is top priority in innovation

Amanda Bayhi - Apr 24, 2013

Safety is the top priority when considering new innovation in transportation and infrastructure, Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez said in an interview with Better Roads during the Intelligent Transportation Society of America's (ITS America) Annual Meeting. Mendez explained that in 2011, ...

Traffic congestion increases by 4 percent in Q1 2013

Amanda Bayhi - Apr 24, 2013

Traffic congestion in the United States is on the rise, signaling an improvement in the nation’s economy, USA Today reported. Following nearly two years of a decline in traffic congestion, it was up 4 percent year-over-year in the first three months ...

Let’s Mess with Taxes

John Latta - Apr 09, 2013

Something had to give. People want better roads and less congestion. So politicians promise to deliver. But people don’t want to pay more for their better roads. So politicians promise to deliver them at no extra cost. Result: stalemate, with deteriorating ...

Congestion expected to cost average commuter $1,010 annually by 2020

Amanda Bayhi - Apr 05, 2013

The average U.S. commuter spent $818 on traffic congestion costs in 2011, according to a 2012 Annual Urban Mobility Report from Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute. That number may grow to $1,010 in the next decade or less. The total cost of ...

Variable pricing: A case study

Better Roads Staff - Apr 03, 2013

Inside the highway and bridge industries By John Latta, jlatta@randallreilly.com Using different tolls for different times of day and for different vehicles is an increasingly common consideration for agencies facing gridlock or suffocating congestion on a regular basis. It’s a still a work ...

Hello, traffic jam?

John Latta - Mar 26, 2013

No more back seat driver telling you how to avoid doing the congestion crawl. Honda can now have a smart phone app tell you how to do it. Yes, Honda now says it is possible to delay the occurrence of a ...

Congestion pricing thins carpoolers on SF Bay Bridge

John Latta - Mar 12, 2013

Ironically, vehicles carrying a lot of people are taken off the road by congestion pricing more than vehicles with just a driver. At least in San Francisco. Peak period tolls on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge went up in summer of ...

Measuring Misery

Better Roads Staff - Mar 06, 2013

Inside the highway and bridge industries by John Latta, jlatta@randallreilly.com The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has come up with The Planning Time Index (PTI). It is a way to measure the degree of commute unreliability, introduced for the first time as ...

RoadWorks

Better Roads Staff - Jan 10, 2013

Inside the highway and bridge industries Big Bang Theory for Federal Highway Giants By John Latta, jlatta@randallreilly.com A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco suggests that highway grants play a very positive short-, mid- and long-term role in building ...

RoadWorks

Better Roads Staff - Feb 18, 2012

Inside the highway and bridge industries By John Latta, Tina Grady Barbaccia and Mike Anderson Hey Washington! You’re out of touch and we don’t trust you. Most Americans think their transportation system is in bad shape. But they prefer tolls to an increased gas ...

RoadWorks

Better Roads Staff - Dec 04, 2011

STOP GO CRAWL STOP GO CRAWL STOP GO CRAWL STOP GO CRAWL There are a more than 300 major “congestion corridors” on America’s highway system, according to a new report by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). The 2011 Congested Corridors Report is the ...

Road Science

Better Roads Staff - Dec 02, 2011

Speeding Up Time The multiple values of accelerated bridge replacement The cost of user delays in an era of unbridled traffic congestion is driving today’s fast-paced bridge erection technology, and it’s being encouraged by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in partnership with ...

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