January - 2018

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FRA slates hearings on environmental report for Texas bullet train

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Jan. 29 will begin a series of 10 public hearings on its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed bullet train project in Texas. The first public hearing will be held in Dallas County. Others will be held in locations along the proposed route, which would extend from North Texas to Houston. The FRA is accepting comments on the DEIS until Feb. 20. The report analyzed six end-to-end build alternatives as well

Pedestrian deaths and environmental concerns threaten Florida's high-speed train project

It launched to a fanfare two weeks ago: the first privately funded US express passenger railway in decades, a new start for long delayed plans, and a “green” alternative to Florida’s increasingly congested highways. Yet for executives of Brightline, an ambitious $3bn venture that will eventually ferry travellers from the theme parks of Orlando to the beaches of Miami in just three hours, the champagne moment soon lost its fizz. Even before passengers left the station at Fort

Big boost to economy expected with North Charleston container terminal development

As work continues on a 280-acre container terminal in North Charleston's port, those close to the project are predicting a significant boost to the region's economy. The South Carolina Ports Authority has completed preliminary demolition, site preparation and containment wall construction on the more than $700 million Hugh K. Leatherman development, named after the Republican member of the South Carolina Senate. It will be the only permitted new container terminal on the East

Mayors Skeptical of Trump Infrastructure Plan

When big-city mayors met in Washington last week, one of their primary messages regarding infrastructure was that the federal government should send new money directly to cities, rather than through states. The Trump administration seems open to the idea. “The folks in this room turn dirt faster than anybody in America,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a meeting on infrastructure at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ meeting last week. “We think that cities are the place

VIDEO: How a Steel Box Changed the World: A Brief History of Shipping

As the container shipping industry continues to boom, companies are adopting new technologies to move cargo faster and shifting to crewless ships. But it’s not all been smooth sailing and the future will see fewer players stay above water. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO! #ports #national #transportation #innovation

Turner proposes stricter development rules to boost flood control in Houston

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday proposed tightening development rules to strengthen Houston's defenses against flooding, the city's first concrete step to change building practices since Hurricane Harvey inundated hundreds of thousands of homes last August. Turner's proposed changes would require all new buildings outside the floodplain to be elevated two feet above the ground, and all new construction within the 500-year floodplain to be lifted two feet above the project

NIST Global City Teams Challenge to Focus on IoT Security in Smart Cities

Smart city solutions that address some of the biggest tasks taken on by cities will be one of the drivers of the conversation at the upcoming Smart and Secure Cities and Communities Challenge (SC3) kickoff conference in Washington, D.C., next month. The conference, organized as part of the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC), hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will bring together about 300 attendees from around the world to exchange ideas larg

Texas lawmakers should focus on important things like roads and taxes

Better roads, shorter commutes to work - not bathroom bills. Tax reform that actually cuts property taxes - not petty political feuds. Common sense public policy - not social issue melodrama spun by the fringe. I think most of us would choose pragmatic governing in Austin any day over partisan divisiveness. But it's always nice when you hear a group of elected officials, all conservative Republicans, admit they want it, too. On Monday, a panel of six county judges representin

AT&T sensors monitor bridges, alert officials when unsafe

Dive Brief: AT&T is testing a structure monitoring solution with sensors that can monitor bridge stability and alert officials if they become unsafe, reported Mashable. Suitable for everything from foot bridges to those that support rail and vehicle traffic, the battery-operated sensors take readings every eight hours, and monitor such things as crack width, temperature, joint movement and changes in angle. Data then is delivered to the IBM cloud via AT&T's LTE network. Some

There's one part of America that Trump really can make great again

If 2017 is remembered as the year of major tax reform, let 2018 be remembered as the year that the nation's infrastructure was finally recognized as a priority for federal investment. For several weeks, there has been talk that infrastructure could form a cornerstone of the President's new agenda. So, what infrastructure priorities would be top of my list? In no special order, I'd spend our money on the following: 1. Interstate and long-distance rail: Funding for Amtrak, our

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