May - 2018

Archive

Residents say the politicians of LBJ East have failed them as much as the freeway itself

John Willis spent six years on the political front lines of Interstate 635 in Garland, the stretch of highway deemed in more need of improvement than any other in North Texas. Willis' wife, Dana, recently spent a harrowing few seconds on the freeway itself. She was going the opposite direction Feb. 28 when an 18-wheeler jackknifed in slick conditions. Concrete flew over the median, taking out a windshield and a couple tires on her 2014 Toyota Corolla. "That's the reality out

Would airplane seat sizes really stop shrinking under House's FAA reauthorization bill?

WASHINGTON — Minimum standards for ever-shrinking airplane seat sizes. A ban on airlines bumping ticketed passengers who have already boarded an aircraft. A prohibition on in-flight voice calls, including those made over Wi-Fi. Those are just a few changes air travelers might notice if a Federal Aviation Administration re authorization bill recently approved in the House ends up becoming law. The must-pass legislation, which won overwhelming bipartisan support, is still a way

Sidewalk Labs' New Tool Uses Smartphone Data to Model Changes in Transportation

With some educated guessing, one can pull a lot of information out of a cellphone's location data. Often, if a city official wants to get a better idea of how people get around in and outside the city, they rely on manual surveys of residents. Then they run it through a model — often with the help of a contractor — that has probably been around for years. It’s a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, given that most Americans carry location-tracking devices with them eve

U.S. 183 South toll road project in Austin, Texas, hits halfway point

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has hit a significant milestone in the construction of the U.S. 183 South project, as work is now about 50% completed. Construction crews have completed the first stretch of the new northbound general-purpose lanes between 51st Street and Manor/Springdale Road. Traffic will shift to this brand-new stretch of roadway overnight Friday, April 20 so that crews can begin construction of the 183 South expressway lanes. The Mobility Auth

SCPA opens Inland Port Dillon

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) opened its second inland port, Inland Port Dillon, on April 16. SCPA says the facility was constructed to handle strong growth for the port's intermodal rail cargo volumes and deepen its reach into markets through the Carolinas to the Northeast and Midwest. SCPA opened its first inland facility, Inland Port Greer, in the upstate region of South Carolina in November 2013. Inland Port Greer handled a record-breaking 124,817 rail moves i

Robo-Taxis Are The Future Of Transportation -- And China's DiDi Is Racing To Get There First

When an Uber autonomous vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Arizona on March 18, most companies put their self-driving tests on hold. The avalanche of press releases revealed just how many different companies are already testing self-driving cars. The list includes Apple, Google, Tesla, nearly every major automaker, computer chip-makers like Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, and a slew of lesser-known technology companies like AImotive, Aptiv, Argo, Aurora, Keolis, Navya and

Job numbers rise as construction booms in America

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between March 2017 and March 2018, while 29 states added construction jobs between February and March, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) of Labor Department data released on Friday (20 April). AGC said the job gains are coming amid strong private-sector demand and new public-sector investments in school and airport construction. “Construction employment conti

Harris Blows the Whistle on High-Speed Rail Scheme to “Borrow” Eminent Domain Authority from Amtrak

On Friday, Texas Central Partners announced they would once again seek federal intervention in an ongoing eminent domain dispute that threatens to halt construction of a private high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. In 2016, the Surface Transportation Board dealt a major setback to the controversial high-speed rail line by declining to assert federal authority over the proposal and by refusing to grant federal eminent domain authority to Texas Central Partners. In

Pentagon planning to roll out autonomous vehicles for combat zones

Defense Department officials are pushing to roll out self-driving vehicles for the Army before they come to U.S. roadways The Pentagon may deploy self-driving vehicles in combat zones to reduce the risk for military personnel attempting to deliver supplies to troops, according to a Bloomberg report. At an April hearing on Capitol Hill, Michael Griffin, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, told lawmakers that he envisions autonomous vehicles for the

21st century solutions

Towards a better future driven by transportation technology Ah, the great American dream. The interstate highway system was built during the post-World War II boom, and with it came the freedom to drive almost anywhere. Grandparents in Florida drove to see grandchildren in California. Families in Chicago and Philadelphia moved to far-flung suburbs. But soon enough, all those people in all those cars turned the great American dream into the great American nightmare. . . traffi

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