Law
A federal judge recently blocked the release of documents that could reveal why the roadway under the Florida International University (FIU) pedestrian bridge had not been shut down upon discovery of severe cracking on the structure before it collapsed and killed six people, according to a report...
The construction industry has a long history of favoring arbitration as an alternative means of resolving disputes. Nevertheless, contractors’ opinions and prejudices regarding the use of arbitration vary widely across the spectrum between outright insistence on its use to repugnance. Others...
Over the years, I have written several articles stressing the paramount importance to contractors of strictly adhering to written notice requirements in their contracts regarding changes in the work, delays and other unforeseen events, and highlighting the harsh consequences of failing to do so.
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Siding with the Miami Herald, a Tallahassee judge Tuesday ordered state transportation officials to hand over records related to the March bridge collapse at Florida International University (FIU) that resulted in six deaths.
The Herald sued the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in May...
On heavy-highway projects, subcontractors typically perform about half, and even up to 70%, of the work required.
That percentage is even greater within the building construction industry as many prime contractors focus solely on project management and do not self-perform work. The mere presence...
A Leon County, Fla., circuit court judge will soon decide if federal law bars the state from releasing certain records that might reveal more about the Florida International University (FIU) bridge collapse that killed six people this past March.
Judge Kevin J. Carroll heard arguments Tuesday in...
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, released a draft of a long-awaited infrastructure plan on Monday that addresses possible funding sources for a number of potential projects.
The bill calls for significant federal investment in...
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) issued two final regulations to strengthen the safety of public transportation systems, the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan rule and the Safety Certification Training Program rule.
With these actions, FTA has...
ODOT was able to merge 25 years of road and bridge work into just four due to innovative financing.
OHIO:
A fantastic fury
Bill Wilson, Editorial Director
Located in northwest Ohio, the city of Toledo has just as many University of Michigan devotees as it does Ohio State University fans.
The area is used to times of fury, but non-stop for four years straight? Hard to imagine, but it is all...
Despite its tremendous importance to the industry, I have refrained from writing on the collapse of the pedestrian bridge at Florida International University that occurred on March 15, 2018, because until the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concludes its investigation and project...
This article is adapted from an original posting to the AASHTO Journal.
The economic impact of Trump administration tariffs imposed on a number of goods, but notably steel and aluminum, continues to generate growing concern, especially regarding the cost of infrastructure projects.
The American...
With continued partisan gridlock in the U.S. Congress, it has been difficult for meaningful federal transportation initiatives to roll forward–and progress is likely to remain stalled until 2019 or later. President Trump admitted as much in a late-March speech when he predicted, “You’ll probably...
Most heavy-highway contracts contain either a fixed date for contract completion or a stated number of calendar or work days within which all work must be completed. They also contain a mechanism or procedure through which the contractor may receive an extension to the allotted time for changes in...
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday issued the Private Investment Project Procedures (PIPP) Final Rule that describes new procedures aimed at helping the federal government develop more effective approaches to spurring private...
Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order Wednesday aimed at attracting more testing of autonomous-vehicle technology on Ohio's roadways.
The executive order also provides direction to both government and industry on how to regulate and stage such testing. Kasich also pitched autonomous vehicles...
Brian Mack; Anna Quinn
The traffic and transit industry continues to make significant technological strides impacting traffic safety and efficiency. New and improved traffic systems, vehicle automation, and enhanced communications all contribute to safer, more connected roadways. Each idea...
Prime contractors and their subcontractors often haggle over subcontract language, and they often simply strike through language that is undesirable thereby leaving the language (and strikethrough) readable in the executed version.
The stricken language is always regarded by courts as omitted...
Kentucky's recently passed $8.5 billion 2018 highway plan aims to prioritize spending on 1,400 projects, including work on 1,000 bridges and improvements to 5,000 miles of pavement, plus road widening and the reconstruction of existing roads, along with construction of new routes and interchanges...
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that recommends the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) strengthen its safety oversight by improving guidance the agency provided to states.
Specifically, GAO suggests the FTA create a plan for developing risk-based inspection guidance...
Lawyers for the Seneca Nation of Indians sued New York State on Thursday, charging that the state broke federal laws more than 60 years ago when it built a 2.7-mile section of the New York State Thruway through Seneca territory in southern Erie County.
The lawsuit demands that the state...
