Law
Rising steel prices are indeed on the minds of road and bridge contractors, but they are not smothering craniums giving them endless noogies like a nasty big brother. Playing that role would be the never-ending skilled labor crisis, which is now starting to ignore the screams of the builder.
Of...
I came across a case decided by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that I thought would serve as a good reminder to contractors bidding public projects of the risks they assume concerning fortuitous losses to the work or stored materials prior to final acceptance by the government.
On Sept. 20,...
State officials and lawmakers in Kansas are batting around the idea of a 5 cent per gallon state gas tax increase, raising the present 24 cents per gallon up to 29. Kansas has begun crafting a new long-term transportation plan to guide future highway projects. A state task force finalized...
Tolling is never anyone’s first choice, and it is largely unpopular with the motoring public. (For an example of such discord, keep an eye out for our upcoming December issue’s Region Report.) But it cannot be feasibly denied that it is a source of revenue for any state’s ailing—or developing—road...
This week, three prominent transportation stakeholders told the members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the country’s transportation network is desperately in need of long-term federal funding assurances.
According to a report from Transport Topics, Carlos Braceras,...
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a final rule establishing safety standards for railroad passenger equipment.
The rule represents one of the most significant enhancements to the nation’s passenger rail design standards in a century,...
This week, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pointed to infrastructure as the primary component of a strong U.S. economy's continued success.
"Corporate earnings certainly have been very, very strong. there's no question about that. And it's also no question that market's job is to look ahead," Ross...
Hopes for a dedicated and long-term source of transportation funding came to a seeming end in Missouri, as a public referendum to increase the state’s gas tax was voted down by a margin of 54% to 46%.
Leaders in both transportation and legislature were surprised by the vote, which saw one of the...
The American Road & Transportation Builders Association's (ARTBA) government relations, economics and Transportation Investment Advocacy Center (TIAC) teams have produced two special reports to help better understand the impacts of the Nov. 6 election results on the transportation construction...
California voters rejected Proposition 6 at the polls on Tuesday, a measure to repeal a recent increase in the state’s gas tax, according to a report from The Mercury News.
The fate of Prop 6 was believed to determine the fate of California’s roads, bridges and transit, as the measure would have...
Even the most reputable and quality conscious contractors, subcontractors and suppliers engaged in the road and bridge industry are occasionally faced with the prospects of removing and replacing defective work and materials. Indeed, human error can evade even the most well-planned and executed...
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) announced a final rule to amend Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that will accelerate project delivery. To date, the new rule is one...
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ordered a transit operator last week to immediately stop transporting school children in Southwest Florida on a driverless shuttle.
The NHTSA on Friday issued a letter to Transdev North...
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...
