Law
According to sources at The Hill, the White House is expected to address the deployment of the 5G network, as well as artificial intelligence, as regards technological advancement and application to the national transportation network.
The plan will offer the "first deliverables" of the National...
Many construction contracts contain a deadline by which work must be finished and a provision for liquidated damages in the event it is not. Contracts also provide procedures for contractors if they believe they are entitled to a time extension, usually resulting from changes in the work, owner-...
Legislation to create a task force to evaluate autonomous vehicles was approved last week by the full New Jersey General Assembly.
The measure would create the New Jersey Advanced Autonomous Vehicle Task Force, comprised of eight members. The group would be responsible for conducting a study of...
The Trump administration will implement a new executive order to extend “Buy American” requirements to infrastructure projects that receive federal funding.
According to a Roll Call news report, President Trump signed the order Thursday, a move meant to boost the use of American-made products and...
The question of liability in the event of an accident or incident involving driverless vehicles or vehicles equipped with semi-autonomous technology is one that presently puzzles members of government and concerns both vehicle manufacturers and technology developers alike. There is one state,...
Julie Lorenz
Kansas Governor-elect Laura Kelly this week selected a new interim secretary of the state’s department of transportation. Julie Lorenz is an executive at Burns & McDonnell, an engineering firm out of Kansas City, Mo. Last year, she served as facilitator for the state’s 2018 legislative task...
I have written in recent years on the growing trend within federal courts to hold payment bond sureties liable to subcontractors for payment even though the owner has not paid the prime contractor and the subcontract contains an enforceable Pay-if-Paid clause.
The rationale employed by courts...
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...
