MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A semi loaded with $400,000 worth of Jack Daniel’s whiskey overturned on Nov. 17 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. According to the Murfreesboro Police Department, the load shifted as the driver was making a left turn onto the Interstate 24 on-ramp from South Church St. Several gallons of the spirit spilled onto the ground, but the driver was not injured.
ATLANTA — Weather for the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond will offer a little bit of everything but nothing too extreme. The worst weather is predicted for Wednesday. In the northeast, winds could gusts up to 40 mph from New York City through the Boston metro, according to Accuweather.com’s holiday forecast. “Tree branches could blow across some highway sections and side roads, and high-profile vehicles may have some troubles,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said. In the West Virginia mountains, western and northern Pennsylvania and New York, as well as northeastern Ohio, travelers may face some lake-effect snow throughout the region. In parts of Maine, drivers will need to be mindful of runoff from heavy rain earlier in the week, which may leave streams and rivers overflowing, according to Accuweather. “There is still a chance of a band of snow developing well east of the lake-effect snow zone in New England and eastern New York state,” Accuweather’s forecasters cautioned. “Some weather-related delays are also likely across the Upper Midwest, northern Plains and the northern Rockies on Wednesday. As cold air sets in, some snow is expected to fall across the region.: Rain and even some wet snowflakes could even make it to the Chicagoland area, although Pastelok said that the precipitation should not last all day. A similar pattern is possible in the Denver metro, although the chance of rain will not arrive until late Wednesday into Thursday. Some rain and thunderstorms will be possible from New Orleans through St. Louis, but the precipitation will generally be light and lead to only minor travel issues. Most of the West Coast is expected to enjoy rain-free weather and breezy conditions. By Thursday, a cold front will bring rain showers from Texas to Ohio, along with some snow showers for Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Temperatures rebound mostly back to normal by Thursday for much of the eastern half of the US, but keep in mind that “normal” can still be cold.
NEW ORLEANS — Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu left office nearly four years ago after jump-starting the recovery from Hurricane Katrina’s catastrophic levee failures and flooding. Once considered a possible presidential contender, Landrieu is back in a big way. He was tapped this week by President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, to coordinate more than $1 trillion in national infrastructure spending. His job, Biden said Thursday: “Making sure that everything gets out and it goes where it’s supposed to go.” “He’s the perfect person for this job,” said Walter Isaacson, the New Orleans-born historian, journalist and author who played a role in Katrina recovery efforts. “He loves the geeky details of infrastructure and he loves bringing people together for great projects.” Andy Kopplin, a deputy mayor under Landrieu and chief of staff to two former Louisiana governors, said Landrieu’s skill with logistics will be a strength in his new role. “There will be a thousand billion-dollar projects in this trillion dollar bill,” Kopplin said. “He was always focused on having the resources hit the ground at the right time, and that’s what’s critical with the coordination that he’s going to be tasked with.” Landrieu’s administration wiped out a nearly $100 million deficit and drew billions of dollars in federal aid to step up a plodding recovery from Katrina under former Mayor Ray Nagin, who later went to prison for corruption. Under Landrieu, New Orleans secured federal money for repair and revitalization of fire and police stations, libraries, school buildings, roads and drainage and public recreation areas that were devastated when federally built levees failed during the storm. Landrieu also led development of a new state-of-the-art international airport, something state and city leaders had been talking about for decades. Landrieu won landslide mayoral victories in 2010 and 2014. He was term-limited when he left the mayor’s seat in 2018 and his political future at that point was murky. Although he had twice won election as lieutenant governor, his prospects for another statewide run were dubious in a reliably Republican state. Mary Landrieu, by then, had lost her seat to Republican Bill Cassidy and the state had gone big for Donald Trump in 2016. Landrieu’s doggedness in taking down monuments like the larger-than-life statue of Robert E. Lee towering over St. Charles Avenue was unpopular among some white voters. And he was on the defensive toward the end of his tenure over violent crime, the slow pace of some projects and myriad problems at the agency overseeing street drainage and drinking water systems. Nationally, however, he was sometimes mentioned as a possible 2020 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, particularly after the removal of the Lee statue and a speech decrying the monuments as part of “a fictional, sanitized Confederacy.” He discounted talk of national ambitions and never entered the race. He promoted a book, provided some political commentary on CNN and devoted time to the E Pluribus Unum project, a nonprofit he started to break down racial divides. A former state legislator and lieutenant governor, Landrieu was steeped in progressive politics since childhood. His father, Moon Landrieu, was a two-term mayor who brought Black politicians into city government in the 1970s, served in President Jimmy Carter’s Cabinet and later became a judge. His sister is three-term former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu. While his new role places him, again, in charge of major infrastructure undertakings, matters of race are still involved. “We get to fix a lot of roads, bridges, ports, rail lines and airports,” Landrieu, 61, said in a statement issued Monday morning. “And racial equity will be a core focus of the implementation of this historic infrastructure package.” That echoes plans the White House touted early this year, while selling the infrastructure package, to “redress historic inequities” in transportation projects — such as highways that divided communities like the historically Black neighborhood of Treme in New Orleans. Also worth noting, Kopplin said, is Landrieu’s strong track record of involving minority businesses in city projects. Landrieu’s new job, directing large amounts of money for highly sought, complex projects, involves political risks for the lifelong politician. “He’s willing to take the risks and he’s generally fearless,” Isaacson said. “Every time I’ve provided him with counsel, when it involves being more cautious, eventually, he overrules my advice. Because he’s willing to take a risk to get something done. He knows that you’re never going to get everything absolutely right, but if you don’t make a decision and get moving, you’ll definitely get it wrong.” His new job is bound to revive talk of presidential aspirations, but his colleagues, and political analysts in Louisiana, say that’s premature, and not necessarily why Landrieu, 61, is willing to tackle the job. “One thing I can say about Mitch, although not to discount his deep political roots and ability as a politician, Mitch is one of those guys that likes to get things done,” said Pearson Cross, a political science professor and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. “And I think the size of this particular infrastructure bill and the issues posed, it’s an intriguing problem for him.” Ed Chervenak, political science and polling expert at the University of New Orleans, said it’s too early to think about Landrieu’s future. “We’ll give him a couple of years, see where he’s at, see how this program works out, whether he can get the money out there, whether we can see some progress,” he said.
SAN DIEGO — Northbound lanes of Interstate 5 in San Diego were closed Monday after a water main break flooded the key highway that runs through downtown, authorities said. The pipeline burst Sunday evening and city crews shut down pipes feeding the area around 1 a.m. Monday, the California Highway Patrol said. But the highway, on- and off-ramps and surrounding streets remained flooded at midday. “At this point, it is simply that the drains are overloaded,” said highway patrol Officer Officer Mark Latulippe. The closure snarled traffic, causing major backups on several local freeways during the morning commute. The ramp from southbound State Route 163 to north I-5 also was closed — shutting down a popular route to San Diego International Airport on the first day of the Thanksgiving holiday week, the Union-Tribune reported. There was no estimate for when the interstate would reopen. It was the second water main break in downtown within several hours on Sunday. Around 3:30 p.m. a pipe burst near the East Village neighborhood, flooding downtown streets, creating a sinkhole and inundating at least one business, the newspaper reported. Water was shut off about three hours later. City public utilities spokesperson Arian Collins said the first pipe that burst was a 24-inch (61-centimeter) transmission main made of reinforced concrete and steel. The second was a 16-inch cast iron pipe.
GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio – Five people in a passenger van were killed Monday morning in Ohio after a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP), at around 11 a.m., troopers arrived in the area of State Route 44 just north of State Route 87 in Newbury Township and found a 2003 Ford Econoline van, along with a semi hauling an empty flatbed, that had crashed into each other. The driver and four passengers inside the van died at the scene, while two other passengers were transported to an area hospital with serious injuries, the OSHP reported. The OSHP said the truck driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injures. A cause for the accident has not been released.
PADUCAH, Ky. — The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), citing forecasts for heavy holiday week traffic, suggests motorists traveling Interstate 24 for Thanksgiving take an alternate route around an extended work zone in portions of Caldwell and Trigg counties. “Traffic in this work zone has been running really well in recent months,” said Kyle Poat, chief district engineer of KYTC District 1, based in Paducah. “However, earlier in the year, we had several truck crashes that blocked traffic for extended periods. We’ve also had significant backups from time to time. By taking an alternate route, travelers driving between Paducah and the Nashville/Clarksville, Tennessee, area can be of help to themselves and others by using this suggested alternate.” The work zone, established as part of an extensive pavement replacement project, stretches 10 miles along I-24, between mile markers 55 and 65. The work zone has restricted lanes with two-way traffic running on the eastbound lanes, separated by a centerline barrier wall. AAA estimates 53.4 million Americans will be traveling for Thanksgiving, up 13 percent from 2020, so Poat and other KYTC personnel recognized the potential for traffic delays and backups. Poat said engineers are hoping to get westbound traffic moved to new pavement along the westbound lanes in time for the Christmas holiday. However, the work zone restrictions will remain in place through Thanksgiving. Details of the suggested alternatives: Eastbound motorists heading toward Nashville should consider a self-detour between the I-24/I-69 Exit 25 Interchange near Calvert City to the U.S. 68 Cadiz Exit 65 Interchange via I-69 South to Draffenville Exit 47, then taking U.S. 68 East. Westbound motorists can avoid the work zone by taking Cadiz Exit 65 to follow U.S. 68 West to reach I-69 northbound at the I-69 Draffenville Exit 47 interchange, then follow I-69 North to return to I-24 westbound at Exit 25 near Calvert City. Westbound motorists may take the Pennyrile Parkway northbound to I-69 southbound to return to I-24 at Exit 42 near Eddyville. The suggested alternate route along U.S. 68 includes about 15 miles of 2-lane in Marshall County. Westbound travelers taking the self-detour will need to make a right turn to remain on U.S. 68 immediately after crossing the Eggners Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake at Aurora. The alternate route through Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area adds about 10 minutes of driving time, but avoids the potential for backups on I-24. Counting the 55 mph work zone speed limit, the difference in driving time is minimal. The alternate route westbound via the Pennyrile Parkway and I-69 is longer, but avoids the potential backup for westbound traffic at Exit 65. Travelers may use WAZE and similar map/traffic APPS to monitor the roadway ahead for potential delays. “Motorists should be aware that Interstate 24 through Kentucky gets a substantial eastbound surge every Friday afternoon,” Poat added. “Other than that, we anticipate backups are most likely the afternoon of Thanksgiving Eve and again Sunday afternoon, as the holiday week winds down.” To aid with holiday traffic flow, all other work zone traffic restrictions along I-24 in Kentucky have been removed. Holiday travelers should be aware of work zone restrictions along I-24 in Illinois that start on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River at Paducah for westbound travelers. Traffic backups are also possible there.
RURAL GEORGIA – The Georgia Department of Public Safety (GDPS) stopped an 18-wheeler on Monday and discovered that the driver had no hazmat endorsement, shipping papers or placards for a load of class 1.4 explosives. Examples of 1.4 class explosives include empty primed grenades and some small arms ammunition. According to a GDPS Facebook post, officers found that the load was unsecured when they opened the trailer. The GDPS did not indicate what type of 1.4 explosives were found, nor did they state where the stop occurred. The driver was not named. “Glad we stopped this CMV in Georgia, this unsafe load was headed for Utah,” the GDPS post stated.
NEW YORK — Slinking through New York City in a semi truck can be a challenge. That’s why it’s important for drivers to know exactly where they can and cannot go. The city will soon be releasing a new truck map to better help big rig drivers navigate to and from their delivery sites without incident. “The Local Truck Route Network is designated for trucks with an origin and destination within a borough,” according to the city’s transportation department. “This includes trucks that are traveling to make a delivery, or for loading or servicing. Trucks should only use non-designated routes for the purpose at the beginning or end of a trip, when traveling between their origin/destination and a truck route. The Through Truck Route Network is primarily composed of major urban arterials and highways and must be used by trucks that have neither an origin or destination within the borough.” The new map will be available online, though an exact date has not been announced. Click here for access the city’s DOT map site.22
ATLANTA — Georgia transportation officials are predicting a return to pre-pandemic traffic volumes on the state’s roads this Thanksgiving holiday The state Department of Transportation announced Thursday that it is suspending lane closures on Georgia interstates and state routes from 5 a.m. on Wednesday, November 24 through 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 28 to ease congestion. A similar suspension will be in place for Christmas and New Year’s. Officials warned drivers, however, to be cautious because crews could still be working near roadways, and some long-term lane closures may remain for safety reasons. The heaviest traffic is expected on the day before Thanksgiving. The department recommends people hit the road before 10 a.m.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — On a recent afternoon, Tina Singh watched nearly a dozen students at a suburban Los Angeles truck-driving school backing up their practice big rigs into parking spaces. Many had never operated a manual transmission before. “It’s an exciting time to be a truck driver right now because there’s so much demand for drivers,” said Singh, the school’s director. “Our yards are busy, and they’re very vibrant with a lot of activity.” Business is booming at the California Truck Driving Academy amid a nationwide shortage of long-haul drivers that has led to promises of high pay and instant job offers. The Inglewood school has seen annual enrollment grow by almost 20% since last year, and has expanded to offering night classes. “Everything in this country runs by truck at some point or another,” Singh said. “And so, you know, you need truck drivers to move goods.” The U.S. is about 80,000 drivers short due to a convergence of factors, according to Nick Vyas, executive director of the University of Southern California’s Marshall Center for Global Supply Chain Management. Consumer spending is 15% above where it was in February 2020, just before the pandemic paralyzed the economy. Production rose nearly 5% over the past year as U.S. factories worked to keep up with an increased demand for goods, according to the Federal Reserve. Imports have narrowed the gap. At the same time, many U.S. workers decided to quit jobs that required frequent public contact. This created shortages of workers to unload ships, transport goods and staff retail shops. In California, the straining supply chain is illustrated at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where dozens of ships wait off the coast to be unloaded. The average wait is nearly 17 days, despite around-the-clock port operations beginning in October. A lack of drivers at the ports has helped fuel the surge at the nearby California Truck Driving Academy, where instructors in reflective vests keep watch as students steer semis around a fenced-in paved lot. “You’re kind of helping the community out, and you’re making money at the same time,” student Thierno Barry said. “It’s a win-win situation.” Barry, 23, was happy to be behind the wheel on his first day, despite rolling over several orange safety cones. “I feel great, especially during the pandemic,” he said. Meanwhile, the school is facing its own shortage — of truck driving instructors.
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Captain Snowpants; Yo Bro, No Snow; and Jennifer Snowpez are among the names that will be on some of Vermont’s snowplows this winter. Vermont school students participated in the state transportation department’s Name a Plow contest to come up with names for the snowplows serving their communities. The entries ranged from “creative and clever, to cute and silly,” the agency said. Participating schools got a visit from their newly named plows this week. One child was so upset she had missed the visit from the snowplow named Super Snow Storm that the driver and plow will visit again, said Amy Tatko, spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Several other states have also had contests to name snowplows. The full list of the Vermont names — including Snowbegone Kenobe, Plowy McPlowFace, Brr-rito and Steve — can be found on the transportation department’s website.
SALEM, Ore. — The State of Oregon has announced that it will be hiking diesel fuel taxes beginning Jan. 1, 2022. The taxes are set using a formula. Tap here for the new rates. As an example, an 80,000 pound rig pays $21.50 in fuel taxes per 100 miles currently, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Beginning in 2022, that same rig’s taxes will rise to $23.70 per 100 miles. Loads above 80,000 pounds will pay even higher taxes. See the PDF link above for more details. Drivers may claim a credit if they paid Oregon state fuel tax on fuel for a vehicle subject to weight-mile tax. The deduction must be for the reporting period that they used the fuel. Credits for previous reporting periods will not be granted until the time of audit. Drivers must attach copies of fuel invoices to the highway-use tax report.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has released state-by-state fact sheets that highlight how funds from the recently enacted infrastructure bill will be spent. “Americans rely on our transportation infrastructure every day – to get to work, school, loved ones, and to move goods across our economy,” said DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The once-in-a-generation investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will improve people’s lives in every state in the nation by increasing access to safe, clean, reliable transportation.” According to the DOT, in California, there are 1,536 bridges and more than 14,220 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 14.6% in California, and on average, each driver pays $799 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. Based on formula funding alone, California would expect to receive approximately $29.5 billion over five years in federal highway formula funding for highways and bridges. On an average annual basis, this is about 44.1% more than the state’s federal-aid highway formula funding under current law. California can also compete for the $12.5 billion Bridge Investment Program for economically significant bridges and $15 billion of national funding in the law dedicated to megaprojects, which will deliver substantial economic benefits to communities. Additionally, California can expect to receive approximately $555 million over five years in formula funding to reduce transportation-related emissions, as well as about $631 million over five years to increase the resilience of its transportation system. In Pennsylvania, there are 3,353 bridges and more than 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition, according to the DOT. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.6% in Pennsylvania, and on average, each driver pays $620 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. Based on formula funding , Pennsylvania would expect to receive approximately $13 billion over five years in federal highway formula funding for highways and bridges. On an average annual basis, this is about 40.4% more than the state’s federal-aid highway formula funding under current law. Just as in California and all other states, Pennsylvania can compete for the Bridge Investment Program and megaprojects funds. Pennsylvania can expect to receive approximately $265 million over five years in formula funding to reduce transportation-related emissions, in addition to about $301 million over five years to increase the resilience of its transportation system. Click here for a full list of projects across the nation.
CINCINNATI — The temporary shutdown of two major petroleum refineries in Ohio has one of the state’s biggest cities worried about a diesel fuel shortage. Marathon Petroleum in Ironton, Ohio, and Husky Marketing and Supply Co. in Lima, Ohio, both shuttered operations for what they are calling preventative maintenance, which could last for a month or longer. A City of Cincinnati memo detailed the shutdown and said that it is likely to greatly affect operations there. “Currently, the City has enough reserves to maintain approximately three weeks of City services that require the use of diesel fuel,” the memo states. “This supply timeframe does not account for City services that would be necessary in the event of snow or flooding. The existing reserve is 25 percent below the one-month supply we typically have stocked for emergencies. There are many essential City services that require the use of diesel fuel.” Pilot Flying J stores are already reporting temporary diesel outages in parts of Ohio. “Like other fuel retailers, we are seeing limited capacity in some markets due to extremely tight diesel supply conditions, particularly in the Columbus, Ohio, market region,” Brad Jenkins, senior vice president of supply and distribution for Pilot, said in a statement. “We are working to manage demand across our stores in the surrounding areas to maintain consistent diesel supply for our customers and guests. Currently, all of our travel centers are open, however select locations may experience temporary diesel outages until the supply situation improves.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced Friday that the Biden administration will invest nearly $1 billion in American infrastructure through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grants program. The funding has been awarded to 90 projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. “We’re proud to support these great projects that will improve infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, make us safer, advance equity, and combat climate change,” Buttigieg said. “As in past years, we received far more applications than we could fund: this cycle saw about a ten-to-one ratio of requests to available dollars. But going forward, with the passage of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will be able to support far more infrastructure projects to support jobs and everyday life in communities across the country.” The program selection criteria encompassed safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders. Within these criteria, the grants reflect the Department’s priorities for creating good-paying jobs, improving safety, applying transformative technology, and explicitly addressing climate change and advancing racial equity. Listed below are examples of FY21 that are representative of the overall grants that were awarded: RAISE Manchester: Connecting Communities The City of Manchester in New Hampshire will receive $25 million to reconnect the city’s South Millyard district to surrounding neighborhoods and downtown Manchester. The project includes four integrated parts: South Commercial Street Extension, South Willow-Queen City Avenue Intersection Reconfiguration, Gas Street Extension and Active Transportation Corridor, and Pedestrian Connection Improvements. Reconnecting the South Millyard is part of facilitating new, mixed-use development and adaptive redevelopment of existing buildings. The infrastructure improvements will mitigate existing traffic congestion, increase driver and pedestrian safety, improve a critical rail crossing and freight mobility, and provide improved and accessible transportation options for the community. US 64 Corridor Improvements: Improving Tribal Highway Mobility and Safety The New Mexico Department of Transportation will receive $25 million to reconstruct approximately 21 miles of US 64 in Northwestern New Mexico. The project includes the replacement of four bridges with wider, more resilient structures; improvements along 21 miles of roadway including enhanced lighting, widened shoulders, rumble strips, and new pavement. Fiber optic cable will also be installed to connect communications and monitoring equipment, which will improve corridor management practices. To improve safety, the project widens inadequate shoulder and lane widths and increases sight distances. In addition, new drainage will improve the environment and resilience of the corridor by reducing runoff and damage to the corridor during major weather events. West Florissant Avenue Great Streets St. Louis County, Missouri will receive $18.2 million to reconstruct approximately 1.5 miles of West Florissant Avenue, a principal arterial in the Greater St. Louis area, from Stein Road to Ferguson Avenue, through the towns of Dellwood and Ferguson. The project includes a new shared-use path, upgrades to transit stops, new traffic signals, medians, modified property access, new crosswalks, and improved ADA-compliant sidewalks. The project will also relocate and add additional bus stops, pedestrian wayfinding, and create new greenspace and landscaping. Pedestrian-scale lighting will also be included. The project addresses safety challenges for vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders while removing barriers to opportunity for the community. A new multi-use path will improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The pathway will be essential for residents who do not have access to cars and will provide viable transportation alternatives, improving quality of life. Improvements that make transit, biking and walking more attractive will help improve environmental sustainability. Charlotte Multimodal Transit Hub The City of Charlotte, North Carolina will receive $15 million to construct a new multimodal transit center to replace the existing open-air bus terminal in downtown Charlotte. The new transit center will include an underground bus concourse with seamless connections to LYNX Blue Line light rail, the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar, local and regional bus service, and a new bicycle and pedestrian trail. The City of Charlotte intends to develop new retail and office space atop the new facility once completed. The redesigned terminal will eliminate the need for riders to cross active bus lanes to access various bus stops and will improve street-level access with signalized crosswalks. By enhancing connections to LYNX rail and constructing a new bicycle and pedestrian trail, the project supports quality of life by providing more transportation options. By constructing the new transit hub underground, the project supports additional development in a dense and transit-rich area of Charlotte, increasing environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness. The Stitch – Capping I-75/85 in Downtown Atlanta The City of Atlanta will receive a $900,000 planning grant to advance a project to “cap” Interstates 75/85 in downtown Atlanta. The cap will reconnect the divided Midtown and the Old Fourth Ward communities that were separated from downtown Atlanta by construction of the Downtown I-75/85 Connector. Once completed, the project, known as the “Stitch,” will reconnect the local community with pedestrian-oriented, multimodal streets. The planning phase of this project includes community engagement; multimodal transportation analysis; zoning, land use, and affordable housing policy recommendations; a sustainability strategy; and park design. The proposed construction phase of this project will also enhance pedestrian infrastructure with approximately14-acres of greenspace and accelerate the building of affordable housing, improving living environments for its residents. East Marginal Way Corridor Improvement Project The City of Seattle will receive $20 million to reconstruct a 1.1-mile segment of the East Marginal Way roadway and upgrade the route to Heavy Haul Network standards to help reduce supply chain bottlenecks and improve operations along this important freight route. The project also will add adaptive traffic signals using Split Cycle Offset Optimization Technique technology to enhance safety and improve traffic flow at several of the City’s busiest freight intersections. This project will improve safety for cyclists by creating an improved, fully protected, separated bike lane, and protected intersection crossings along the corridor. Adaptive signals will be installed to help reduce traffic crashes. The project will reduce travel time for drivers and freight during peak periods. Improving freight travel time reliability will reduce costs for shippers, and encourage growth in local exports, creating economic competitiveness benefits. Reduced idling and the diversion of a portion of the trips along the corridor to non-motorized modes will reduce air pollution and improve environmental sustainability. The new pavement will be constructed to higher standards to ensure the road can support the heavy freight traffic and the pavement will extend the project’s useful life to 50 years. Fiscal Year 2021 RAISE Transportation discretionary grants are for planning and capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and were awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. RAISE funding supports roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports or intermodal transportation. Per statute, the U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding 50% of RAISE Transportation grant funding to projects located in rural areas and 50% to urban areas that deliver positive benefits for these communities. For this round of RAISE Transportation discretionary grants, the maximum grant award is $25 million, and no more than $100 million can be awarded to a single State, as specified in the appropriations act. Click here for full program details.
OKLAHOMA CITY — During a time when finding a safe place to park a big rig is very difficult, Love’s Travel Stops has created 300 new truck spaces around the nation with the opening of three new locations. The new Love’s stores are in Bellefontaine, Ohio, Milton, Florida, and Garden City, Georgia. “Opening three locations in one day is no small feat, but our team members are ready to show customers Love’s Highway Hospitality in Bellefontaine, Milton and Garden City,” said Greg Love, co-CEO of Love’s. “Whether it’s fresh food, snacks or coffee, today’s latest technologies or just somewhere to stretch your legs, Love’s has the amenities professional drivers and four-wheel customers need while they’re on the road.” Combined, the new stores have created 200 jobs. Following are each stores’ amenities: Bellefontaine, Ohio More than 13,000 square feet. Hardee’s. (Opening Dec. 6) 126 truck parking spaces. 55 car parking spaces. Seven RV spaces. Eight diesel bays. Eight showers. Laundry facilities. CAT scale. Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee. Brand-name snacks. Fresh Kitchen concept. Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories. Dog park. Milton, Florida More than 12,000 square feet. Arby’s. (Opening Nov. 22) 88 truck parking spaces. 85 car parking spaces. Four RV spaces. Eight diesel bays. Eight showers. Laundry facilities. CAT scale. Speedco. Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee. Brand-name snacks. Fresh Kitchen concept. Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories. Dog park. Garden City, Georgia More than 12,000 square feet. Hardee’s. (Opening Nov. 22) 97 truck parking spaces. 63 car parking spaces. Three RV spaces. Eight diesel bays. Six showers. Laundry facilities. CAT scale. Bean-to-cup gourmet coffee. Brand-name snacks. Fresh Kitchen concept. Mobile to Go Zone with the latest GPS, headsets and smartphone accessories. Dog park.
BETTENDORF, Iowa — The new Interstate 74 bridge at Bettendorf is set to open next month, a year late and nearly $75 million over the original bid. A public ceremony is set for Dec. 1 to give residents walk-on access to the new bridge that spans the Mississippi River, connecting Iowa to Moline, Illinois, the Quad-City Times reported. The bridge will open to traffic in the days after the ceremony, officials said. The Iowa-bound portion of the double-span bridge was to have opened by the end of 2020, while the Illinois-bound span was set to open at the end of this year. The Iowa Department of Transportation has also authorized up to $74.5 million in additional construction costs, pushing the price tag to $396 million from the winning bid of $322 million. Wisconsin-based Lunda Construction was awarded the construction contract based on the $322 million bid, but the price rose in an effort to meet goals in finishing construction, said corridor manager George Ryan. Much of the delay occurred in 2019, when Lunda and the DOT disagreed over whether the bridge’s arch design could be constructed for the price bid. Little-to-no arch work was performed during that time. Groundbreaking on bridge construction was made in June 2017.
CORPUS CHRISTIE, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) seized more than $1.5 million in cash from a semi during a traffic stop on Nov. 17 along U.S. Highway 281 in Brooks County as part of Operation Lone Star. The bust happened just after 7 a.m. when a trooper stopped a south-bound 18-wheeler for a traffic violation, according to the DPS. During the stop, the trooper discovered 56 bundles of U.S. currency totaling $1,530,067 and two handguns — all of which were concealed in a false compartment within the semi-trailer. The driver, 43-year-old Miguel Martinez-Navarro, of Dallas, Texas, was arrested for money laundering and booked into the Brooks County Jail. Operation Lone Star was put into place to combat human smuggling.
Although many in big media — CNN, MSNBC, FOX News and others — have been pushing the narrative that a trucker shortage is to blame for the supply-chain problem, at least one major national news source is now reporting what trucking industry publications, such as The Trucker, have been writing about all along: Truckers, or a lack of them, are not the primary cause of the clogged supply chain. People are just buying more. And more. And more. The Associated Press is reporting that the supply chain, as it is currently configured, simply cannot keep up with the soaring demand. As previously reported in The Trucker, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) has continued to shout that a trucker shortage is mostly untrue. Yes, many major carriers are experiencing high turnover rates and are seeking more drivers, OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote emphatically in an e-mailed statement on the issue, “but let’s be clear, the current supply chain crisis is not due to a shortage of truck drivers!” “Because the real bottlenecks in the supply chain occur at pickup and delivery points, adding more trucks and drivers will simply makes the lines longer, NOT faster.” On the counter argument, Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, has said that the trucking industry is short 80,000 drivers. That debate aside, truck shipments were up 1.7% in September, according to the latest statistics available. And as with ports, rail lines are moving more goods. Through early November, freight shipped by America’s railroads was up 7.5% from a year ago. And the number of for-hire trucking applications received by the federal government is up, too. Avery Vise, vice president of trucking for Freight Transportation Research Associates, Inc., said that during the period of 2017 through 2019, the Federal Motor Carrier Association (FMCSA) on average authorized around 3,400 new for-hire trucking operations per month. This was stronger than the long-run average, he said. For example, from 2010 through 2019, the average was fewer than 2,800 per month. Since July 2020, the number of newly authorized for-hire trucking firms has exceeded 5,000 every single month, according to Vise. Since April, that number has not gone below 9,500, and the average in May through October has been nearly 10,100 new for-hire carriers a month. The number in October was just barely below the record level in August, Vise said. “This is happening principally because of spot rates that are extraordinarily high and that are staying high for months on end,” Vise said. “That makes it very attractive for leased owner-operators (and quite a few company drivers, no doubt) to get their own authority. Again, perspective: Mid-2018 saw the highest spot rates ever to that point. Total rates in the spot market have been running above those rates since April and are still more than 50 cents a mile above that prior record. Now, one reason for that is that diesel prices are so high, but even if we exclude fuel surcharges, rates are still about 40 cents a mile higher.” Further contributing to this surge are the enormous levels of financial support extended to consumers through three rounds of stimulus in 2020 and early 2021, Vise added. “Plus, digital freight platforms have developed, and some carriers are moving away from the leased owner-operator concept altogether because of situations like California’s AB 5 law,” he said. A number of factors have come together to create an unprecedented situation.” Through October, FMCSA has already authorized more than 92,000 new for-hire trucking firms in 2021. On the strength of the second half of the year, that figure in 2020 was about 59,000. Before that, the most new carriers authorized in a single year had been just under 44,000 in 2018, according to Vise. Over the past 16 months, more than 113,000 for-hire trucking operations have received federal motor carrier operating authority. Of those, more than 100,000 still held authority as of Nov. 1 and represent about 195,000 drivers, according FTP’s analysis of data filed with the FMCSA. “We estimate that since March 2020, this surge in new entry has resulted in a shift of about three points in market share of trucks and drivers from carriers with more than 100 trucks to those with 100 or fewer trucks,” Vise said. “That would be a notable shift over several years, but in just 18 months it is extraordinary.” U.S. households are flush with cash from stimulus checks, booming stock markets and enlarged home equity have felt like spending freely again — a lot. And since consumer demand drives much of the U.S. and global economies, high demand has brought goods shortages to the U.S. and much of the world. Add the fact that companies are ordering — and hoarding — more goods and parts than they need so they don’t run out, and you end up with an almost unquenchable demand that is magnifying the supply shortages. The Associated Press report notes “that’s where a big problem comes in: Suppliers were caught so flat-footed by how fast pent-up spending surged out of the recession that they won’t likely be able to catch up as long as demand remains so robust.” That’s especially so because Americans, still hunkered down at home more than they did before the pandemic, continue to spend more on goods — electronics, furniture, appliances, sporting goods — than on services like hotels, meals out and movie tickets. All that demand for goods, in turn, is helping to accelerate U.S. inflation. Unless spending snaps sharply back to services — or something else leads people to stop buying so much — it could take deep into 2022 or even 2023 before global supply chains regain some semblance of normalcy. “Demand is completely skewed,” Bindiya Vakil, CEO of Resilinc, a consulting firm that helps companies manage supply chains,” told the AP. “This has now become more and more painful by the day.” One reason people may eventually stop spending so much is that everything simply costs more now. Consumer prices in the U.S. skyrocketed 6.2% over the past year as food, gasoline, autos and housing catapulted inflation to its highest pace since 1990. The laws of gravity suggest that the cumulative effect of so much inflation will eventually exert a brake on spending. Since April 2020, consumer spending on goods has jumped 32%. It’s now 15% above where it was in February 2020, just before the pandemic paralyzed the economy. Goods account for roughly 40% of consumer spending now, up from 36% before the pandemic. Production at U.S. factories rose nearly 5% over the past year, according to the Federal Reserve, despite periodic ups and downs, including disruptions to auto production caused by chip shortages. Imports have narrowed the gap between what America’s consumers want and what its factories can produce. From January through September this year, the U.S. imported 23% more than in the same period in 2020. In September, thanks to surging imports, the U.S. posted a record deficit in goods trade: Imports topped exports by $98.2 billion. Voracious demand for goods has accelerated as more people have become vaccinated in wealthier countries. Yet in poorer countries, especially in Southeast Asia, the spread of the delta variant forced new factory shutdowns in recent months and crimped supply chains again. Only recently did it start to recover. At the same time, many U.S. workers have decided to quit jobs that had required frequent public contact. This created shortages of workers to unload ships, transport goods or staff retail shops. Last month, 65 ships waited off the California coast to be unloaded at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — two weeks’ worth of work. The average wait: 12 days. That has since worsened to 78 ships, with an average wait of nearly 17 days, despite around-the-clock port operations beginning in October. Before the pandemic, ships had set arrival times and went straight to a berth for unloading, said Gene Seroka, the L.A. port’s executive director. Now, with Asian factory output at record highs, the port is moving record levels of goods. Yet it’s not enough to meet the demand. Seroka doesn’t foresee the shipments easing even next year. Retailers have told him they plan to use the slower months of January and February — if they actually are slower — to replenish inventory. In China, too, manufacturers are struggling with shipping delays, container shortages and cost increases. Shantou Limei International Ltd., which makes children’s toys in the city of Shantou, expects sales to fall 30% this year because of delays and costlier shipping. “The most serious problem for us is being unable to deliver goods on time because of the difficulties in securing freight containers,” said Frank Xie, the company’s general manager. “A lot of things have gone beyond our controls and expectation.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES — North Dakota, Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky and North Carolina have the most cost-effective highway systems, according to the Annual Highway Report published Thursday by the Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank. New Jersey, Rhode Island, Alaska, Hawaii and New York have the worst combination of highway performance and cost-effectiveness, the study finds. The Annual Highway Report measures the condition and cost-effectiveness of state-controlled highways in 13 categories, including urban and rural pavement condition, deficient bridges, traffic fatalities, spending per mile, and administrative costs per mile of highway. A number of states with large populations and busy highways performed well in the overall rankings, including Virginia (2nd overall), Missouri (third), North Carolina (fifth), Georgia (14th), and Texas (16th). Nationally, the study finds America’s highway system is incrementally improving in almost every category. However, a 10-year average indicates the nation’s highway system problems are concentrated in the bottom 10 states and, despite spending more and more money, these worst-performing states are finding it difficult to improve. For example, 43% of the urban arterial primary mileage in poor condition is in six states — California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, and Rhode Island. Approximately 25% of the rural Interstate mileage in poor condition is in just three states (Alaska, Colorado, and Washington). While a majority of states reduced their percentages of structurally deficient bridges, five states — Rhode Island, West Virginia, Iowa, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania — still report more than 15% of their bridges as deficient. For total spending, three states — Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey — spent more than $250,000 per lane-mile of highway. In contrast, five states — Missouri, South Carolina, West Virginia, North Dakota, and South Dakota — spent less than $30,000 per mile of highway. “States need to ensure their highway spending produces safer roads, smoother pavement, fewer deficient bridges, and less traffic congestion,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the Annual Highway Report. “The states with the best overall rankings maintain better-than-average highways with relatively efficient spending per mile.”