Transportation Spending

In her ongoing coverage of Missouri's I-70 expansion and state transportation deficits, Streetsblog's Angie Schmitt analyzes MO's consideration to double the state 17-cent state gas tax to finance the truck only lanes from Kansas City to St. Louis

A new report from Smart Growth America finds that stimulus spending on public transit produced 70% more jobs per dollar than road spending.

Sam Staley says that new Republican appointees to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are primarily from rural districts, which doesn't bode well for urban transit funding.

Transportation bills are notorious for being chock full of earmarks, and with new attention being brought to curbing them, how will good policy get passed? A handful of experts are discussing the problem over at the National Journal.

Federal transportation funding is in serious trouble in the U.S., but that doesn't mean the work has to stop, according to Mark Muro and Robert Puentes.

The Center for Public Integrity continues its investigation into who is influencing transportation policy at the federal level. They found that lack of governmental focus has left the door open for developers to point the way.

With Congress mired in the health care debate, legislation critical to rebuilding communities, such as ACES and the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill, languish. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) details the political climate in D.C.

LA Mayor Villaraigosa an ambitious new plan to speed up new rail projects throughout the city, and to complete it all within 10 years instead of the previously proposed 30.

The Senate transportation spending bill, signed last week, contains a provision requiring Amtrak to allow guns on its trains or lose its funding.

Planners from Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno met this week to discuss plans for high-speed rail between their cities, since they've been left off the map of potential corridors to be funded by the stimulus package.

A federal pro-privatization transit rule, which prevents local transit agencies from competing with private bus services on providing service to special events, could see an end in Washington State with this year's transportation spending bill.

The Obama administration has begun awarding grants of millions to transit agencies across the country for everything from bus upgrades to photovoltaic canopies and agency building upgrades. Check out the breakdown by agency here.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials has selected finalists in its 2009 America's Transportation Awards competition. Projects range from lane-widening in Delaware to HOT lanes in Miami.

Edward Glaeser continues his series on cost-benefit analysis of high-speed rail in the US, imagining a mythical route between Dallas and Houston.

Speaking today at the Center for National Policy in D.C., Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood touted the success of the ARRA stimulus package and answered questions on transportation bill reauthorization and other topics.

Transit advocates may be louder than highway backers for the first time in discussions about the next authorization bill, but highway supporters warn less highway funding means less gasoline taxes.

That's how many projects the Obama administration claims to have launched with the stimulus money, countering detractors who argued that the funding couldn't be spent fast enough to have an impact.

Despite some states using stimulus money to fund sprawl-inducing projects, Colorado seems to be avoiding projects that encourage exurban growth, according to this review.

As business slows down, road construction contractors are slashing their prices. They're offering lower bids to states across the country for road work, leading many transportation officials to foresee more work able to be funded by the stimulus.