New Jersey's 107-year-old Portal Bridge has been a symbol of the region's crumbling rail infrastructure. A $1.7 billion project to replace the bridge, launched this week, is designed to improve the situation.

"Officials broke ground Friday on the first piece of a complex and costly project to rebuild and replace the aging rail infrastructure that carries thousands of New Jersey commuters daily into New York," reports Curtis Tate.
The Portal Bridge Project will spend $1.5 billion to add "critical residency and create new capacity" on a ten-mile stretch of the Northeast Corridor between Newark and Penn Station, according to the article.
The Portal Bridge, a 107-year-old span in the Meadowland, "sometimes gets stuck when it opens a few times a week for barges on the Hackensack River" and has "become a major bottleneck on the nation's busiest commuter corridor," according to Tate. Planetizen has been covering the saga of the Portal Bridge since 2014.
FULL STORY: $1.5B project to replace critical New Jersey rail bridge over Hackensack River starts

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process
The Dallas transit agency hopes a shorter permitting timeline will boost transit-oriented development around rail stations.

Renters Now Outnumber Homeowners in Over 200 US Suburbs
High housing costs in city centers and the new-found flexibility offered by remote work are pushing more renters to suburban areas.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

Supreme Court Ruling in Pipeline Case Guts Federal Environmental Law
The decision limits the scope of a federal law that mandates extensive environmental impact reviews of energy, infrastructure, and transportation projects.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)