Transport & Infrastructure News and Discussions

[caltrek]

Effort to Replace Interstate 5 Bridge Gets $600 Million from Feds
Troy Brynelson
December 16, 2023

Introduction:

(OPB.org) The federal government is preparing to give a massive amount of money to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge between Washington and Oregon.

On Friday, delegates from Washington state announced that the yearslong effort to replace the bridge spanning the Columbia River will get $600 million from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant.

It’s the first check the federal government has written for the project, but likely isn’t the last. To date, the only public cash has come from the states of Oregon and Washington, which have notably pledged $1 billion each.

“Today marks a mega win for the State of Washington,” U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, said in a written statement.

Cantwell, who chairs the senate Commerce, Science & Transportation committee, helped draft the grant program. In recent trips to the bridge, she has mentioned to reporters that the program was practically tailored to fit the bridge itself, which is more than a century old.

Read more here: https://www.opb.org/article/2023/12/1 ... truction/

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

[raklian]

[Tadasuke]

An article on why we still don't use flying cars: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/i ... r-AA1mTgnM

I've wasted so much time reading articles in magazines and WWW over the years, which kinda promised awesome changes, that have not happened so far. I honestly regret getting into all of that. It has had a really depressive and negative effect on me over the long run (not in the short term). I would be happier without years of thinking, reading, writing or watching what could had been.

As for electric cars, they still seem expensive to me and we are still waiting for "next-gen batteries". I recently watched a very positive review of Tesla Cybertruck on YouTube and there are some new transportation products and concepts being shown during this month's CES. Meanwhile, traffic jams are only getting worse here, and unfortunately, remote working did not make them any less severe. At least there are podcasts and audiobooks.

[Powers]

An article on why we still don't use flying cars: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/i ... r-AA1mTgnM

I've wasted so much time reading articles in magazines and WWW over the years, which kinda promised awesome changes, that have not happened so far. I honestly regret getting into all of that.

That could be said about a lot of things, old and current.

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

Biden’s New Transit Rule Is Good News for People and the Planet
by LeeAnn Hall
January11, 2024

Introduction:

(Other Words) The climate crisis isn’t coming — it’s here now. We’ve seen it all around us on a near daily basis. It’s impacting our economy and nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

While President Biden signed historic climate crisis legislation in 2021 and 2022, many may not have noticed a more recent action that will help cities and states across the country take action. Late last year, Biden’s Department of Transportation finalized an important rule that will protect our environment and limit greenhouse gas emissions when it comes to public transit.

The rule will unify a hodgepodge of incomplete data from across the country into a unified standard, so cities, states, and the federal government can make informed decisions about which transportation projects to invest taxpayer dollars in to reduce climate emissions.

This vital rule could not have come at a more critical time for both our planet and transit in our country.

The transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. And with record amounts of federal funds already flowing to states thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is no time to waste to ensure that the projects being built reduce harmful carbon emissions, rather than increase them.

Read more here: https://otherwords.org/bidens-new-tran ... -planet/

[caltrek]

90-meter-deep Tunnel Being Bored for Maglev Shinkansen
by Ayateru Hosozawa
January 16, 2024

Introduction:

(Asahi Shimbun) KAWASAKI--A section of a tunnel for a magnetic-levitation bullet train service that is under construction 90 meters below ground was shown to the media on Jan. 15.

The Chuo Shinkansen Line, which is scheduled to link Tokyo and Nagoya in or after 2027, will run more than 40 meters below ground in urban areas.

This was the first time that Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), which is building the maglev line, allowed reporters to visit a tunnel being bored at this depth.

In Kawasaki’s Asao Ward, journalists were taken to a 133-meter section of the 37-kilometer Metropolitan Area Tunnel No. 1 that will connect Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, the starting point of the new line, and the tentatively named Kanagawa Prefecture Station in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.

The tunnel has a diameter of about 14 meters and is being bored by a shield machine, a type of excavation equipment.

Read more here: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15114460

[weatheriscool]

Biden revisits decaying Wisconsin bridge to announce $5B for infrastructure in election year pitch

Source: AP

Updated 8:50 AM EST, January 25, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time President Joe Biden visited Superior, Wisconsin, he warned of the danger posed by the deteriorating John A. Blatnik Memorial Bridge — pointing out the decades-old corrosion that had weakened the overpass connecting the two port cities in Wisconsin and Minnesota and vowing to fix it.

Biden is returning to that bridge at the tip of Lake Superior on Thursday to announce nearly $5 billion in federal funding that would upgrade it and dozens of similar infrastructure projects nationwide, as the Democratic president jump-starts an election year push to persuade voters to reward him for his policy achievements in office. Biden is making his pitch in a critical swing state that’s part of the “blue wall” trio of states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — where he defeated Republican President Donald Trump in 2020.

More than 33,000 vehicles travel on the Blatnik Bridge every day, but heavy trucks are barred from it because of its decaying condition. That, in turn, has caused lengthy detours. Without additional federal funds, the bridge would have had to shut down by 2030, according to the White House. It is getting $1 billion in federal funding for upgrades and repairs.

The money comes from a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that Biden signed into law more than two years ago.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-infras ... 3c3c11c19a