Transport & Infrastructure News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Study: New reusable shock absorber shows promise in lab tests
https://techxplore.com/news/2021-07-reu ... r-lab.html
by Cory Nealon, University at Buffalo

University at Buffalo engineers are reporting a new energy dissipation device that they say could have far-reaching applications in transportation safety.

Described in the International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, the device utilizes low-cost metallic materials and a simple design. Unlike conventional sacrificial structural components like car bumpers, it's designed to be reused after impact.

"Most energy absorbers carrying high stiffness work by crushing or collapsing upon impact. This reduces physical damage to the vehicle, or whatever the absorbers are protecting, but it requires the replacement of internal and external parts following the collision," says the study's senior author, Jongmin Shim, Ph.D., associate professor of structural engineering in the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

[weatheriscool]

Bipartisan infrastructure pact clears key Senate vote after breakthrough in talks
Source: Washington Post

Senate Democrats and Republicans banded together on Wednesday to advance a roughly $1 trillion proposal to improve the country’s aging infrastructure, overcoming months of political deadlock on one of President Biden’s signature economic policy priorities. The day of breakthroughs began with news of a deal, as a bipartisan bloc of 10 negotiators coalesced around a package to upgrade the nation’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections. The announcement from some of the group’s leaders, including Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), capped off a series of frenetic talks that nearly collapsed amid behind-the-scenes battles about the new spending and how to pay for it.

With that once-elusive agreement finally in hand, the Senate hours later then took its first formal legislative step. Lawmakers voted 67-32 to put themselves on track to begin debating infrastructure reform this week, clearing the first of many hurdles toward adopting a proposal that the White House has described as historic.The twin developments marked an early victory for lawmakers who have struggled for years to turn their shared enthusiasm for infrastructure into actual investments in the country’s inner-workings. Several past presidents had called for robust, new public-works spending to replace old pipes and fix cracked bridges, yet only on Wednesday did the Senate actually move toward delivering on those promises.

The news sparked jubilation at the White House, where Biden this spring put forward a roughly $2 trillion jobs and infrastructure plan funded largely through tax increases that Republicans swiftly rejected. But the administration’s top aides ultimately proved willing to be flexible in the months that followed in how they pursued some of the president’s priorities. Asked about the deal while traveling in Pennsylvania, Biden sounded a hopeful note, telling reporters: “I feel confident about it.”

Yet the progress still threatened to prove politically fragile in a debate that is only just beginning. Lawmakers must still draft their legislation, which had not been written by Wednesday evening, and calibrate it in a way to survive the narrowly divided Senate. The absence of actual legislative text troubled some Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who said in a speech on the chamber floor he could not vote to forge ahead Wednesday because the bill is “not ready.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... ture-deal/

[caltrek]

Under Pressure From UNESCO, Venice Boots Out Cruise Ships
by Cain Burdeau
July 28, 2021

https://www.courthousenews.com/under-pr ... ise-ships/

Introduction:

(Courthouse News) (CN) — Venice, the magnificent floating city of art and architecture, is getting back to normal this summer as vaccinated tourists from outside Italy once again glide along its waterways, browse its art galleries and get lost in its labyrinth of pathways and bridges.
But starting on Sunday one big thing is changing: Mammoth cruise ships will no longer be allowed into the historic city.

After years of protests from locals and warnings from preservationists, the Italian government earlier this month passed a decree banning cruise ships from docking in the old city.
…
UNESCO, the United Nations culture agency, warned Italy that unless it banned cruise ships it might put the famed city on its list of world heritage sites that are in danger of being lost for good.

Besides being overrun with mass tourism and losing its local populations as outsiders buy up many Venetian buildings, Venice is at risk from higher sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps. Another problem is the lagoon's busy ship traffic, including cruise liners, which is blamed for dangerous wave action undermining the city. Venice was built atop 118 islands

A cruise ship passes by the tourist-filled St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy, in June 2019.
AP Photo/Luca Bruno

caltrek's comment: The lesson here should be that bigger isn't always better.

[weatheriscool]

FAA head seeks more prosecution of unruly airline passengers
Source: AP

By DAVID KOENIG

The nation’s top aviation regulator is suggesting that local police around the country should file charges more often against unruly airline passengers and that airports should clamp down on alcohol sales.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Stephen Dickson said that every week, police are asked to be there when a flight lands after an incident involving passengers, including cases in which they assault flight attendants.

“Nevertheless, many of these passengers were interviewed by local police and released without criminal charges of any kind,” Dickson said in letters to airport officials. “When this occurs, we miss a key opportunity to hold unruly passengers accountable for their unacceptable and dangerous behavior.”

Dickson noted in the letters dated Wednesday that the FAA has proposed civil fines against dozens of passengers in recent months, but the agency has no authority to file criminal charges.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-air ... 7806925119

[weatheriscool]

FAA calls for more than $500,000 in fines against dozens of disruptive airline passengers
Source: Washington Post

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it is proposing $532,000 in fines against 34 airline passengers accused of disrupting flights, including a person who threw a carry-on bag at other passengers, another who snorted what appeared to be cocaine and another who hid a flight attendant’s jacket. The FAA summaries of the cases portray passengers determined not to wear masks, intent on drinking their own alcohol or vaping, and behaving abusively to other travelers and airline crews.

The proposed fines bring the total that the agency has sought to impose this year to more than $1 million. It’s the latest enforcement effort seeking to maintain order in the skies, as the FAA turns to what previously had been little-used powers to punish passengers who break federal rules governing conduct on planes. The agency says it has received 3,889 reports of unruly passengers this year — 2,867 of them related to a mask mandate intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Twenty-two of the 34 new cases with proposed fines involve passengers accused of not complying with the mask rule, which this week was extended into January 2022. The FAA launched the crackdown on misbehavior in the air at the beginning of the year amid conflicts over masks and concerns about people traveling to and from Washington during the week of the Capitol riot. The agency has asked airports to work closely with police to help bring criminal charges in the most egregious cases.

But the vast number of cases the FAA is pursuing has strained the ability of federal authorities to hold people accountable. A passenger has 30 days to respond when the agency proposes a fine, and in mid-July the FAA told The Post it had resolved seven cases. Some could take years to play out. The new cases point to now-familiar sources of problems in the air, particularly disputes over masks. Eight of the new cases involve passengers accused of drinking alcohol not served by airlines, coming days after the FAA asked airports to try to stop passengers from bringing to-go drinks aboard planes. A handful of cases involving vaping, which, like smoking, isn’t allowed on planes.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... assengers/

[wjfox]

The traffic light gets a dazzling, 21st century makeover

07-16-21

The stop light was a design inevitability. As cars grew in popularity around the turn of the 20th century, several inventors developed a glowing box filled with round, incandescent lights to tell people when to stop and go. Which is why, since the traffic signal was first installed in Cleveland in 1914, the design has gone largely unchanged.

Yet, maybe it’s worth asking: Has that design gone unchanged because these traffic signals are a timeless design? Or have we just not thought of anything better yet?

Now, more than 100 years later, the Moscow-based design firm Art. Lebedev Studio believes that they’ve created a better alternative to the classic stop light—with a flexible design that could be expanded to metal stop signs and yield signs, too.

Their new stop light has already garnered attention from two cities in Russia, which have requested to test it in a limited capacity.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90655753/th ... y-makeover

[caltrek]

France’s Macron Unveils Model of New, Green High-speed Train
September 17, 2021

https://www.courthousenews.com/frances- ... eed-train/

Introduction:

PARIS (AP via Courthouse News) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday unveiled a mock-up of the next generation of greener super high-speed trains, known in France as TGVs — four decades after the first TGV was launched.

At a presentation at Paris' Gare de Lyon railway station, Macron played up the new train's eco-friendly aspect.

“This decade for the TGV will be about innovation," Macron said, adding that France must “respond to the challenge of moving around by emitting less and promoting new energy forms.”

Macron spoke in front of a full-scale model of the new TGV M. It will carry more passengers — 740 compared to the current train's 600 — and is planned to enter service in 2024. It will also use one-fifth less electricity than the current model, while maintaining its top speed of 320 kilometers per hour (199 miles per hour).

The ceremony took place 40 years after another French president, François Mitterrand, launched his bold new gamble in technology at the same station — the first TGV, or “Train a Grande Vitesse” (Very Fast Train).

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks in front of a life-size replica of the next high-speed train TGV, at the Gare de Lyon station Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 in Paris.
AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool

[weatheriscool]

Southwest Airlines cancels 1,800 flights, blaming weather and staffing
Source: CNBC

Southwest Airlines canceled more than 1,800 flights this weekend, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of customers and stranding flight crews — the airline blamed the meltdown on a combination of bad weather, air traffic control and its own shortage of available staff.

“I know this is incredibly difficult for all of you, and our Customers are not happy,” Alan Kasher executive vice president of daily flight operations told staff in a note on Sunday, which was seen by CNBC.

The airline said initial problems on bad weather and an “FAA-imposed air traffic management program” were to blame.

“Although we were staffed for the weekend, we could not anticipate the significant disruption that was created from unexpected ATC issues and bad weather across our Florida stations,” said Kasher.

Other airlines canceled relatively few flights. Southwest did not comment on the disparity.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/10/southwe ... mount.html

[weatheriscool]

Southwest cancels hundreds more flights, denies sickout
Source: AP

By DAVID KOENIG

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines canceled several hundred more flights Monday following a weekend of major disruptions that it blamed on bad weather and air traffic control issues. The company and the pilots union said the cancellations were not in response to the airline’s decision to mandate vaccinations.

Southwest canceled more than 360 flights — 10% of its schedule for the day — on Monday, and more than 1,000 others were delayed, according to the FlightAware tracking service.

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. briefly fell more than 4% before a partial recovery; they were down 3% by afternoon.

The third straight day of large-scale cancellations left thousands of passengers stranded and upset.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-bu ... 4e1e46af0d
8

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

Alaska Air and ZeroAvia are developing a 500-mile range hydrogen-electric plane
Source: electrek

Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, is collaborating with ZeroAvia to develop a hydrogen-electric powertrain that will be implemented on a 76 passenger plane. When completed, the ZA2000 hydrogen-electric powertrain should boast 2,000-5,000 kW of power with a 500-mile range. As a new investor in ZeroAvia, Alaska Air plans to electrify its aviation to meet its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.

Alaska Air Group is an aviation parent company with Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Industries under its umbrella. This past April, the company signed The Climate Pledge, outlining a plan to reduce its carbon emissions to net-zero by 2040. This timeline was also led by commitments to improvements of company-wide carbon, waste, and water impacts by 2025.

The company is working toward commercial electric plane operations with its 600kW powertrain in 2024 as well as the aforementioned 2,000-5,000 kW version after that. With today’s announcement, Alaska Air hopes to help aid in developing ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric technology and implement it in passenger planes.

In a recent press release, ZeroAvia announced that Alaska Air Group has signed on as an investor. The two companies will collaborate to scale ZeroAvia’s existing powertrain platform technology to support electric planes that can carry more passengers longer distances.

Read more: https://electrek.co/2021/10/26/alaska-a ... ric-plane/

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

House passes $555 billion infrastructure bill, sends legislation to Biden's desk
Source: MSNBC

The House passed a $555 billion infrastructure bill on Friday night, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden who is expected to quickly sign the measure into law.

The funding package, which passed 228 to 206 and relied on Republican votes to get across the finish line, will ramp up government spending on roads, bridges and airports, as well as funding for public transit, water and broadband.

Six Democrats voted against the measure and 13 Republicans voted in favor. The Democratic opposition was progressive members who were unhappy that the bill was being voted on before passage of a $1.75 trillion social safety net spending bill.

The vote hands Biden a victory on a major bipartisan bill, but one that took months to get through Congress and revealed deep divisions in the Democratic Party. The Senate approved the bill in August before it stalled for months as House progressives clashed with Democratic centrists on a $1.75 trillion social safety net measure that could get a vote later this month.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congre ... s-n1280527

[weatheriscool]

Biden signs $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, fulfilling campaign promise and notching achievement
Source: Washington Post

President Biden on Monday signed into law a sweeping $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure, notching an achievement that had long eluded his predecessor in the White House, Donald Trump. Republicans and Democrats gathered at the White House on Monday as Biden signed the legislation, which is aimed at improving the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections. Trump had repeatedly tried and failed to secure a bipartisan infrastructure deal.

“Here in Washington, we’ve heard countless speeches, promises and white papers from experts. But today, we’re finally getting this done,” Biden said. Vice President Harris and several lawmakers spoke ahead of Biden at the ceremony, including Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). “This is what can happen when Republicans and Democrats decide we’re going to work together to get something done,” Portman said. Harris said the infrastructure push “will be a nationwide effort, the likes of which we have not seen in a generation.”

She also urged lawmakers to pass the Build Back Better plan, a second package that aims to overhaul the country’s health-care, education, immigration, climate and tax laws. The House is expected to take up the measure this week. Sinema thanked Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), calling them “the Wonder Women of our group, always focused on the practical outcomes.” Several Republicans, including Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (La.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) and Rep. Tom Reed (N.Y.), were also in attendance.

The mood at the ceremony on the White House lawn was celebratory, with members of Congress expressing gratitude for the cooperation of those across the aisle — a rare occurrence. Biden, who has often spoken longingly about the days of compromise and consensus, seemed in good spirits as he touted the benefits of the new law and the bipartisan manner in which it was achieved — with no mention of the vitriol that Trump and his supporters have lodged at the Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

[caltrek]

Finally, finally, finally, Biden has something to boast about.

So, folks, what is you preference?

This $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, or more gridlock because Democrats refuse to kiss Trump's ass in the correctly deferential manner?

I vote we give Trump a swift kick in the said posterior and move on with our lives.

[caltrek]

...and yes, the infrastructure bill is not perfect...

What's Being Compromised?
by Jim Hightower
November 17, 2021

https://otherwords.org/whats-being-compromised/

Introduction:

(Other Words) Sometimes, when watching Congress in action, I can’t decide whether to laugh, cry, or check myself into an insane asylum.

Not all lawmakers are political hacks, quacks, and corporate toadies, but that contingent does seem to dominate. Most infuriating is that while purporting to represent the people, Congress routinely does what the American majority does not want done — and fails to do what people do want.

Take a peek at the cuts Congress is making to Joe Biden’s landmark infrastructure proposals.

This is a monumental, long-overdue undertaking to reinvest in America’s underpinnings — everything from roads and broadband networks to child care and paid family leave. The package would deliver real, tangible benefits across our nation, especially for low- and middle-income families, so it is enormously popular.

Yet when the first half of the plan recently came to a vote in the House, Republicans turned it into a partisan mud wrestling show, loudly voting “NO” on such obvious needs as fixing decrepit bridges, providing clean tap water in every community, and opening pre-school education programs to all three- and four-year-olds.

caltreks comment: Note that in this introduction, Hightower is writing about "compromises" that were ultimately rejected. In the remainder of the article, not shown here, Hightower then launches into a criticism of the "moderate" Democrats who did insist on certain compromises.

[Yuli Ban]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

FAA awards first $3 billion in new airport infrastructure funds
Source: Washington Post

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday how it will allocate the first $3 billion in new funds for airports from the infrastructure law, money that could spur upgrades in terminals and on the tarmac to help get passengers to planes more quickly and into the air on time.

It’s the first major new tranche of federal airport funding since the stimulus adopted after the financial crisis more than a decade ago. It also represents a new level of investment by the federal government in terminals — at an average of 40 years old — which could help airports update aging facilities by plugging gaps in existing funding sources.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has given us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build safer and more sustainable airports that connect individuals to jobs and communities to the world,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “With this new funding, urban, regional and rural airports across the country now can get to work on projects that have waited for years, modernizing their infrastructure and building a better America.”

Like much of the transportation funding in the $1.2 trillion legislation, the federal government won’t determine how the money is spent, leaving the decisions to individual airports. The money will start flowing at a time when airports are gradually recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, which nearly brought air travel to a standstill and left them dependent on billions in federal aid. While air travel has rebounded, airports expect to miss out on revenue, compared with pre-pandemic levels, for years to come.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/faa-a ... ar-AARSstY

[caltrek]

This Cute EV Off-road Buggy Concept Arrived Just in Time for the Weekend
by Mitchell Clark
December 17, 2021

https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/17/228 ... n-mobility

Introduction:

(The Verge) After pining after Hyundai’s evil (in a good way) EV retro concept, a new concept vehicle has come to steal my heart from a company I can’t say I’ve heard of before. It’s the Citroën My Ami Buggy, a tiny battery-powered vehicle that looks like a smart car got really into backpacking, mountain-biking, or any number of fun weekend activities (shout out to Engadget for bringing this into my life).

Citroën says in its press release that the buggy is designed to be playful, something “that every child from the age of 14 to 77 would want to add to their Christmas list,” and says it took inspiration from “non-automotive worlds such as construction games, industrial design and fashion.” I can actually buy fashion — the roof-mounted spare tire is reminiscent of a jauntily tossed beret. Although I also can’t help but see it as a bulked-up version of one of those John Deere Gator utility trucks.