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States Try to Unload Local Roads
Fog casts an eerie haze over the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge in downtown Beaufort, S.C. Local officials want money to pay for upkeep if they take over some of the many state-owned roads in the city. (AP) For years, the leaders of Beaufort, S.C., have promoted the charms and convenience of their coastal city, […]
Didn’t Pay A Toll? Enforcers Might Track You Across State Lines
Traffic approaches Maine Turnpike toll booths in Gardiner, Maine. Drivers from Massachusetts or New Hampshire who routinely avoid Maine tolls could face consequences back home. (AP) New England drivers who speed through toll plazas in neighboring states without paying are in for a rude surprise. Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have agreed to crack down […]
Potholes and Snow Plowing Punish State Budgets
A car drives by a pothole in Detroit. Michigan lawmakers approved million to help repair roads after a brutal winter taxed maintenance crews and drained state and local funds for road upkeep. (AP) Fallout from the freakishly cold winter will linger well into spring as states grapple with damage to road budgets. As a demanding […]
Oil Trains, Cold Snap Put Plains State Farmers in a Bind
Corn flows from a combine into a grain wagon as harvest workers move through a cornfield on a farm in Aberdeen, S.D. last year. Many South Dakota corn farmers produced a record crop last year, but slow rail service has made it difficult to get grain to market. (AP) The North Dakota oil boom is […]
Improving Networks and Economy Boost Transit Ridership
Ridership on New York’s subway system grew last year, as transit becomes more popular nationally. (AP) Public transit ridership in the United States last year hit its highest level since 1956, in what transit officials say is a sign of how much Americans’ everyday travel habits have changed. Americans took 10.6 billion trips on transit […]
As Highway Money Runs Dry, Congress Considers Lifting Toll Ban
Waynetta Wingard of Petersburg, Va. opposes tolls on I-95 at a community meeting in 2012. Virginia won permission to toll the highway from the federal government, but the state later backed off from the project. (AP) Wisconsin is facing problems familiar to most states when it comes to paying for its roads and bridges. The […]
More Buses Bring More Scrutiny From State Regulators
Indiana State Police investigators inspect a church bus that crashed in Indianapolis last July, killing three people and injuring 26. Indiana lawmakers are weighing an annual inspection requirement for buses, and federal officials could follow suit. (AP) As the number of bus passengers approaches the number of U.S. airline passengers, transportation experts are taking a […]
Transportation Needs Pile Up as Funding Remains Uncertain
Traffic passes by orange construction barriers on Interstate 80 in Nebraska last year. Several states this spring are looking for money to pay for road improvements and other transportation projects. (AP) Transportation advocates who want more state spending on roads and rail have reasons for both hope and fear in state capitols. The hope springs […]
Feds Push Gently on ‘Real ID’
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, discusses his state’s STAR I.D. driver’s license, which complies with the federal Real ID Act. Alabama is one of 15 states that meet the requirements of the law, which the federal government will slowly start enforcing in April. (AP) Nearly a decade after Congress passed the Real ID Act to […]
Governors Tackle Teacher Pay, ACA in Speeches
Governors in Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, South Dakota and Washington delivered their annual State of the State addresses Tuesday, focusing on issues such as teacher pay hikes, health insurance expansion and tax cuts. In Alabama, Republican Gov. Robert Bentley pushed for teacher pay hikes and other education measures as a way to help people […]
Fallin Presses House for Reliable Transportation Funding
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, shown here in a photo from last year, told members of the U.S. House Tuesday that states needed stability in federal funding for transportation. Congress is kicking off work on a new transportation bill this month, because the current two-year deal expires in September. (AP) Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican, […]
Drivers in Delaware Dole Out the Most for Road Costs
A motorist puts fuel in his car’s gas tank at a service station in Springfield, Ill. in June. Gas taxes, tolls and other fees and taxes for motorists cover only half the cost of building and maintaining roads, according to the Tax Foundation, a research group in Washington, D.C. (AP) Drivers in Delaware pay a […]