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Kavinoky: Upgrading, Expanding Transportation Infrastructure Means Jobs
July 18, 2008
The US Chamber of Commerce, a non-governmental agency in Washington D.C. representing the interests of all businesses in the United States, naturally has an interest in keeping our transportation infrastructure strong so goods and services can move efficiently into and inside the country. However, high gasoline prices and foreign competition for resources are making efficient transportation an increasingly difficult proposition, and causing some discussion about transportation priorities in Washington D.C. To find out more, I spoke with Janet Kavinoky, Director of Transportation Infrastructure for the US Chamber of Commerce. Listen
Developing I-69/TTC: Proposal Includes Non-Tolled Lanes
July 11, 2008
The Texas Transportation Commission, TxDOT’s governing body, recently approved a staff recommendation for a proposal by Zachary American and ACS Infrastructure to develop the Texas portion of Interstate 69, also known as the I-69/TTC project. Development, in this case, refers to figuring out which roads and outstanding projects to develop as part of the I-69/TTC project, as well as how to pay for those projects. Most noteworthy was the proposal to convert US 77 from Brownsville to Corpus Christi from a four-lane divided highway into a traditional interstate without making it a toll road. For more on this development agreement and what it could mean for Texas, I spoke with TxDOT’s Mark Tomlinson, the Director of the Texas Turnpike Authority. To read the proposal, including a map, log on to www.keeptexasmoving.com. Listen
Getting There Is The Battle
July 03, 2008
As the Fourth of July weekend approaches, most Texans are thinking about heading for one of the hundreds of lakes or state parks around the state, and the good times that await them at their destinations. At TxDOT, and at the Department of Public Safety, our combined top concern is the safety of the traveling public and their ability to arrive safely at their intended destination. TxDOT's role with enhancing safety is constantly evaluating roadway data, including accident reports and traffic volumes, while, as a law enforcement agency, the Department of Public Safety is concerned with keeping motorists safe by enforcing speed limits and anti-impairment laws. For more on DPS' role in keeping our highways safe, I spoke with DPS public information officer Tom Vinger. Listen
Bishop: "The Interstate Era Has Ended"
June 27, 2008
The last time we spoke with University of Houston’s Dr. Peter Bishop, he was telling us about life with 8 dollar per gallon gasoline, and what that would mean for transportation and the agencies that oversee transportation. We’ve invited the professor of future studies back to the podcast to talk about how future forecasting works, and how the transportation choices we make today could influence our future. Listen
U.S. Chamber Study: Underfunded Infrastructure Hurting U.S. Economy
June 20, 2008
The US Chamber of Commerce recently released the results of a study entitled “The Transportation Challenge: Moving the U.S. Economy.” In the report’s summary, the Chamber, a non-governmental agency in Washington D.C., states that the chronic underfunding of transportation infrastructure in the United States has helped put us on a path to fall behind other countries that are growing rapidly, and as an unhappy result, could overtake us. To find out more, I spoke with Janet Kavinoky, Director of Transportation Infrastructure for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. For more information about “The Transportation Challenge: Moving the U.S. Economy,” log on to http://www.uschamber.com/publications/reports/0804transportationchallenge.htm Listen
Public Involvement Shifts Focus of I-69/TTC Project
June 13, 2008
TxDOT’s announcement this week that public comment on the I-69/TTC project had narrowed the study area to focus first on the existing US 59 corridor was big one. Public involvement in any TxDOT planning process is important, and this announcement shows that the public involvement process works. While the many of the thousands of comments we received focused on concerns about property rights and proposed funding methods, the overwhelming majority indicated that I-69/TTC was a good and necessary project for the future of transportation in Texas, particularly if it followed the existing US 59 corridor. For more on what this shift in focus will mean for the project, I spoke with Phil Russell, TxDOT’s assistant executive director for innovative project development. Listen
Texas Sunset Advisory Commission Staff Report: Five Topics For Discussion
June 06, 2008
As you’ve doubtless heard, the Texas Department of Transportation is up for Sunset Review from the state legislature. Like all state agencies in Texas, TxDOT is reviewed through the sunset process at least every 12 years. The Sunset process is designed to periodically determine whether a given governmental agency is performing the tasks it is assigned, and whether or not those tasks are still legislative priorities. As a result, each sunset report ultimately includes a recommendation to abolish or continue the agency, and generally includes recommendations to enhance that agency's operations. The Sunset Advisory Commission Staff Report, a preliminary document outlining the topics of conversation concerning TxDOT, was released this past week. Read the entire report here: http://www.sunset.state.tx.us/81.htm#txdot Listen
Hearing It Again For The First Time: TxDOT's Five Basic Principles For Toll Road Construction
May 30, 2008
It’s not often that the Texas Transportation Commission uses part of its monthly commission meeting to reaffirm some principles it has always upheld, but that’s exactly what happened at Thursday’s meeting in Austin. The commission unanimously agreed to five basic for building toll roads in Texas. For more on these principles, and what the reaffirmation means, I spoke with Steve Simmons, TxDOT’s Deputy Executive Director. Listen
The Burma Road: A Modern Engineering Miracle
May 23, 2008
During World War II, American and British engineers and soldiers, and more than 200,000 Chinese laborers in the little-known China-Burma-India Theater, created a modern engineering marvel – maybe even a miracle – with the construction of what became known as the Burma Road. Now, with Memorial Day just around the corner, and with the ongoing relief situation in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, the time seemed right to blow the dust off of that forgotten project in a place that until very recently, time had forgotten. Donovan Webster, a writer for National Geographic and The New York Times Magazine, published a book on the project in 2003, which chronicled the war against the Japanese in Burma, and the construction of the Burma Road under combat conditions. I asked him about what crossed his mind when he heard about the recent typhoon that hit Myanmar, and the stalled relief efforts in that country. Listen
Buckle Up: Click-It-Or-Ticket Enforcement Begins Monday
May 16, 2008
Six years ago, Texas had a problem: too many people were dying on the highway. Studies of this problem revealed that that number could be dramatically reduced simply by encouraging motorists and their passengers to use their seatbelts, and the Click-It-Or-Ticket Campaign was born Six years later, TxDOT is one of the few states in the nation that can boast a seatbelt compliance of 90 percent or greater, and while fatalities on the highway haven’t gone away, they have been reduced. For more on TxDOT’s involvement in the Click-It-Or-Ticket Campaign, I spoke with Terry Pence, Director of TxDOT’s Traffic Safety Section. Here are three things you should know about how to avoid getting a seatbelt-related ticket: 1. All drivers and front seat passengers in all vehicles are required by Texas law to be secured by a safety belt. No exceptions; 2. Children younger than 17 years old must be secured with a safety belt or in a child safety seat; regardless of where they are sitting in the vehicle. 3. A child younger than five years old and less than 36 inches tall must ride in a child safety seat. Listen
One Down, One To Go: TxDOT Practicing Contraflow As Hurricane Season Approaches
May 09, 2008
With one mock contraflow exercise behind us, and one to go, TxDOT’s emergency management team is evaluating the changes its made since Hurricane Rita struck in 2005. We’ve been lucky as a state that we haven’t had another hurricane since Rita, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been sitting back and hoping against hope that we never get another one. For more on the April 30 contraflow exercise, what we’ve learned and what we’ve accomplished, I spoke with Scott Alley, TxDOT’s Emergency Management Coordinator. Listen
Public Transit Use Skyrocketing In Face Of Rising Gasoline Prices
May 02, 2008
We were talking in last week’s episode about the prices of gasoline rising beyond $4 per gallon, and possibly reaching $8 per gallon. Most of us agree that gasoline at $4 per gallon is enough of a nightmare, enough so that many folks around the nation, including here in Texas, are seeking alternative modes of transportation such as public transit. As it turns out, public transit is something in which both the federal government and the state of Texas have invested heavily, and now, it appears that those investments are beginning to pay off in a record way. For more on TxDOT’s involvement with public transit, I spoke with Eric Gleason, the Director of TxDOT’s Public Transportation Division. Listen
The Trickle-Down Effects of Rising Gas Prices
April 25, 2008
As if motorists didn’t have enough to worry about as gasoline prices continue to hit all-time highs, one of the trickle-down effects of those high prices is less fuel being consumed. Since motorists in Texas pay for their highways by paying a set rate on each gallon of fuel they purchase, any sharp decline in fuel purchases will mean less funding over time for the upkeep of existing highways and construction for new highways. In a state where we were already feeling the crunch because of the rising costs of construction materials, less money in the revenue streams is more bad news. How will motorists and highway departments cope with this trend if it continues? To find out, I spoke with Dr. Peter Bishop, Associate Professor at the University of Houston’s College of Technology’s Future Studies Program, who spoke with me at last week’s Texas Transportation Forum in Austin. Listen
Talking Transportation: The Texas Transportation Forum
April 18, 2008
It’s time again for the Texas Transportation Forum, where some of the best minds in transportation come to discuss the transportation issues of today and tomorrow. The event begins Sunday at the Hilton Austin, located at 500 East 4th Street, and lasts through Tuesday, featuring a general session and breakout sessions on a variety of topics. For more on this year’s forum, I spoke with Randall Dillard with TxDOT’s Government and Public Affairs Division in Austin. Listen
"Public-Private Partnerships"
April 11, 2008
Whether we realize it or not, the United States of America was built largely on public-private partnerships. Those partnerships can combine the best our society has to offer in terms of private innovation and public resources. In Texas, public-private partnerships may be the ticket to bridging the funding gap between maintaining the state’s aging highway infrastructure, and the need for new highways to keep up with a population that grows by an average of 1,000 people each day. For some perspective, I asked Dr. Joe Giglio, professor of strategic management at the College of Business at Northeastern University in Boston, and author several books on transportation, including “Driving Questions” to return to the podcast. Listen
FY '09 UTP: A Billion-Dollar Balancing Act
April 04, 2008
Each year, the Texas Department of Transportation compiles a huge financial document called the Unified Transportation Plan, or UTP, which essentially outlines how much money TxDOT will have to spend on all its activities in the next 11 years. Chief among these activities are TxDOT’s cornerstones of construction and maintenance, each one demanding more and more each year as our funding dollars get weaker. The discussion so far around the FY 2009 UTP has been how to best balance the needs of both cornerstones, without selling either one badly short. Between state gas tax money, bond money, and uncertain federal funding, the bottom line for TxDOT is that it’s difficult enough to predict one or two years in the future, let alone 10 or 11 years as the UTP is intended to do. That burden falls to James Bass, TxDOT’s Chief Financial Officer, who joins us on the podcast. Listen
North Carolina Poll: State Favors Rail vs. New Construction
March 28, 2008
North Carolina residents recently identified gas prices and public transportation as the chief transportation concerns facing the state, according to the latest Elon University Poll. Respondents said they are receptive to establishing new methods of transportation, such as railways, yet displayed opposition to most funding alternatives. The poll, conducted earlier this month by the Elon University Institute for Politics and Public Affairs, surveyed 473 North Carolina residents. For more on this study and what North Carolinians are considering to solve their transportation funding issues, I spoke with Hunter Bacot, associate professor of political science and director of the Elon Poll. Find more information about the poll here: http://www.elon.edu/e-web/elonpoll/ Listen
TRIP: Study Quantifies The Effects Of Poor Pavement Conditions
March 21, 2008
TRIP, a national non-profit transportation research group, recently released a nationwide study that stated on average, poor pavement conditions cause the average motorist to pay several hundred dollars per year in vehicle repairs and maintenance above normal wear and tear. An alarming thought, to be sure, but one we as drivers have probably already come to grips with. Having that amount quantified was something new, though, since the amounts varied city-to-city and state-to-state within the study’s limits. To find out more about how TRIP arrived at those costs, and what they mean for us here in Texas, I spoke with Carolyn Boniface, the assistant director for research and communication for TRIP. Listen
Contraflow: Practicing An Efficient Mass Evacuation
March 14, 2008
We all know that practice makes perfect, and if not perfect, than practice at least improves efficiency. TxDOT, and a host of other state agencies will attempt to do just that this week when they begin planning a mock hurricane evacuation scheduled for April, and for more on that, I spoke with Scott Alley, TxDOT’s emergency management coordinator. Listen
"A Transportation Portfolio"
March 07, 2008
What is transportation? For most of us, it’s getting ourselves efficiently where we need to go, and for most of us, that means highways. Lots of highways. But perspectives on transportation vary from place to place, and from need to need. Depending on what you’re trying to move, transportation can also be about aviation, rail, and public transit. In order to keep large economies moving, all forms of transportation must work together to share the load, especially as funding for highways across the country is drying up. For more on this concept, I spoke with Dr. Joe Giglio, professor of strategic management at the College of Business at Northeastern University in Boston, and author of several books on transportation, including his latest, entitled “Driving Questions.” Listen
