America has very frightening water problems. The country’s resources are inadequate in many states. Water quality is so poor in some areas that citizens are in danger. Another Flint, Michigan, could occur at any time. Water pipelines passed their anticipated life expectancy decades ago in about 80 percent of the country. If ever we should […]
Florida– Florida lawmakers approved $487 million in the annual Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) program for the 2018-19 academic year. This also includes $33 million in funding contingent on reimbursements from the federal government related to emergency spending during Hurricane Irma. Under the PECO program, the university system will have $112 million in individual projects […]
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) approved $499 million in funding towards the building of the Lower Bois d’Arc Creek Reservoir in Fannin County. This is the second portion of an application received from the North Texas Municipal Water District during the third funding cycle of the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program. […]
Austin City Council members are reviewing a staff proposal to spend $482 million in bond funds approved in 2016 on a project to upgrade nine corridor roads. Once completed, the project is expected to cost $1.4 billion. The proposal calls for a major upgrade of East Riverside Drive, but only short-term improvements such as pavement […]
The Bellaire City Council approved the site plan and traffic study for a $137 million project to rebuild Bellaire High School on its original site. The city’s approval allows the Houston Independent School District to move forward with the final design and construction phase of the project that was approved in a 2012 bond election. […]
California– California’s Department of Water Resources has approved $34.4 million in grants to eight desalination projects across the state. The money comes from Proposition 1, a water bond passed by state voters in November 2014. Three projects were awarded $10 million each to help with construction. Among them is the Antioch Brackish Water Desalination Project, […]
As the nation’s bridges continue to age, states hope the federal government will provide increased resources to repair and rebuild them. Legislation recently introduced from the United States Senate would provide $75 billion over the next 10 years into a new competitive grant program for repairing bridges. The Bridge Investment Act, introduced Jan. 4, would […]
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced its list of the top 100 of the state’s most congested roads. The West Loop Freeway from Katy Freeway to Southwest Freeway in Harris County tops the list. The No. 2 spot is held by Interstate 35 in Travis County from U.S. 290 North to Ben White […]
August 2017 was the ten-year-mark of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse that killed 13 people and injured 145 in downtown Minneapolis. The bridge collapse was not caused by a natural disaster and this sparked immediate response in Minnesota and across the country to invest in repairing and replacing the nation’s aging and crumbling infrastructure. The […]
In 2016, U.S. coal production decreased 18.8 percent year-over-year to 728.4 million short tons, the lowest annual production level since 1979, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Last year also marked the first full year electric generation powered by natural gas edged out that from coal — 34 percent compared to coal’s 30 percent. Natural gas prices […]
Colorado has agreed to provide 70 percent of the $350 million needed to widen 17 miles of Interstate 25 from Monument to Castle Rock if El Paso County succeeds in getting an Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant. Under the current proposal, construction for the “Gap” project would begin in 2019. A couple of other […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is rapidly running out of disaster relief funding as Hurricane Irma hits Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and heads toward Florida. It was first reported by Bloomberg that the federal response to Hurricane Harvey’s devastation in Texas has quickly depleted FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which dropped by $2.14 […]
Continued advancements in technology and funding are steadily making the airport experience much more efficient and pleasurable. Before technology can occur, funding must be available, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been busy this year approving grants through their Airport Improvement Program (AIP) for transportation facilities ready to take on big and small projects. […]
Nearly $79 million in the latest round of Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grants will benefit rail projects. U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Elaine Chao notified House and Senate authorizing committees of 10 projects selected by the agency for grants. Under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the USDOT has proposed the funding […]
Does the U.S. ever emulate or keep track of transportation initiatives taking place in other countries? According to David Glessner, public information officer with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the agency has hosted over 1,800 international visitors since 1994. “TxDOT receives international visitors for one-day visits, and sometimes engineers or engineering students for more […]
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) recently approved $1,052,915,000 in financial assistance from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) program. The funding will be distributed to 10 project sponsors across the state. $677,120,000 to the North Texas Municipal Water District (Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Fannin, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, and Rockwall counties) for a water supply project; […]
In May, voters throughout Texas decided on the outcome of thousands of projects and more than $8.3 billion worth of bond funding when they went to the polls. Around eighty-five local entities called for bond elections. Now, other governmental entities are considering additional bond packages. School districts, hospital districts, cities, counties, community colleges, special districts and more have until Aug. 21 […]
Arizona– The Arizona State Transportation Board approved the five-year, $260 million per year construction program proposed by the Arizona Department of Transportation that aims to increase the capacity of the major commerce corridors by investing in new and pre-existing infrastructure around the state. Major projects detailed in the construction program include widening various interstates, […]
Nevada– On June 15, an estimated 1,300 people gathered at the Green Valley Ranch Resort to learn about the estimated $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed football stadium being built for the Oakland Raiders when they relocate to Las Vegas for the 2020 National Football League season. Details about the Las Vegas stadium project were shared and […]
Two bills that were introduced June 21 and 22 provide very different outcomes for the future of aviation in the United States. Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep. Bill Shuster, introduced a six-year draft House bill called the 21st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act (AIRR Act), a revised version from […]
New York– Nassau County engineers have determined that the 110-year old aqueduct running underneath Sunrise Highway is in “very good condition” and county officials are preparing to proceed to the next stages of a proposed project to refurbish and improve the pipe to transport treated sewage from Bay Park to Cedar Creek. A major portion of […]
Florida– Orange County officials have been discussing the expansion of the Orange County Convention Center since 2014. The county hired a Missouri-based architecture company to conduct a feasibility study and recommendations included a parking garage, shuttle system and better connector between the North and South concourse. Expanding the 2.1 million square foot exhibition floor space […]
May 15-19 was Infrastructure Week and several events were held in communities throughout the country to support building for a better America and to elevate the importance of infrastructure and the impact it has on everyone who uses transportation, water, energy, ports, public buildings and more. Over the course of five days, state governors signed […]
A hole in the ground can be a bad thing for rolling wheels and moving feet. These burrows, potholes, divots, manholes, ground tunnels and ditches could cause issues if they are overlooked, but when the Earth suddenly gives way and a large land-mass collapses, the level of danger and damage can be much more detrimental […]
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is best known for its roadways. Motorists traveling around Texas are likely to run across TxDOT employees refurbishing or building long stretches of road to improve our main source of transportation throughout the state. But did you know that TxDOT also handles railways and another mode of transportation that […]
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