Infra Insight Blog

The Second Annual Conference of the Mileage-Based User Fee Alliance (MBUFA) was held in Washington, DC on February 24, 2015.  The MBUFA is a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and education about mileage-based user fees as an alternative for the future funding of improvements to the U.S. transportation system.  Attendees included policy makers, public sector representatives and private sector stakeholders weighing in on the topic Sustainable Transportation Funding, Road User Fees: Is There Another Option for Achieving Financial Sustainability?   The concept of a ...

Although historically the investment profile for pension funds has focused on established brownfields assets, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has recently invested $525 million AUD into the greenfields NorthConnex road tunnel in Sydney, Australia in partnership with experienced road operator Transurban and the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). CPPIB’s investment comes hot on the heels of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s (DPFPS) 2010 equity investment in Texas’ LBJ  Freeway (I‐635) managed lanes toll-road, among other ...

Florida Governor Rick Scott broke ground yesterday on the I-4 Ultimate Project, which will rebuild I-4 in metro-Orlando. The Project involves the reconstruction of 21 miles of I-4 from west of Kirkman Road in Orange County to east of State Road 434 in Seminole County and promises to bring much needed relief to one of the most congested highways in the state. Along with developing a signature corridor with aesthetic enhancements and landscaping to convey the Florida Experience, the Project will provide a choice to motorists by adding two variable priced toll express lanes in each ...

The House Transportation Committee has approved the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act, a bill that would reauthorize Amtrak and other rail programs.  The bill is substantially the same as the 2014 legislation and is described by the Committee as bipartisan legislation that improves the infrastructure, reduces costs, creates greater accountability and transparency, leverages private sector resources, and accelerates project delivery for Amtrak and the Nation’s passenger rail transportation system.  The 2014 bill did not receive a vote in the full House and the Senate ...

Trainsets

On January 30, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) issued a draft Request For Proposals (RFP) for Tier III trainsets and invited industry to submit comments.

The Authority is seeking a trainset manufacturer to design, build and maintain Tier III trainsets.  The trainsets will have a minimum of 450 seats and be able to carry passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours.

Firms that have submitted expressions of interest accepted by the Authority will be able to comment on the draft RFP.  All comments are due by Tuesday, February 24, 2015 ...

According to a recent internal study conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the design-build project delivery method provides significant cost and time savings as compared to the traditional design-bid-build delivery method. The study examined FDOT contracts from 2008 to 2012 that were valued between $30 million and $70 million, a group of contracts that included 11 design-build contracts and 47 design-bid-build contracts. Looking in particular at a $55 million, 814‑day design-build project, the study found that the use of design-build results in ...

Earlier today, President Barack Obama released his approximately $4 trillion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, which begins on October 1 of this year.  While the President’s proposed budget covers everything from defense to diseases, he has included a particularly ambitious proposal for transportation.

The President’s proposed budget provides $94.7 billion in funding for the Department of Transportation (US DOT), covering infrastructure development and safety enhancement in highways and bridges, transit, railroads, and aviation.  The President is proposing a ...

This Friday, January 23, 2015, California will take the first step in investigating a road user charge pilot program as an alternative to the gas tax when the CTC convenes the Road User Charge Advisory Committee meeting.  The committee was created last year by SB 1077 which authorizes a pilot study.  California joins a handful of other states that are exploring road user charge pilot programs, including Oregon, Washington, and Minnesota.

The 15 member committee is made up of representatives of local and regional agencies, privacy advocates, auto groups and state officials.  According ...

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) has announced that it will hold its annual Public-Private Partnerships in Transportation Conference on July 15-17, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency Washington in Washington, DC.  This year’s conference, entitled P3s in Transition: The Next Chapter, will again feature a P3 owners-only meeting and interactive sessions, including the continuation of the Great Debate series exploring whether unsolicited proposals add value to P3s.

ARTBA’s annual conference is the nation’s premier and longest-standing event for ...

Javier Rodriguez, P.E., Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX), is ready to begin his role as president of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) for 2015.  Rodriguez was elected during IBTTA’s 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Austin, which brought together nearly 1,000 transportation leaders from more than 20 countries to discuss innovative practices, policies, technologies, funding options and business models transforming mobility for drivers worldwide.

As the executive director of MDX, Rodriguez led the ...