On April 22, Seattle’s
Sound Transit Board announced its preference for an East Link light rail route
that runs on 112th Avenue between Downtown and Bellevue Way. While the Bellevue
City Council prefers an alternate route (B7, next to I-405), the 112th Avenue
alignment could be Sound Transit’s final choice.
John E. Barrett, P.E., S.E., vice chairman of
Bowman, Barrett & Associates (BB&A), was honored with the John Parmer
Award from the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI). The award
is presented each year to a structural engineer in recognition of outstanding
contributions in the field of structural engineering whose distinguished career
is acknowledged by peers to be an example of excellence.
The Canadian federal
government will contribute C$600 million to transform Ottawa’s transit system,
making a switch from buses to light rail with a downtown tunnel through the
city’s core and 12.5 kilometers (7.75 miles) of light rail between Blair Road
and Tunney’s Pasture, local media report. Transport Minister John Baird made
the long-awaited announcement June 8, matching the funding already promised by
the Ontario government.
The Metropolitan
Transportation Authority said that MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder appointed Susan
G. Metzger as senior policy advisor, effective immediately. Dr. Metzger, who is
a member of the MTA Board, will advise the MTA on cost-effective ways to
improve mobility within and to Orange and Rockland Counties.
Massachusetts and Worcester, Mass.,
officials have reached a tentative agreement with CSX Corp. on a $23-million
traffic improvement and neighborhood mitigation package that would accompany
expansion of the company’s freight yards between Shrewsbury and Franklin
streets, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.
The Maryland Transit
Administration (MTA) is seeking community partners to design future Red Line
stations. Station Area Advisory Committees will begin meeting this fall to
provide input on key aspects of Red Line station design and station area
planning. Interested community stakeholders such as station area residents,
businesses, churches, organizations and institutions may nominate themselves to
serve on a committee.
The key to getting federal
support for a railroad project is a solid study that supports it, a
Massachusetts planner told local business leaders, the Bristol, Conn., Press
reports. Tim Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning
Commission in Springfield, told an audience at the Central Connecticut Chambers
of Commerce the story behind the successful Knowledge Corridor rail line in his
region.
(The following editorial
appeared on the Knoxville News Sentinel Website.) Railroads hold a unique
position in the American psyche, blending the symbolism of uniting the country
and the romanticism of a bygone era.
(The following editorial,
"Keeping the train on track," appeared in the Clackamas, Ore., Review.)
We support the Oregon Department of Transportation’s efforts to increase the
speed and efficiency of passenger rail along the I-5 corridor, a move that
could boost ridership and offset traffic congestion as the population grows in
the future.
University of California
San Diego has built a prototype laser to search for cracks inside rail lines,
the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. UC San Diego engineers are preparing to
test an experimental laser that looks for the kind of cracks inside railway
lines that are responsible for many of the 130 or so derailments that occur
nationwide each year.
The Metro Gold Line
Extension is on track for a June 26 groundbreaking. But there’s still some
major business to be worked out to make sure the project, funded with $810
million in voter-approved dollars, is not derailed, the San Gabriel Valley
Tribune reports.
Amtrak is urging the
Federal Railroad Administration to be bold and unambiguous in its vision for
the future of the national rail system, including the Amtrak network, as it
develops a long-range National Rail Plan (NRP).
The Toronto Transit
Commission has awarded three major contracts to HDR/iTRANS for the following
services:
The South Florida Regional
Transportation Authority will launch its first-ever Bicycle Locker Program at
Tri-Rail’s West Palm Beach Station, beginning on June 14. There are 18
perforated-sheet, steel lockers that will be available, designed to accommodate
two bicycles per modular unit, with a diagonal divider and separate door
entries on either end (providing 36 individual spaces available for use).
The MBTA board has approved
a deal that allows the state to purchase a section of railroad track to expand
commuter rail service from Worcester to Boston through Ayer, but passengers won’t
be able to travel that route any time soon, the Telegram and Gazette reports.
The
Adams County, Miss., Board of Supervisors wants the Miss-Lou, including
Jefferson and Franklin counties, to exert as much effort as possible to save
the rail line that comes from Brookhaven into the Natchez port, the Natchez
Democrat reports. Board President Darryl Grennell said the supervisors will
take the lead in setting up meetings with the area’s federal congressional
representatives to see what can be done on the federal level, and he wants
representatives from the other local entities to participate.
Officials
from Union Pacific Railroad, the City of Harlingen, Texas, and Cameron County plan
to reduce blocked crossings by streamlining railroad operations at the Union
Pacific rail yard in downtown Harlingen.
The Illinois Commerce
Commission has given approval for the removal and replacement of a bridge over
the Rock River and the Illinois Railway tracks at Morgan Street in Rockford. The
existing bridge was constructed in 1916 and carries Morgan Street over the Rock
River and the Illinois Railway tracks. The structure was reconstructed in 1956,
but a bridge condition report issued in 2000 recommended total replacement. Included in the proposal submitted to
the Commission by the City of Rockford were plans to consolidate the Illinois
Railway tracks with the Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad line near the
bridge project in order to improve safety and reduce costs to the railroads. The
rail consolidation plan will also allow for the retirement of the Illinois
Railway Bridge across the Rock River upstream from the Morgan Street Bridge.
The governments of Canada
and Ontario and the City of Toronto officially kicked off the start of
construction to revitalize Union Station and strengthen its position as
Canada’s premier inter-regional and intermodal transportation hub.
Business owners will soon
be able to submit proposals for more than $50 million of capital project work
to be completed by St Louis-area Metro over the next several years. The
majority of the funding for these projects is being made available to Metro
through the Federal Transit Administration from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.