The San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors unanimously approved several resolutions that will move the Central Subway Project forward.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation received $6.75 million from the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery III program to rehabilitate 49 miles of state-owned rail line between Elk City and Sayre, Okla., in the Anadarko Basin.
The Design-Build Institute of America recognized the Denver Regional Transportation District with its 2012 DBIA Transportation Owner of the Year Award in the category of transit. The award was presented Thursday, April 26, during the 2012 Design-Build in Transportation Conference in Phoenix.
The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dan Grabauskas, recommended reducing the agency’s budget for next year by $1.57 million. He suggested lowering HART’s fiscal year 2013 operating budget by nearly sevent percent to $21.3 million.
The Utah Transit Authority will close a section of its TRAX light-rail system for construction from Saturday, May 5 through Wednesday, May 23. Stations affected by the closure will include Planetarium, Old Greek Town and Salt Lake Central Station, all in the downtown Salt Lake City area.
Osmose Holdings, Inc., manufacturer of wood preservation chemistry and technology, has closed an agreement to be acquired by certain investment funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. of Los Angeles, Calif.
HDR, Inc., has acquired the business of Stetson Engineering, Inc., a Wyoming-based firm with offices in Gillette and Riverton. Stetson Engineering, Inc., specializes in design, engineering and consulting services related to water, sewer, storm sewer, hydrology and transportation.
Ahmed El-Aassar, Ph.D., INCE, ASA, a vice president with Environmental Acoustics, Inc., an affiliate firm of Gannett Fleming specializing in noise and air quality, has been recognized by CSX Transportation with an Outstanding Service Award in the Environmental Services Category. Based in the firm’s Lemoyne, Pa., office, El-Aassar serves as a project manager for noise and air quality projects.
Lilee Systems, provider of communication systems designed exclusively for the railroad industry, has achieved Red Hat Hardware Certification for the company’s WMS-2000 wayside messaging server, making it the first wayside messaging server with internal 3G, GPS and IP KVM options to achieve Red Hat certification. Now, Lilee says customers deploying WMS-2000 with embedded Red Hat Enterprise Linux are offered proven performance and reliability.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority Board certified the Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Merced to Fresno section of the high-speed project, allowing the Authority to take additional steps toward starting construction in late 2012 or early 2013. The Authority also chose a north-south route and station locations for Merced and Fresno.
The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which owns and operates the San Fransisco Bay area’s Caltrain, unanimously approved a regional agreement to fully fund the electrification of the railroad.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a new mobile “Go Metro Los Angeles” smartphone app that will make it easier for the public to navigate L.A. County’s extensive and growing bus and rail system utilizing their mobile devices.
The Federal Railroad Administration strengthened its positive train control team by naming Mark Hartong senior scientific technical adviser for railroad electronic systems within the FRA’s Office of Safety.
Modjeski and Masters, a bridge engineering firm, has named David Petermeier, PE, SE vice president. In this role, Petermeier will help guide strategy for Modjeski and Masters, while continuing to oversee operations throughout the Mid-America region.
Southern California’s Metrolink Board of Directors us initiating a public outreach process for a potential system-wide fare increase to help close an existing $13 million funding gap for Fiscal Year 12-13 budget and Metrolink’s proposed Title VI Service Delivery Policy. The public will be asked to give feedback regarding an average system-wide fare increase between five and nine percent to go into effect on or after July 1, 2012.
The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, the agency that owns and operates Caltrain, will consider a preliminary operating budget at its board meeting on May 3 that will be balanced using one-time funds for the fourth consecutive year.
The NRC’s Annual Railroad Construction and Maintenance Equipment Auction was held on Thursday, April 26 at the RailWorks/E&L Paving and Construction facility in La Porte, Ind. The auction was a success with nearly $500,000 of equipment auctioned to on-site and online bidders.
BNSF plans to invest an estimated $202 million on maintenance and rail capacity improvement and expansion projects in Nebraska this year.
Caltrans, BNSF and Amtrak broke ground on a $38 million rail project that will add 3.8 additional miles of track to the Los Angeles area, increasing efficiency and rail capacity.
Norfolk Southern broke ground on the Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The facility, which will transfer trailers and containers between trucks and trains, will be capable of 200,000 lifts per year and will replace Norfolk Southern’s existing intermodal facility in downtown Charlotte.
