Parsons Brinckerhoff expands presence in Canada






Parsons Brinckerhoff is
expanding its operations in Canada and will co-locate with Balfour Beatty
Capital, which opened its Balfour Beatty Capital-Canada office in 2009 in
Toronto. Both companies are part of Balfour Beatty plc. Parsons Brinckerhoff,
founded in New York City in 1885, is the professional services division of
Balfour Beatty. Balfour Beatty Capital, headquartered in Pennsylvania, is a developer,
sponsor and operator of public infrastructure projects.

Sound Transit Board to consider East Link route modifications






The Sound Transit Board’s
Capital Committee reached consensus on a recommendation to the full Sound
Transit Board to modify the East Link preferred alternative alignment. East
Link is the 14-mile light rail extension between East King County and Seattle.
Stations are planned for Rainier Avenue in Seattle, Mercer Island, Bellevue and
Overlake in Redmond with service starting in 2020/2021.

Of railroad bondage






A
bond issue, which must be approved by voters, isn’t the best way to keep a
railroad in business, according to an editorial in the Bangor Daily News. But
given that the railroad owners have threatened to abandon the northern Maine line and that
lawmakers are set to end their annual session, agreeing on a bond package that
includes funds for the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway is the best
readily available way to preserve the transportation link.

Railroad intersection fix designed to curb impatient drivers






The city of Spokane Valley,
Wash., is using state grant money to protect a handful of drivers from their
own impatience, The Spokesman-Review reports. Too many drivers have been
weaving around railroad crossing arms after they’ve been lowered at Park Road
just south of Trent Avenue. The result is a dangerous situation for them and
for train crews.

Surveying new Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit






Sonoma-Marin Area Rail
Transit (SMART) is an overwhelmingly popular rail initiative in Northern
California, according to an article in The American Surveyor. Measure Q had an
amazing 70-percent support of the two-county (Sonoma-Marin) SMART District.

Cops step up vigilance after fatal Metra crashes






It wasn’t a good day for
Caine Hlavaty, who was ticketed for trying to beat the crossing gates — and an
oncoming train — while riding his bike across the tracks in Elmhurst, the Chicago
Tribune reports. Now he was complaining he had missed his bus for work.

Wall collapse closes Lee Road Station on Cleveland’s Blue Line






A wall
collapsed around 1 p.m. Saturday at the Lee Road Station on the Blue Line of
the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The track was not damaged,
but pedestrians cannot board there. The station was shut down immediately, and
the Blue Line ceased operation. On Saturday and Sunday, RTA operated shuttle
buses on the Blue Line, from Shaker Square to the end of the line at the
Warrensville-Van Aken Station.

STB releases Draft EIS for Montreal, Maine & Atlantic abandonment






The Section of
Environmental Analysis at the Surface Transportation Board issued a draft
environmental assessment on the proposed abandonment of 233 miles of rail line
in the northern Maine counties of Aroostook and Penobscot. The draft review
found that the abandonment of this line could divert onto Maine’s highways as
many as an additional 73,344 truck trips per year, consuming an additional 3.3
million gallons of fuel per year.

Revamped West Virginia tunnel open for larger loads






The formidable Cooper
Tunnel on the Norfolk Southern main line in Mercer County, W. Va., is now open
for larger loads, opening another key impediment to the railway’s ambitious
Heartland Corridor project, the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports.





OCTA gets $357 million for road, rail projects






The Orange County, Calif.,
Transportation Authority has received $357 million from the state for freeway
and rail projects, the Orange County Local News Network reported. The
California Transportation Commission sold bonds last month to free up the money
for OCTA.

Szabo boosts public-private partnerships for MMA line






The federal government
could be the last to invest in plans to save 241 miles of northern Maine rail
lines, but it won’t be the first, the Bangor Daily News reports. Joseph C.
Szabo, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, told representatives
of 22 northern Maine manufacturers during a meeting April 8 that they must form
a public-private partnership with the state and contribute money or other aid
to acquire federal funding to save the rail lines.

Caltrain urges recertification of Peninsula Route






Faced with a $30-million
budget deficit in the coming fiscal year that is reflective of a long-term
unsustainable economic model, Caltrain is urging the California High-Speed Rail
Authority to retain the current route between the Central Valley and San
Francisco and preserve the opportunity for Caltrain to access funding for
improvements that will help secure the operating and financial future of the
Peninsula commuter rail service. The high-speed rail authority is soliciting
public comment on the Revised Draft Program Environmental Impact Report.

Full-speed ahead for Florida bullet train bids






In January, President Obama
presented Florida with $1.25 billion in high-speed rail stimulus money for the
Orlando to Tampa bullet train. It was about half of the $2.5 billion needed to
get the project up and running, but that isn’t slowing down the state
Department of Transportation and its Florida Rail Enterprise, The Lakeland, Fla.,
Ledger reports.