• Transportation Bill Remains Gridlocked...
• ...While Report Says Congestion Gets Worse
• Senate Hopes for September Floor Vote on WRDA
• Senate Churns Ahead on Appropriations
• TISP Participates in National Preparedness Month
• Lawsuit Filed Over Yucca Mountain Railway
• Get Involved in Elections
• ASCE Congressional Fellow Report - August 2004
• State Legislative Update

California
Costs have skyrocketed on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge seismic retrofit project and it now has a revised cost of $914 million, more than double an estimate made in 2000 by Caltrans. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area's transportation planning agency, commissioned a study in June to look at costs associated with Bay Area bridge retrofit projects. While over budget, work on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is far along - 85 percent complete - and California Department of Transportation officials do not expect work to be halted, as has been threatened with the Bay Bridge. However, the project won't be completed until June 2005 and funding could run out in the spring. It is unknown if the money to finish the project will come from the state, or from the Bay Area through higher tolls or money diverted from Regional Measure 2, passed by voters in March. The measure increased tolls in July by $1 and is supposed to pay for a host of transportation improvements in the Bay Area, including a revamp of the Greenbrae interchange in central Marin. The main span, steel towers, and east and west approaches are being strengthened as part of the seismic upgrade to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The retrofit is part of a statewide program to brace seven of the state's nine toll bridges. Work on five of the spans has been completed and came in $48 million under budget, but the Richmond-San Rafael and Bay bridges are larger and have proved more problematic. In July of 2000, before the project went out to bid, the work on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge was expected to cost $360 million, at that time a record for the most expensive state transportation contract. But when bids were opened in August 2000, the lowest bid for the work was $542 million. The cost continued to climb and was at $665 million as of this July. Now the entire project is projected to cost $914 million by its completion. That figure includes contingency money. Caltrans officials called the bridge work "complex" and cited several issues: removal of debris, installation of substructure micro piles, substructure steel issues, a need for diving inspection during construction and an increased use of specialty consultants that the state lacked. Marin Independent Journal 9/3

The Riverside County Transportation Commission on Wednesday approved $71 million in spending on local roads over the next five years, the first major chunk of money from a per-house fee developers must pay to build in western Riverside County. Officials hailed the funding as a milestone in the county's effort to ensure that infrastructure improvements keep pace with housing development. All of the road improvements covered by the plan are in fast-growing areas. The money, which is earmarked for gridlock caused by growth, will fund planning and design work for 23 projects that improve circulation across the western end of the county, including $25 million for the widening of Cajalco Road and turning Ramona Parkway into a major east-west thoroughfare. Money would also go toward the realigning of California 79. Riverside County's population, which was nearly 1.7 million in 2000, is expected to grow by more than 1 million residents by 2020. The commission's vote came the day after a report that found Inland Empire commuters who travel during rush hour have seen a more than 500% increase in the time spent in traffic from 1982 to 2002.To deal with the booming population and crowded roads, county and city leaders enacted the Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee, which, starting last year, requires developers to pay $6,650 per house. The fee is expected to raise $2.6 billion over the next two decades. Businesses pay a per-square-foot fee. Los Angeles Times 8/9

Louisiana
The state's new transportation secretary told Zachary Taylor Parkway backers this week that his department is about to undergo a comprehensive study to improve its efficiency. Johnny B. Bradberry, appointed secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development on April 1, said he hopes to present firm proposals on the study to the governor and two legislative transportation committees in the first quarter 2005. The proposed parkway would be a 210-mile route along La. 1 and La. 10 across eight parishes, from Alexandria to the Pearl River east of Bogalusa. It would provide a four-lane link between Interstate 49 and Interstate 59 at Poplarville, Miss. A new Mississippi River bridge between West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes is a key component of the planned improvements. The bridge is one of 12 remaining projects in the TIMED program authorized in 1989 and funded by a 4-cent gasoline tax. During Gov. Mike Foster's administration, the state sold bonds to speed up the construction program, which had been scheduled to end in 2031. The Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development projects are now set for completion in 2012, and Bradberry said he wants to finish sooner, if possible. Bradberry said he is leaning toward using the design-build approach to constructing the bridge, or at least part of it, such as the main span. In a design-build project, companies bid on both designing and constructing the improvement. Traditionally, DOTD designs the improvement, such as a road or bridge, and contractors submit bids for the construction work. Baton Rouge Advocate 9/9

North Carolina
The state Board of Transportation approved long-range guidelines last week to pump up investment in maintaining highways and bridges and in improving rail, public transit and other options. Highway expansion projects  building new highways and adding traffic lanes to existing ones  will lose their traditional dominance as spending priorities. Over the next 25 years, such projects would account for about 26 percent of transportation spending, falling from a recent 45 percent. The statewide transportation plan calls for putting 34 percent of available funding into highway and bridge maintenance and 23 percent into safety, efficiency and other highway upgrades that do not involve increased traffic capacity. Stepped-up spending for alternative modes and for technology improvements  a combined 17 cents out of every transportation dollar  will give North Carolinians more choices. Board members and DOT administrators and engineers developed the plan over the past three years in collaboration with regional and statewide business, transportation, environmental and civic groups. The board approved the plan unanimously without debate. The News & Observer 9/3

Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission on Tuesday approved a preliminary version of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program for federal fiscal years 2005 through 2007, which includes more than $1.7 billion in transportation improvement projects. Next, the document will be forwarded to the Federal Highway and Federal Transit Administrations for formal approval prior to Oct. 1. Federal fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 31. The STIP is a comprehensive overview of all transportation projects for the three-year period, including improvements to roads, highways and bridges as well as public transportation and airports. The projects included in the STIP may be funded by federal, state or local governments or combinations thereof. Journal Record Legislative Report 9/8

Tennessee
The state Transportation Department plans to solicit public input on its new long-range plan, which includes a new way of ranking projects and the development of a three-year construction project list. TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely updated state lawmakers last week on the plan's progress. It eventually will include funding for a wider variety of projects than simply roads, such as bus and rail service, to help ease construction in cities and boost economic development in rural areas. Along with the three-year construction list, the department also plans a 25-year "vision for transportation in Tennessee" and a 10-year transportation plan that is consistent with that vision. Officials hope the change will eliminate some of the politics from the selection system and better manage continuing growth. Part of the proposal also includes an assessment of whether the state has enough money to fund particular projects. Last December, TDOT announced its plan to pay a team of consultants $4.3 million over two years to help it expand two decades of plans beyond roads. Since then, PBS&J transportation and engineering consultants has been helping the state with its 2025 multimodal plan  "2025" for the year it is expected to be complete and "multimodal" for its emphasis on different forms of transportation, such as roads, rail, waterways, public transit and aviation. Chattanooga Free Press 9/3

Utah
The talk at the Capitol this week was about transportation and tax  and lawmakers seemed open to the idea of raising rates to curb current traffic woes. "We've got to come up with a funding plan," said Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Cottonwood Heights. While careful not to endorse or encourage a specific tax increase, Walker and members of the Legislative Transportation Task Force asked that a list of possibilities be prioritized. In other words, they wanted to know the best tax options to mitigate increasingly congested commutes. Currently the state needs about $30 billion to fund transportation projects planned through 2030, according to a report by the Utah League of Cities and Towns and Utah Association of Counties. Of that amount, only $6.5 billion is projected to be available for new construction  assuming no new money is allocated for transportation. Options that were presented week include an increase of gas or sales tax, tracking and taxing vehicle miles traveled and allocating some property tax for transportation. The Utah Foundation and Brigham Young University professor Rex L. Facer provided a list of potential tax increases  and the amount of money they would raise  to the Legislature. A full report of the study will be out next week. Salt Lake Tribune 9/9

Virginia
The Virginia State Water Control Board has endorsed proposals that would require sewage treatment plants to dramatically reduce the amount of pollution they release into streams and rivers that feed the Chesapeake Bay. The proposals, estimated to cost as much as $1.1 billion, would target nitrogen and phosphorus discharges from wastewater treatment facilities. The pollutants are blamed for spurring the growth of algae in the bay, which in turn eats up the oxygen that crabs, fish and bay plants require. The move comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month proposed a federal effort to limit similar discharges from treatment facilities. New reports this summer also have shown that pollutant levels in the major rivers feeding the bay have shown no decline in recent years. Under the proposals, existing treatment facilities would be required to reduce nitrogen levels to 8 milligrams per liter, and new or expanded plants would have to drop levels to 3 milligrams per liter, considered the best modern technology will allow. Annual limits would also be set on major plants. The public will be invited to comment on the proposals before they are revised and officially adopted next year by the water control board, he said. At that time, treatment facilities will be required to reduce pollutant discharge to retain their operating permits, and officials hope all plants will be in compliance by 2010. Washington Post 9/2

Washington
Unable to gain business and labor support for a multibillion-dollar transportation ballot measure, frustrated King County Council members have decided to ask voters for their advice. The council yesterday unanimously decided to put two transportation advisory questions before voters in November. County Executive Ron Sims was expected to sign the two propositions, clearing the way for them to appear on the November ballot in King County. Proposition 1 asks voters whether they favor placement on the ballot next year of a "locally funded transportation plan designed to relieve traffic congestion and increase safety through a mix of road and transit projects in King County in the Interstate 405 and state Route 509, 522, 167 and 99 corridors, replace the Evergreen Point Bridge, begin replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and extend light rail to Sea-Tac Airport and the University District." Proposition 2 asks voters which tax source they prefer to pay for the transportation plan: a general sales tax, an excise tax on the value of motor vehicles, a flat tax on motor vehicles, an increase in the local gas tax, or a tax on total annual vehicle miles traveled. The transportation plan voters are being asked about resembles a $7.3 billion plan passed by the Regional Transportation Investment District earlier this year for King County. But that three-county plan never made it to the ballot because the business and labor groups that were being asked to put up the money for the campaign were pessimistic about its chances. Seattle Post Intelligencer 9/9

Wyoming
Wyoming residents should recycle more, and more regional landfills are needed to take the rest, an advisory group says. Of Wyoming's 130 landfills, 78 are closed, 52 are operating and as many as 65 will need corrective attention, according to Dave Finley, administrator of the solid and hazardous waste division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. The Citizens Advisory Group on Solid Waste, formed at the behest of Gov. Dave Freudenthal earlier this year, is looking at ways to clean up the state's leaking landfills. Finley said the cost could reach $180 million. What is leaking is called "landfill leachate." The leachate is flushed out when rain falls on the garbage. Water washes the waste down, eventually soaking it into the ground - and in some areas the water table is only 10 feet below the surface. But Wyoming landfills generally are unlined, meaning they do not have something to block the leachate. Regulations enacted in 1989 sought to line landfill pits where groundwater pollution was possible. But the option of keeping some unlined was maintained because scientists predicted that Wyoming is too arid for its landfills to cause groundwater contamination and because local governments wanted to keep costs down, according to a draft report from the advisory group last month. The advisory group's draft report said that because landfills are becoming more expensive to build and operate, and the amount of solid waste is increasing, landfills are filling at an unnecessarily fast rate. The group also recommended that the state take responsibility for leaking landfills provided the landowner stops receiving municipal solid waste at landfills, begins sending waste to a regional facility and pays a fee into a landfill remediation account. The recommendations, still in draft form, have not yet been sent to the governor. Billings Gazette 9/8