Hurricane Gustav didn’t seem like that big of a deal for lot of people. The damage to the roads and the infrastructure of Louisiana and Mississippi, who were hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is more prevalent then people realize. Read the rest of this entry »
The Department of Transportation has gotten recent backing from President Bush and the White House pushing up the timetable for finishing the Columbia River Crossing. Also known as the Interstate 5 bridge between Portland, OR. and Vancouver, WA. this fast tracking will reduce the length of time to finish by months, possibly years.Only 20 other projects have received this special treatment in the past five years.
The Columbia River Crossing is projected to help control the traffic congestion that is impacting one of the most important commercial routes in the country by helping to get products to their markets and people to their destinations faster and safer.
The project that has already received $15 million in federal funding is a combination of bridge, transit and highway improvements. The project begins on Vancouver, Washington’s State Route 500 to Columbia Boulevard in Portland, Oregon including the I-5 bridge across the Columbia River.
A perk for the Port Authority employees and retirees that offers free E-Z Pass tags to cross the Hudson River and the Staten Island crossings is taking some heat for offering such a benefit. Many feel the employees should not be paid to go over the bridge to lay on the beach.
This benefit which cost the Port Authority approximately a million dollars last year is actually a pretty standard benefit across the country and the trips that are actually used is only a small fraction of the toll revenues collected every year. The practice has now been negotiated into union contracts and seems to be working well and keeping the employees happier.
Many transportation authorities have been scrutinized for this type of practice over the years because many, just don’t agree that this type of a benefit is a beneficial way to motivate the employees. For example, in New Jersey, the Turnpike employees are only allowed to use free tags while they are on the job. If they use the pass when they are not on the clock they are expected to pay back the funds that are due.
The new “electrified” truck stops are getting noticed more and more as the price of fuel continues to soar.
In addition to being able to hook up to these new additions at truck stops and receive air conditioning, cable and internet through nifty yellow tubes, the benefits of these tubes go much further.
Most importantly, having access to these things makes it possible for the trucks to turn off their engines. The concept actually came about for just that reason. They were developed to help truckers follow the new anti-idling guidelines to reduce pollution.
Now it is the truckers that are thanking them and appreciating these guidelines for the added benefits they have brought to them.
Truckers are able to turn off their engines rather than letting them sit and run idle like they used to do which means a lot less fuel being used and less wear and tear on their engines. With the price of fuel and mechanics, that is a big deal.
UTDA, which stand for United Truck Drivers Association, is a fairly new organization that started in 2007 but it took a while to grow.
The main idea behind UTDA is helping truckers in need and educating the public to the concerns of truckers. They may be starting small but the little things that they are beginning to do for their fellow truckers, don’t seem small to them at all.
For example, one trucker that spoke to reporter with the Associated Press was merely sharing with her how difficult it was becoming for truckers to make a decent living anymore with the cost of fuel rising to close to forty percent of their costs. He had no idea that when he mentioned not being able to afford the little things like prom dresses for his daughter, that help was on the way. After much searching for the man, UTDA donated $200 to him to his daughter the dress.
It may not seem like that much to us, but I bet it meant everything to that man and his daughter.
