KLF

Under a FHWA Pilot Program, there are a limited number of existing interstate highways that can be tolled. I believe there are a total of 6 or 8 slots in this program, which PA I-80 was trying for, without success. There are still slots available for a state to apply for.

I think its just the newspaper trying to make a story out of nothing. US Bridge sells mostly to counties and townships, not ODOT. This is like Director Molitoris' previous job as president of Railpower Technologies, which sells "green locomotive" technology, and benefited greatly from Gov Strickland's Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant Program. She resigned that position to take her assistant director job at ODOT, but her company had been well-served by then. Big difference is that no newspaper took a cheap shot at her.

The hipocrsy of some of our state legislators knows no boundaries. And nothing brings it more out into the open than their silence on the cost of heavier trucks. They decry "subsidizing" passenger rail, but what about a $45-million dollars subsidy to the trucking industry? Shame on all of them. noozer - it was not the legislature, but stricklands transportation department. what is your inside scoop?

Innovation Briefs May 24, 2010 Rail Transit Expansion Reconsidered --- Commentary ________________________________________ More than two years ago we suggested that the era of multi-billion dollar system-building investments in urban rail transit is coming to an end. We wrote: "The 30-year effort to retrofit American cities with rail infrastructure, begun back in the Nixon Administration, appears to be just about over. The New Starts program is running out of cities that can afford or justify cost-effective rail transit investment..." ("Urban Rail Transit and Freight Railroads: A Study in Contrast," February 18 2008). Now comes a startling new revelation from a senior U.S. DOT official. Speaking at a National Summit on the Future of Transit FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff questioned the wisdom of expanding rail networks when money is badly needed to maintain and modernize existing facilities. "At times like these, it's more important than ever to have the courage to ask a hard question: if you can't afford to operate the system you have, why does it make sense for us to partner in your expansion? If you can't afford your current footprint, does expanding that underfunded footprint really advance the President't goal for cutting oil use and greenhouse gases... Or are we at risk of just helping communities dig a deeper hole for our children and our grandchildren?" More at www.innobriefs.com

A study in the 90s actually found that white is more visible than yellow...and if white gets dirty, so does yellow. Also, white is cheaper than yellow. dont know about the reflective tape "features" of ODOT versus turnpike trucks

No, his clear impliction is that every bridge costs 2.5b to replace, and that is disingenuous.

Hmm, methinks Mr. Brubaker is practicing the same rhetoric: replacing a single bridge on the Capital Beltway costs $2.5 billion? C'mon. And the Atlanta airport handles 99% of Atlanta air travelers. A network is a network...of course looking at one piece of the network is disingenuous. But the real problem remains that a passenger rail network only handles 2% of travel.

^ In fairness, the N Broadway/High Street round-a-bout is a concept of the Clintonville Commission, and not City Traffic Engineers. In a bit of irony, while round-a-bouts are good for traffic and safety (in some instances), they are not always pedestrian-friendly. I would think the Clintonville Commission would consider the significance of ped traffic in the area.

^ In addition to number of passengers per vehicle mile, they need to include number of passengers per hour. The cost per mile of freeway can be quite tricky. The third lane added on I-71 between Cleveland and Columbus was added at a much lower cost than $20m/mile, because the pavement on the existing lanes was being completely replaced. The incremental cost of adding a lane -- while replacing the existing lanes -- was negligible.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/business/energy-environment/30trains.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print May 30, 2009 New York Times Spain’s High-Speed Rail Offers Guideposts for U.S. By VICTORIA BURNETT LLEIDA, Spain — When President Obama announced in April his $13 billion plan to propel the United States into the age of high-speed rail, he tipped his hat to the trains that zip between the cities of the Old Continent at up to 217 miles an hour. Spain, an enthusiastic latecomer to high-speed rail, on Friday will cap six-day tour of European transit systems by the secretary of transportation, Ray H. LaHood. Officials say the Spanish experience could hold lessons in what works and what does not. Spain opened its first Alta Velocidad Española, or AVE, high-speed train route in 1992, between Madrid and Seville. The network has grown to nearly 2,000 kilometers and stretches from Malaga on the south coast to Barcelona in the northeast. Supporters say the AVE has begun to transform the country, binding remote and sometimes restive regions to Madrid and prompting traditionally home-bound Spaniards to move around for work or leisure. .......

In addition to insurance companies, the State Highway Patrol is a powerful opponent to higher speed limits. In some of my with them, they were not sophisticated in terms of data and policy analysis, but rather just went on the gut opinion that faster was less safe.

Budget Green Summer Travel Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/solutions/cleaner_cars_pickups_and_suvs/greentravel/getting-there-greener.html May 11, 2009 Summer vacationers can save money and lower their contribution to global warming at the same time, thanks to a handy travel transportation guide from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). "A summer vacation can be relatively inexpensive and 'green' if you know what to look for," said Jim Kliesch, a UCS senior engineer and primary author of the guide. "We've found that with a little bit of planning, consumers can save money with tips that save the planet, too." UCS researchers calculated the amount of carbon dioxide -- the chief heat-trapping gas that drives global warming -- associated with travel in a variety of modes, including passenger cars, SUVs, planes, trains, and buses. Since trip emissions also depend on the number of passengers traveling, UCS evaluated trip emissions for solo travelers, couples and families of four. UCS concluded that while numerous green travel options are available, poor travel choices leave large amounts of carbon in a vacation's wake. For example, a poorly planned family-of-four vacation can result in more carbon emissions than are released by an entire year of the family's commute to and from work. While UCS's analysis is focused on the environmental impact of vacation travel, the report does reveal a number of findings that can help the budget-conscious traveler: Off-peak travel. Americans tend to favor Friday, Saturday or Sunday departures for trips, but these peak travel times result in higher emissions, gasoline bills and ticket prices. Travelers who plan to arrive and depart on a trip on Monday through Thursday can take advantage of lower airplane fares and avoid weekend and rush hour highway traffic. In 2007, airport delays were responsible for 8.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Tacking an extra day or two onto a vacation can help you travel on off-peak days. That may be easier than many people think: Americans let more than a half-billion days of vacation go unused every year. Other tips include using a GPS system with real-time traffic alerts to save both time and carbon when driving. Some GPS manufacturers offer real-time traffic information with no extra charge, but others charge a subscription fee for the service. Consumers should consider the additional value of real-time traffic updates when shopping for a GPS unit. Consider coach-only flights. UCS recommends that travelers who plan to fly consider budget airlines that exclusively offer coach-class seating. Because first-class seating takes up more space than coach seating, the average first-class passenger on a domestic flight is responsible for twice as much heat-trapping emissions as someone seated in coach. Some airlines have eliminated first-class seats. That can lower a plane's per-person emissions 10 to 15 percent and also allows the airline to reduce its fares. If traveling alone or with one other person, vacationers are usually better off flying direct in coach than getting behind the wheel of a typical vehicle, especially for trips of more than 500 miles. Don't forget the bus. Motor coaches are generally the greenest vacation travel option. Compared with flying coach, a couple traveling on a bus will cut their trip's carbon dioxide emissions 55 to 75 percent, depending on the distance traveled. Compared to even a fuel-efficient hybrid car, a bus trip would cut a couple's trip emissions nearly in half. Bus travel is much less expensive than flying and can even be cheaper than driving. Some bus companies offer fares as low as $1 each way. Since there is no single online resource for booking tickets from different bus lines, travelers will have to search for those companies that serve their departure and destination cities. Additionally, many intercity buses now offer such amenities as wireless Internet connections and food service. Besides traveling from city to city, many tour operators offer guided bus services through National Parks, offering a lower-carbon way for vacationers to appreciate America's natural beauty. Trains let travelers skip in-city travel expenses. Trains are another green option, especially those in the Northeast that run primarily on electricity. Trains emit 60 percent less carbon per passenger-mile than a typical car with a single occupant. And compared with a 500-mile trip on a small jet plane, a train emits roughly 30 percent less carbon. Trains also can save vacationers money when they are traveling between large cities. Train stations are often much closer to city centers than airports, allowing travelers to avoid renting a car or paying for a cab or shuttle into town. When driving, take more passengers. More passengers in a car translates into much less pollution per person traveling. That is because a car uses most of the energy from burning gasoline to move the vehicle itself. Additional passengers and luggage do not add that much relative to a car's weight. Of course the kind of vehicle you have will make a difference. For a given distance of travel, a large, inefficient SUV, for example, emits nearly four times the amount of carbon dioxide emissions of a highly efficient hybrid such as a Toyota Prius. The SUV also uses nearly four times the amount of gas, costing that much more at the pump. For more information, UCS offers answers to frequently asked questions about the travel guide. ********************************** I didn't know where else to put this. The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists is fascinating. According to the full report (see link), intercity buses have much lower CO2 emissions per trip than rail (for example, two people going 500 miles would have a carbon footprint of 170 lbs. by bus, and 430 lbs. by train). I suppose intercity buses aren't serious addressed by national transportation policy because they aren't as cutting edge as high speed rail, or perhaps because they don't appeal to upper-income riders. Thoughts?

The Strickland administration showed strong support for the I-70 truck lane concept, and some individuals associated with Transportation Matters are part of the I-70 study team. In Ohio, the idea of truck lanes is a bit of a pipe dream, as there is not much congestion on the route. Don't fear that public resources will pour into such a project -- it won't happen without tolls, and since the lanes aren't warranted, it won't happen at all.

Might be because the Nelsonville bypass was "shovel ready." It was ready to go when construction costs soared in 2003 - 06 timeframe and it had to be delayed (only the first phase was put out to bid). It might also qualify as an economically distressed area, which ODOT was trying to address per the legislation. Finally, Governor Strickland promised to build the Nelsonville bypass when he was campaigning for governor.

There is a video of ONN forum on the 3-c passenger rail plan here: http://www.onntv.com/live/content/onnstation/capitol_square.html Mayor Berger from Lima and Stu Nicholson of the Ohio Rail Development Commission did a very good job in explaining the concept and benefits of the scheme. No one would answer direct questions regarding the annual operating subsidy though. But all in all a pretty good discussion.