Schinnerer's RM Blog - highways tag

Roads in Wisconsin

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:50:00 GMT

A new research report provided by the State Smart Transportation Initiative and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin details the sources of funding for Wisconsin highways and roads. The report aims to clear up some of the misconceptions people have about how transportation is funded. The report discusses the fact that roads in Wisconsin are not just paid for by users (through gas tax, tolls, and licensing). Rather, they are heavily subsidized by taxpayers. Between 2004 and 2008, roads in Wisconsin cost an average of $4.24 billion annually. $1.74 billion came from revenue sources unrelated to road use, such as property and sales taxes. Read the full report here.

Superstreet Traffic Design

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:35:00 GMT

Anyone who has felt the frustration that accompanies battling traffic to drive to work can smile at this news—engineers are working on making your drive faster and safer. One possible solution is something called a “superstreet” traffic design. The superstreet design re-routes any driver looking to make a left-hand turn or trying to cross a thoroughfare, funneling them to the right before they make a quick U-turn around a broad median.

A recent study performed by North Carolina State University researchers showed that the superstreet design results in a 20 percent overall reduction in travel time compared to conventional traffic designs. The researchers also found that the superstreet design is substantially safer than traditional intersections. Superstreet intersections experienced 46 percent fewer car collisions, and 63 percent fewer collisions that resulted in personal injuries.

The savings in time can be attributed to drivers not being stuck waiting to make left hand turns, or not having to wait for traffic from cross-streets to cross the thoroughfare. Superstreets do a better job of keeping traffic moving. The increased safety can be attributed to drivers not having to turn, from a standstill, across several lanes of traffic that are moving in the opposite direction.

While the superstreet design has actually been around for two decades, this was the largest analysis of superstreets ever performed in real traffic conditions.

Transportation Bill Expiring

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 14:44:51 GMT

The latest extension of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the funding and authorization bill that has governed the U.S. federal transportation spending since 2005, will expire at the end of this year. The problem is, there is currently no reauthorization or successor to the bill. This has the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) concerned. The AGC wants action to be taken.

U.S. Transportation Infrastructure Needs Improving

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:16:50 GMT

In September 2009, 80 transportation experts met for three days to discuss the transportation infrastructure in the United States, and their conclusions are troubling, to say the least. The highly-credentialed group concluded that if innovative reforms are not undertaken soon, the U.S. transportation infrastructure will lag so far behind other superpowers such as China, Russia, and European nations that it will lead to an erosion of social and economic foundations for American prosperity. The group believes that an additional $134 billion to $262 billion must be spent per year through 2035 in order to improve all aspects of the transportation infrastructure.

Where will the money come from? Clearly, new sources of funds will have to be found. The group suggested that a major increase in the federal gas tax could boost revenue in the short term, but in the long term Americans may have to pay one or two cents per every mile they drive, which would generate the revenue necessary for a long term investment in transportation infrastructure.

The report indicates that there will be a change in how transportation infrastructure is funded, procured, and maintained. This will change the risk profile of firms that perform infrastructure design.