State DOTs
5 Things States Can Do to Bring Transportation Policy Out of the Stone Age
On its page commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Eisenhower signing the Federal Aid Highway Act, the Federal Highway Administration offers a "Then and Now" chart showing how much America has changed since 1956. It's a little corny, but in 1956 Chuck Berry was a chart-topper, hula hoops were the new craze, and Cold War tensions were very high. The point is the country has changed a lot since then.
January 22, 2016
Advice for State DOTs Looking for More Money: Spend Smarter
The Oregon Department of Transportation is in a tough spot after it tried to justify highway expansion projects by saying they would cut greenhouse gas emissions. ODOT's bogus claims helped sink a $350 million transportation funding package in the state legislature, and even some of the state's Republican lawmakers are calling for agency director Matt Garrett's head. What's a beleaguered state DOT to do?
November 30, 2015
3 Reasons Politicians Like Building New Roads More Than Fixing Old Ones
American transportation policy places a premium on delivering big, shiny new things.
September 1, 2015
Biking and Walking Get About as Much Research Funding as Chicken Trucks
When traffic engineers don't want to install protected bike lanes, they'll often say that more research is needed to prove their safety (because any results from outside America don't count, of course). But then when opportunities arise to study the safety of protected bike lanes, the engineering establishment doesn't take advantage. And so the cycle repeats itself.
May 12, 2015
You Can Help Make State DOTs Accountable for How They Spend
Pressure is mounting on the president and Congress to keep roads and bridges from falling apart by increasing transportation funding. But a big part of the problem is states, which receive the lion's share of federal transportation funds but opt to spend most on new roads, instead of maintaining existing infrastructure.
April 27, 2015
Meet the Man on a Mission to Make Florida Walkable and Bikeable
Billy Hattaway just might have the most challenging job in any American transportation agency. As the Florida Department of Transportation's lead official on bicycle and pedestrian safety, he's charged with making Florida -- consistently rated among the deadliest states for walking and biking -- safe for people to get around under their own power.
March 30, 2015
The American Highway Safety Establishment Warms Up Some Leftovers
A group of heavy hitters in the road building and traffic safety establishment recently came out with a plan called "Toward Zero Deaths" [PDF], presented as an ambitious strategy to cut traffic fatalities in America. But don't get too excited by the branding -- the ideas inside don't present much of a challenge to practices that have made the U.S. a shameful laggard on traffic safety compared to other affluent nations.
March 20, 2015
How the Lure of Spending Keeps Dumb Highway Projects Alive
Decades ago, Ohio officials drew a line on a map -- the Eastern Corridor, a highway for commuters living in Cincinnati's eastern suburbs. No matter how much time has passed and how little sense it makes to build that highway today, that line can still seem like destiny.
March 2, 2015
Wisconsin Dumps One Urban Highway Boondoggle in Favor of Another
One of the nation's most poorly conceived highway proposals will become slightly less ridiculous. Transportation officials in Wisconsin recently announced they will no longer consider double-decking a portion of Interstate 94 in Milwaukee. The billion-dollar project would have raised the highway to building height in the Story Hill neighborhood.
February 19, 2015
Cincinnati’s Eastern Corridor: The $1.4 Billion Road No One Seems to Want
The Eastern Corridor is an expensive state DOT highway project searching for a reason to exist.
January 27, 2015