Highways & Byways

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 48

1 2 3 Next >>

August 2008
- Investors Eye Airports, Bridges, Roads
  
  New York Times | Aug 27, 08 10:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Weary of investments infected by the subprime contagion, investors are looking to purchase and operate some more substantial assets: the nation’s bridges, toll roads, and airports, reports the New York Times . Goldman Sachs, KKR, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse are among those who have stockpiled some $250 billion for infrastructure projects, and public officials, beset by budget woes, increasingly are opening their arms to them. More »
- States Consider Leasing Roads as Upkeep Takes Toll
  
  Wall Street Journal | Aug 26, 08 2:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With Pennsylvania legislators set to vote next month on a $12.8 billion deal that would put the 537-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike under private operation, such public-private partnerships are accelerating across the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Often bankrolled by infrastructure funds—which have $160 billion under management—the projects provide relief to states hamstrung by ballooning budget deficits. More »
July 2008
- Cash Tolls Race Toward Extinction
  
  USA Today | Jul 28, 08 7:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cash toll booths are going the way of the Model T as "open-road tolling"—which lets drivers pay electronically without having to slow for booths or gates—gains traction, reports USA Today . Supporters say killing the cash-based system cuts down on everything from congestion to pollution to the amount of land required to build toll plazas. More »
June 2008
- Surplus Signs Driving Motorists to Distraction
  
  Atlantic Monthly | Jun 11, 08 2:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Drivers in America are often confronted with a forest of signs reminding them of speed limits and traffic control measures—but the overwhelming information may be making roadways more dangerous, John Staddon writes in the Atlantic . The glut of reminders can take drivers' attention away from the road and dull their judgment, resulting in more accidents. More »
- Fuel Prices Drive Spanish Truckers to Protest
  
  EiTB24 | Jun 9, 08 4:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Spanish truck drivers went on strike at midnight to protest skyrocketing fuel prices, erecting blockades across the country and snarling traffic on the border with France, the EiTB network reports. Drivers who attempted to continue operating found their tires slashed, windshields smashed and headlights destroyed. Fuel prices in Spain have risen more than 35% this year. More »
March 2008
- 2003 Photos Reveal Flaws in Collapsed Minn. Bridge
  
  Minneapolis Star Tribune | Mar 24, 08 6:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Gusset plates on the Minnesota bridge that collapsed this summer already showed signs of weakness in 2003 photos just released by the National Transportation Safety Board, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune . Two bowed plates were located at junctions already suspected by investigators to be the first points of failure in the deadly collapse, and had been previously reported as “under-designed” by authorities. More »
- Icy Roads? Beet Juice Just the Right Tonic
  
  Chicago Tribune | Mar 14, 08 6:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Road workers in the Chicago area are shaking up their winter ice-busting cocktail with an odd new mixer: beet juice. Sanitation officials are pleased with the combination, which reduces the necessary rock salt (harmful to plants and water supplies) by up to 30% and is effective at temperatures far lower than salt alone, the Chicago Tribune reports. More »
January 2008
- State Tolls Rising—Some by 50%
  
  USA Today | Jan 28, 08 7:28 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - As subprime fallout ripples across the country, several states are planning to increase road, bridge, and tunnel tolls, and not by mere pennies, USA Today reports. The George Washington Bridge, for example—which lets New Jerseyites into the Big Apple—will raise its rush hour price from $5 to $8 for cars, and $35 for trucks. One official defended the move, saying, "People view highways as free, but they're not." More »
- Big Dig's Big Mess Nets Big Settlement
  
  Boston Herald | Jan 23, 08 6:34 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Contractors on the botched Boston construction project dubbed the Big Dig will pay state and federal authorities $458 million for its “gross failures.” But Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff will avoid criminal charges for a fatal 2006 ceiling collapse and won’t be banned from future government contracts, the Boston Herald reports. Massachusetts attorney general Martha Coakley called it “the best possible solution.” More »
- Amtrak Deal Prevents Strike
  
  Associated Press | Jan 18, 08 5:03 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Amtrak struck a deal with nine of its labor unions today, heading off a potentially catastrophic strike that was scheduled to begin at the end of the month, the AP reports. Union members still must ratify the specifics, but sources say the deal grants the unions full payment of back wages while giving Amtrak none of its desired concessions on work rules. More »
- Bridge Had Fatal Design Flaw
  
  Associated Press | Jan 15, 08 11:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Minneapolis bridge that failed last summer, killing 13 people, had fatal design flaws, the NTSB announced today. Steel gusset plates that held together beams on the eight-lane bridge were half the thickness they should have been, investigators found. While the agency didn't say the gusset plates caused the collapse,16 fractured plates were discovered on the center span, which collapsed during the evening rush hour Aug. 1, AP reports. More »
December 2007
- Boston's $14.8B 'Big Dig' All Dug
  
  Associated Press | Dec 26, 07 3:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The most complicated and expensive highway project in American history is finally complete, AP reports. After 16 years of excavating and building, the ambitious "Big Dig" tunnel project under Boston will be turned over to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority January 1. The final price tag was $14.8 billion—$12 billion over the first estimate in 1982. More »
November 2007
- Trucks Pack on Illegal Pounds
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Nov 15, 07 1:17 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - More American truckers are carrying illegally heavy loads, looking to offset diminished manpower and skyrocketing fuel prices—and light fines encourage cheating, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With road damage at issue following August's Minnesota bridge collapse, 30% of trucks are reportedly overloaded—and each of the 8 million tractor-trailers on US roads has the impact of 5,000 cars. More »
- Two Die in 100-Car Calif. Pileup
  
  Associated Press | Nov 3, 07 5:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - About 100 cars collided today on a foggy freeway near Fresno, Calif., killing two and injuring dozens, the AP reports. A 6-year-old boy and 28-year-old man died in separate cars and more than three dozen were sent to hospital. Police closed the road to probe the crash, but officials say that seasonal “Tule fog” is the likely cause. “There was probably two-foot visibility when I got here,” said one. “It was really bad.” More »
October 2007
- Hit the Road, Jack—or You Can Lease It
  
  Time | Oct 24, 07 11:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Cruising the Goldman Sachs Turnpike might not be as futuristic as it seems, Time reports, as more states lease highways to private companies to raise quick cash for infrastructure needs. And backlash didn't stop Indiana from grabbing $3.8 billion for a 75-year lease on the Indiana Toll Road. States and localities are considering 71 such projects, worth $104 billion. More »
- I-5 Reopens After Gruesome Pileup
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 15, 07 6:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Some California I-5 lanes reopened today after Friday's massive 15-truck pileup, but police still haven't assessed blame for the blaze. One trucker phoned a friend after slamming into a semi in the tunnel, the Los Angeles Times reports; he described a fire, vehicles exploded and the line went dead. Police say 3 died in the fire, including a 6-year-old boy. More »
- Deadly Truck Inferno Shuts I-5
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 14, 07 5:27 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Firefighters were continuing to advance into a highway tunnel on California's Interstate 5 yesterday after a deadly five-truck inferno melted metal and blasted chunks of concrete off tunnel walls. The devastation made it likely that the state's major artery would be shut for days. At least three people died and 10 were injured in the big rig pileup Friday night. More »
September 2007
- Teamsters to Mexican Truckers: Hit the Road, Jack
  
  Associated Press | Sep 7, 07 3:49 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Teamsters are protesting the launch this week of a program allowing Mexican trucks to travel anywhere in the US, rather than just 20 miles inside the border. Union officials argue that Mexican trucks aren't safe because they're subject to different environmental and in

News Sections

Newser Specials

Stories

Investors Eye Airports, Bridges, Roads

States Consider Leasing Roads as Upkeep Takes Toll

Cash Tolls Race Toward Extinction

Surplus Signs Driving Motorists to Distraction

Fuel Prices Drive Spanish Truckers to Protest

2003 Photos Reveal Flaws in Collapsed Minn. Bridge

Icy Roads? Beet Juice Just the Right Tonic

State Tolls Rising—Some by 50%

Big Dig's Big Mess Nets Big Settlement

Amtrak Deal Prevents Strike

Bridge Had Fatal Design Flaw

Boston's $14.8B 'Big Dig' All Dug

Trucks Pack on Illegal Pounds

Two Die in 100-Car Calif. Pileup

Hit the Road, Jack—or You Can Lease It

I-5 Reopens After Gruesome Pileup

Deadly Truck Inferno Shuts I-5

Teamsters to Mexican Truckers: Hit the Road, Jack