After federal delays and political shifts, the state’s long-awaited broadband expansion is starting over with half the funding — leaving millions of Texans still offline and waiting.
The current transportation budget falls short of the state’s litany of needs. As lawmakers prepare to craft a major transit package next session, they will need to figure out how to increase revenue streams despite logistical and political challenges.
Future in Context
As ridership continues to lag amid a stubbornly slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, cities experiment with free rides and micromobility to prove public transit’s worth in worsening financial conditions.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to pull the plug on a congestion pricing plan for New York City was seen as a move calculated for advantage in the November elections, but it hasn’t made her many new friends.
Two of the best alternatives for user-paid infrastructure are toll roads and variable-fee express lanes. States with fast-growing populations are embracing toll projects because they can't wait for federal funding, and private capital is eager to invest.
A state House committee voted 8-3 to pass a cluster of bills that would devote billions over 10 years to Michigan’s economic development and transit. But Democrats will need at least one Republican to vote to pass the package.
A new commission appointed by Maine Gov. Janet Mills will explore ways to make state infrastructure more resilient to climate change.
In 2012, the city was spending five times more on sewers than it was on drinking water. In 2017, it was losing an increasing amount of water to leaky pipes. Last month’s crisis reiterated a history of jumping from crisis to crisis without fixing long-standing issues.
The Petroleum Products Corporation Superfund site in Pembroke Park acted as a dumping ground for an oil-processing and refining facility from 1957 to 1971. Now it’s one of the nation’s worst hazardous waste dumps.
Climate and weather disasters are more frequent and more costly. What can be done to keep insurers viable and property owners protected?
The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to have the Port of Baltimore’s main channel fully open by June 10. To meet the deadline, large pieces of the Key Bridge’s steel truss must be removed from the waterway to ensure boat safety.
A massive storm pummeled the state with strong winds and heavy rain, causing widespread destruction, impassable roads and the deaths of four residents. The state, 14 counties and five cities declared a state of emergency.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation awarded Safe Streets for All grants to 99 communities this month. The grants help fund planning and demonstration projects to reduce dangerous conflicts between road users.
The electricity company National Grid will invest billions over the next five years in an effort to achieve the state’s climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels.
Staff levels at Class I railroads declined about 28 percent between 2011 and 2021. Trains have also gotten longer, often reaching 2 or 3 miles long. Many are concerned that the combination poses a safety risk.
Many industry analysts are confident that the electric vehicle revolution will continue even if Biden is ousted in November. But some — including automakers themselves — are worried about how politics could endanger the EV future.
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