PHIA News Digest – Vol. 27
At the Intelligent Transportation Society meeting, the future of transportation looks bright
Americans waste what amounts to 162 lifetimes per day sitting in traffic, and Google’s self-driving car could ameliorate that while improving safety, said Google’s Chris Urmson at the Intelligent Transportation Society (ITS) meeting. Much of the conference revolved around cars – especially autonomous vehicles and connected autos – and driving infrastructure. There are tools to monitor bridges for safety and functionality, robots to inspect them, smart traffic signals that can sense traffic and adapt accordingly for a more efficient commute.
The conference painted the future of transportation as big data, more connectivity, and new high-tech tools.
ITS works to improve transportation through research and development of technology, and the meeting, held in Pittsburgh this week, brought together transportation system officials, government administrators, and university and private sector researchers from around the world to talk shop and coo over case studies.
Construction in Public-Private Bridge Replacement Project to begin this month
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Leslie S. Richards today announced that construction on the Rapid Bridge Replacement Program, a public-private partnership (P3) with Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners (PWKP), is starting this month.
Through the project, the PWKP team will replace 558 bridges across the state within 36 months. The commonwealth retains ownership of the bridges, but the team is responsible for maintaining each bridge for 25 years after its replacement.
Dangerous roads wait for a fix
Residents Helga Becking, Gail Darcy, and Joyce VanNest were happy to hear that Sawkill was going to get the resurfacing it so desperately needs. But they believe resources have since been diverted to Wilson or some other road. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says it’s doing the best it can with limited resources, lurching from one crisis to another. Sawkill Road won’t even be considered for bidding until 2016.
Sawkill Road is falling apart. In many places, the center is as much as 20 inches higher than the edges. The women say they can’t avoid the gullies on either side of the sloping road, especially when it’s covered with ice and snow. A vehicle could easily slip off into the road below, or tumble into a gully, or both, they say.
