Here are five things worth knowing today:
1. A revised Rhode Works plan to repair and reconstruct Rhode Island’s bridges and roads now includes a variety of tax credits and rebates for truckers, WPRI reports. The plan, put forth by Gov. Gina Raimondo, will borrow money to speed up the recovery of the state’s crumbling infrastructure and then pay that money back with revenue generated from truck tolls. The state’s DOT is calling the plan “fair and reliable,” while trucking groups feel the measure unfairly targets the industry.2. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold an 11 a.m. EDT media conference call announcing Phase 2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles. Janet McCabe, acting associate administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air, and NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind will host the call. Fleet Owner will have a story this afternoon. This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that President Barack Obama is set to propose new standards aimed at lowering fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions for heavy-duty trucks.3. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he believes a six-year transportation funding bill is “a great goal,” according to The Hill. Lawmakers are trying to come up with a way to pay for an extension of an infrastructure funding bill that is set to expire at the end of July. The Hill has more.
4. An Ohio nonprofit group, TRIP, released a study, which found the state needs billions of dollars worth of work on roads, highways and bridges in the greater Cincinnati area. According to Cincinnati’s WLWT 5, “The study found Cincinnati had the highest yearly average number of traffic fatalities in the state and the second largest amount of time lost in traffic.”
5. Connecticut Department of Transportation officials rolled out a website regarding the I-84 Waterbury Project to keep drivers up-to-date on the construction project and to help drivers determine how long they will be stuck in traffic, according to Eyewitness News 3. Real-time traffic updates surrounding the massive construction project are expected to help commuters, the report said. WFSB.com has more.
