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Road Extension Project in the Works to Boost Illinois Freight Movement

August 1, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Houbolt Road Extension project is finally under way in Illinois as freight movement and traffic flow improvement efforts become a main area of focus for state officials.

Joliet, a large intermodal hub based 45 miles southwest of Chicago, will house the 1.5-mile extension of Houbolt Road through its public-private partnership. The extension includes a Des Plaines River-spanning tolled bridge and would offer a highly-needed connection in the form of two lanes of traffic running between a variety of intermodal facilities and Interstate 80. These lanes, which would run in each direction, would aid the heavily-used freight route along I-80 reaching from San Francisco to Teaneck, New Jersey.

Because there is more of an ease to the truck traffic and a closer proximity to I-80 in Will County than in downtown Chicago, Joliet has become a common destination for intermodal traffic in recent years, explained Matt Hart, the Executive Director of the Illinois Trucking Association. The trucks that would utilize the bridge linking the Houbolt Road route would be able to easily reach State Route 53 or Arsenal Road via Interstate 55 through this extension.

“We have been encouraging additional capacity there for a long time,” explained Hart. “This will add to the capacity. It will allow trucks better access to this area. That being said, it’s also a bridge that is going to be paid for by tolls on trucks. So, it will provide more capacity, but it’s going to come at a price.”

The city of Joliet will monitor the state-committed $32 million that has been dedicated to the project and will collaborate in these expansion efforts alongside the Illinois Department of Transportation. Industrial real estate firm CenterPoint Properties has been commissioned to construct and operate the new bridge.

“Today we joined CenterPoint Properties, Will County, and the city of Joliet to break ground on the Houbolt Road Extension,” said the Illinois Department of Transportation in a tweet last week. “The P3 efforts leverages a $32 million state contribution for an overall improvement of nearly $200 million, furthering Governor Pritzker’s vision to fix and modernize I-80.”

The bridge’s toll rates have yet to be decided upon; many trucking firms will likely pass costs for the tolls down to their customers, although they may initially want to try and avoid the toll bridge itself.

“I think that every trucking company is going to do their best to avoid the toll, just because that makes economic sense,” said Hart. “At the end of the day, every truck that’s on the highway is there because consumers need something or want something, and the consumers and the marketplace will require that it be delivered at the most cost-effective means possible.”

Because the Houbolt extension project is bringing boosted capacity, ITA, which typically opposes tolls implemented into existing highways, has decided to remain neutral in this circumstance (which it often does in regards to tolls helping to increase capacity). Still, ITA believes that the most effective way to increase infrastructure capabilities is through traditional user fees like a fuel tax. These administrative costs are usually lower than tolling fees, Hart added.

“I think, in the long term, you will see more trucking companies use that bridge and they will build the price off that toll into the cost of goods,” he said.

Construction for the project, which is scheduled to be finished by the year 2023, will help to reconfigure the interchange between Houbolt Road and Interstate 80. The investment into these efforts comes from Governor Jay Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois plan, which has been in place for the last couple of years and aims to help boost investment into bridge, transit, road, state park, education, historic state, and clean water infrastructure projects throughout the state.

“This project is just one of several major upgrades of I-80 in the coming years, thanks to the governor’s vision,” said Omer Osman, Secretary for Illinois Transportation. “The new bridge will link I-80 and the intermodal facilities in Will County, alleviate traffic congestion, make travel safer along a critical national corridor, and further strengthen the state’s economy.”

CenterPoint Intermodal Center is based in Joliet and its neighboring town of Elwood, and houses a large inland port and a main office space. According to Hart, many freight distribution centers and hubs have been making their homes throughout this Chicagoland location.

Diagnostic System Regulation Changes Approved by CARB

July 31, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Amendments to regulations pertaining to light-, medium-, and heavy-truck onboard diagnostic systems have been unanimously approved by the California Air Resources Board. This amendment would bring further data requirements, mandating that more data would need to be stored by OBD systems. Malfunction monitor issues would need to be immediately addressed, as well.

These changes would boost OBD system standardization regulations in an effort to adequately solve the issues regarding fault code number limitations that are able to be defined, as well as real-time diagnostic aspects that need improvements.

CARB’s annual smog check program, as well as its heavy-duty truck inspection and maintenance program, would see major upgrades from this amendment, which would bring an additional inspection tool to the programs themselves. The updates are set to be approved by the board by the end of the year.

“Board considers amendments to on-board diagnostic (OBD) system [regulations] requiring [boosted] data stored by OBD benefiting vehicle owners–ensuring malfunctions are promptly repaired, excess emissions [are lowered], and performance [is improved]” said CARB in a recent tweet.

The tweet also featured a graphic listing the reason for these changes, which stated that “program updates will occur regularly,” and listed these updates as occurring due to “technology forcing regulation,” that there will be “periodic reviews to check progress,” and notes the fact that the “last comprehensive OBD update” occurred in 2018. The graphic also mentioned that the “proposed changes address” the “need for more diagnostic information from vehicles, industry concerns,” and “issues discovered through OBD certification.”

The regulation regarding the smog test will require carriers operating in California–whether or not they are based in the state–to submit certified smog tests before crossing into California. Additionally, carriers would see extended timelines when they operate three or fewer trucks that are not compliant with these rules, and will have extended time for truck repairs to meet standards.

On August 3rd, CARB will host a public workshop to discuss pilot program details in regards to the proposed Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance program and to go over the new regulatory language at hand. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to offer feedback at this time, and the formal rule-making process is expected to begin as soon as October.

“California light- and medium-duty vehicles are required to meet very stringent emissions standards,” said Chairman Liane Randolph. “The emissions standards for heavy-duty engines have also become significantly more stringent.”

California is likely to implement the new smog check program as new operating requirements for the state as soon as 2023, ATA noted.

“The CARB workshop will be the last opportunity to give input before it’s formally proposed in October,” said California-based American Trucking Associations environmental researcher, Mike Tunnell. “They’re looking at using the OBD data as the evidence that your truck doesn’t have the malfunction indicator lamp on for any fault codes. That data would get sent to CARB to confirm that the truck is operating without any mechanical issues related to its emissions control system.”

These updates are long-awaited, as onboard diagnostics standards have not been updated since 2018, added CARB’s executive officer, Richard Corey.

“Since then, the agency’s staff has identified several changes that are needed to improve the effectiveness of the regulation, as well as its implementation,” he explained.

According to CARB, new scan tools will not be required for shops or mechanics through these upgrades, because existing hardware will have software updates installed in a timely manner. By model year 2023, vehicles will see early implementation of this updated technology, and model year 2025 models will be required to be equipped with this software

“OBDs have been incorporated in heavy-duty trucks since 2013,” said Tunnell. “It’s already part of the manufacturing process, and the requirements applying to them.”

Still, though, the industry needs to be careful to make sure all OBD provision changes made are clearly referenced in the OBD regulations, explained vice president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, Tia Sutton.

CARB should “take note of the multiple pending and overlapping programs, especially in cases where regulatory changes to one program would create conflicting or duplicative regulatory requirements with another program, as will be the case here,” she said.

Truck Driver Notification Efforts During Disruptive Events Need Major Improvements

July 30, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Now more than ever, as the trucking industry has made clear its prominent role in the American economy, truckers need to be in the loop regarding everything being done to help them out during a disruption event, explained Truck Specialized Parking Services trucking expert Scott Grenerth. Truck Specialized Parking Services offers drivers easily accessible truck parking availability information.

Grenerth spoke at a Federal Highway Administration-hosted webinar last week as part of the Talking Freight seminar series by FHWA, and has worked as both a company driver and owner-operator himself.

The importance of adequately communicating with drivers on the road was made especially clear when these truckers stepped up to the front lines in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Grenerth explained. When travel centers, rest stops, and stores themselves all shut down during stay-at-home orders, many truck drivers couldn’t find a place to park, rest, or even find food.

FHWA announced at the start of the pandemic that it would allow for food trucks to come to federally-funded interstate highway rest areas in an effort to help boost snack and meal options for truck drivers during that time. Many states quickly took advantage of this flexibility; however, a majority of over-the-road truck drivers, when surveyed, said that they had been unaware about the presence of these food trucks soon enough for them to take the necessary exit, even though FHWA had issued a notice to state departments of transportation about this new allowance.

Because of issues like this–which directly affect a truck driver’s wellbeing while on the road–Grenerth suggested that the FHWA find ways of improving methods of alerting drivers to what is available to them during challenging circumstances. This raised awareness could come through methods like signage hauled behind trucks on the freeway or overhead variable message signs, he said.

Additionally, not only would this kind of improved communication help drivers become quickly alerted to the resources and conveniences readily available, but they could also help alert truck drivers to the help they can get during severe flooding, wildfires, hurricanes, or other emergencies.

“We definitely just need to make sure that whatever comes up, like this kind of response, truckers know where they can get the help that they’re going to be seeking,” said Grenerth. “We just need to make sure they know about that.”

Many trucking companies have used the difficulties brought about the pandemic as motivation to boost in-company communication capabilities, with many fleets initiating regular town hall meetings amongst employees to keep everyone up-to-date on changes and updates within the industry and the company itself, others beginning to send out informative newsletters with helpful resources for employees, and others implementing mobile app platforms that allow drivers and fleet managers to stay regularly connected while truckers are on the road.

Additionally, many changes brought to the trucking industry during the pandemic era have lasted to today, according to Michigan State University associate professor of supply chain management, Jason Miller. These aspects include effects on truck stops, travel centers, and retail truck tonnage–which has reached higher levels this year in regards to freight movement than in 2018 or 2019.

“It ties into the challenges of [upsetting] the apple cart, and then we start to have a different mixture of freight taking place,” said Miller. “We have a mixture that is [made of] less manufacturing and substantially more retail. That creates a lot of disruptions.”

The pandemic has made addressing these disruptions vitally important, as the industry has already lost far too many truck drivers–74,000 more workers were employed in some capacity by the trucking industry in 2019 than in 2020.

“We’ve had demand rebound to near-record levels, but our number of long-distance drivers is down substantially from where we were even three years ago during that same time period of essentially record-high demand,” said Miller.

In fact, the local general freight sector has grown by 16,500 workers in May of 2021 as compared to May of 2018, although the number of folks working in the long-distance truckload sector and the long-distance less-than-truckload sector has dropped significantly.

1,273 CMVs Taken Off the Road After Unannounced Brake Safety Inspection Day

July 29, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Horizontal shot of a blue semi climbing a hill on an interstate highway in heavy traffic.

More than 1,200 commercial motor vehicles with critical brake violations were removed from American roadways by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s inspectors during a surprise one-day brake safety enforcement initiative.

10,091 inspections were unexpectedly inspected throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada near the end of May. This unannounced inspection event led to 1,273 vehicles being placed out-of-service.

“CVSA released its May 26th Brake Safety Day results,” said CVSA last week in a tweet. “Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. reported a total of 1,725 brake hoses [or] tubing violations–this year’s focus area–from the one-day, unannounced brake safety initiative.”

All data from this Brake Safety Day was thoroughly tracked and reported by inspectors and sent to the CVSA. This Brake Safety Day has been implemented as part of CVSA’s enforcement and inspection initiative for boosted road safety.

“We are sharing the results to call attention to the importance of commercial motor vehicle brake safety,” explained President of CVSA and Delaware State Police sergeant, John Samis.

Although the the transportation industry–and the trucking industry in particular–is well aware of the necessity for brakes to be up to standard at all times, vehicle out-of-service conditions are still mostly comprised of brake-related violations. Because of this, brake issues are continuing to be the most prevalent among commercial motor vehicles, according to the CVSA. Additionally, during 2020’s three-day International Roadcheck driver and vehicle enforcement safety event, brake system violations were the most common vehicle out-of-service category.

The safety operation was conducted by 42 U.S. jurisdictions, six Canada jurisdictions, and Mexico’s National Guard and Ministry of Communications. 8,658 inspections were conducted throughout the United States, 946 were conducted throughout Canada, and 487 were conducted throughout Mexico. The overall out-of-service brake-related violation rate throughout the continent of North America was 12.6%–With 13.3% of violations being brake-related in the United States, and in Canada and Mexico–11.4% and 2.9%, respectively. The United States, of course, had the most overall violations, with 1,151 vehicles taken off the country’s roadways after these inspections.

In addition to these issues, inspectors collected data in relation to brake hoses and tubing, a category requested to be inspected specifically by the CVSA in regards to a variety of brake hose and tubing chafing violations, but not out-of-service violations. North America saw 1,725 brake hose and tubing violations during the inspection initiative, with the United States reporting 1,288, Canada reporting 251, and Mexico reporting 186.

“Brake hoses and tubing are essential brake system components and must be properly attached, undamaged, without leaks, and flexible,” explained Samis. “We chose to focus on brake hoses and tubing this year in an effort to reduce deaths and injuries as a result of commercial motor vehicle brake system failures from pressure or vacuum loss due to brake hosing and tubing deficiencies.”

The data submitted on brake hose and tubing chafing violations included four distinct categories. Category 1 saw 664 commercial motor vehicles having brake hose and tubing wear reaching the brakes’ outer protective material; Category 2 saw 509 commercial motor vehicles that had chafing which extended through the brake hose or tubing’s outer protective material and into the outer rubber cover; Category 3 saw 275 commercial motor vehicles with brake hose or tubing wear with reinforcement ply visible, although the ply may have still been intact; and Category 4 saw 169 commercial motor vehicles with visible reinforcement ply that was severed, frayed, or completely cut through.

Although Brake Safety Day is a unannounced, surprise brake safety initiative implemented by the CVSA, Brake Safety Week is held annually and the alliance does indeed announce the dates for those inspections in advance.

“This year’s Brake Safety Week is scheduled for August [22nd through the 28th],” said the CVSA in a recent tweet. “Throughout the week, inspectors will conduct North American Standard Inspections of commercial motor vehicles, focusing on the vehicles’ brake systems and components.”

Kentucky, Wisconsin Issue Boosted Funding for Major Transportation Projects

July 28, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

$500,000 in grants to boost river port equipment replacement and other critical repairs is in the works to help the state of Kentucky’s freight movement, announced Governor Andy Beshear this month.

These grants will be allocated to give particular river port operators–those in Louisville, Owensboro, Hickman, Paducah, and Eddyville–funds that will be matched by port authorities and will aid in funding bulk material-processing equipment.

“Kentucky’s river ports play a vital role in the flow of freight across our waterways,” said Jim Gray, Transportation Cabinet Secretary. “These funds will go a long way to upgrade daily operations and spur economic opportunities.”

The Louisville-Jefferson County Riverport Authority was granted the largest award of $178,803 to help in a rail line construction project that will reach a length of 1,775 feet and bypass the highly-congested outer rail loop in the area. This new rail line will hopefully boost rail traffic movement, efficiency, and safety.

The Hickman-Fulton County Riverport Authority will receive $136,265 to replace a bulk material-loading, 40-year-old front-end loader with a new model accessible between barges and trucks. The Eddyville Riverport and Industrial Development Authority has also been granted around $126,500 for main loading dock reparations in order to help prevent corrosion-related issues pertaining to the dock’s steel components; efforts will include adding new concrete fenders, installing new steel plates, replacing currently-eroded dock tieback rods, and grouting any empty spaces in the dock itself.

$34,807 will be allocated to the Owensboro Riverport Authority to buy a new bulk product-handling compact track loader, and $23,625 will be granted to the Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority to buy a bulk product-transferring clamshell bucket to replace its currently aging equipment.

“From roads to river ports, quality transportation systems are vital to support a thriving economy,” said Beshear. “This investment in our river ports will improve operations to move cargo more efficiently and safely.”

The Kentucky Water Transportation Advisory Board recommended these particular awards, and the board not only assesses requests for river port grants themselves, but also suggests future economic growth-enhancing steps to boost the state’s waterways and river ports in general.

Also announcing financial assistant grants is the state of Wisconsin, which recently expressed its intent to distribute $160.2 million throughout the state for transportation projects.

This is the third quarterly transportation fund allocation offered to local government agencies this year; Wisconsin sites and towns have been receiving quarterly payments every three months throughout 2021.

“Support for local governments’ transportation projects keeps goods and services moving throughout Wisconsin,” said Craig Thompson, Secretary-Designee for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. “We are committed to investing wisely and working cooperatively to build good transportation solutions that support safety, economic development, and our quality of life.”

The General Transportation Aids program is an effort to offer state aid in response to county and municipal road construction, traffic operation, and maintenance costs. Typically, this funding comes from state vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes.

$156.9 million of these funds were granted to local government groups as General Transportation Aids, $3 million was granted to 116 eligible cities through Connecting Highway Aids, and $255,975 was granted for Expressway Policing Aids in Milwaukee County.

Now, the Connecting Highway Aids program helps with maintenance costs regarding segment-connecting roads throughout Wisconsin’s highway system. Specifically, the program is able to offer funds to local governments for municipal street-routed traffic costs. These “connecting highways” are explained by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation as consisting of the local roads and streets routing state highway traffic through state towns and cities.

This boost in assistance funding comes as part of $465 million in new transportation project funding allocated through the 2019-2020 Wisconsin state budget. This budget, in addition to the General Transportation Aids Assistance’s 10% increase, included $320 million in State Highway Rehabilitation program funding as well as an additional one-time grant of $90 million for the state’s Local Roads Improvement Program.

Driver Conviction Notification Rules Often Ignored by Many U.S. States, DOT Says

July 27, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

States have been falling short of the requirement to promptly submit their electronic conviction notifications to federal regulators, according to a recent audit by the Department of Transportation Inspector General.

“States did not timely transmit electronic conviction notifications 17 percent of the time,” noted the audit. “Specifically, we estimate that states of conviction did not timely transmit 18 percent of 2,182 major offenses and 17 percent of 23,628 serious traffic violations in our universe.”

Additionally, there are not sufficient quality control methods in place in regards to determining whether or not state commercial driver’s license programs meet federal requirements under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s current annual review process, the audit added. As of now, states must disqualify the commercial driver’s license of drivers who have faced convictions of serious traffic violations, major criminal offenses, or other serious violations, as mandated by the federal regulations presently in place.

“Major offenses warranting disqualification include convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or committing a felony with a motor vehicle,” the audit explained. “Serious traffic violations, such as excessive speeding or reckless driving, require disqualification if the second offense occurs within three years of the first.”

Disqualifying particularly unfit or unsafe drivers from operating commercial motor vehicles and overall prevention of large truck and bus crashes is the main goal of the FMCSA’s oversight regarding state commercial driver’s license programs, said the audit.

“While FMCSA has established annual program reviews to monitor state compliance, those reviews have gaps in the oversight of CDL disqualifications,” explained the document. “These weaknesses may limit FMCSA’s ability to keep unsafe CDL drivers off the road and enhance public safety.”

When states fail to take adequate action in these circumstances, further unsafe–or even deadly–incidents can take place, such as that cited in an example offered by the audit. In June of 2019, a Massachusetts-licensed commercial driver was involved in a deadly New Hampshire accident in which seven motorcyclists were killed. This incident occurred in fewer than six weeks following Connecticut’s decision to finally suspend his driver’s license after the driver initially refused to undergo chemical drug testing.

“A subsequent internal investigation conducted by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles concluded the driver’s commercial driver’s license would have been revoked before the crash if the Registry of Motor Vehicles had followed its own procedures for processing out-of-state driver notifications,” explained the July audit. “Furthermore, RMV was not systematically processing paper notifications it received from other states. This traffic incident illustrates the importance of timeliness in processing driver convictions.”

States must notify other states regarding their convictions through the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators’ Commercial Driver’s License Information system system within 10 days. This traffic conviction notification is sent directly to the state in which the convicted driver is licensed. The Inspector General’s audit also added that states are able to mail physical paper conviction notifications as well.

“In either case, under federal requirements, states of conviction have 10 days to send a traffic conviction notification to the state of record, which, in turn, has 10 days to process the conviction and post it to the driver’s record,” noted the audit.

Some mistakes made by various states regarding these regulations were also noted in the audit, such as when Pennsylvania convicted a commercial driver based in Ohio for a hit-and-run incident, but later underwent an administrative hearing regarding the disputed parts of the conviction itself. Because of this, although Pennsylvania completed the judicial process, the state of Ohio did not disqualify the driver. FMCSA found this to be in violation of the federal regulations at hand.

“One state, Louisiana, did not impose the appropriate disqualification for a paper-based traffic conviction until we inquired about it,” said the Inspector General in the audit. “In this example, an individual was eventually disqualified from driving commercial vehicles for life. However, Louisiana took 432 days from conviction to update of the driver record to disqualify the driver.”

Because of incidents like these, as well as many states deciding to allow drivers to face a shorter disqualification time than required by federal law (by backdating the disqualification period to before the state of conviction notification date), Inspector General auditors have presented seven recommendations to FMCSA consisting of methods in which the agency can boost its commercial driver’s license program monitoring.

So far, FMCSA is in agreement with these recommendations.