Transportation

Cybersecurity Big Focus for Senate Following Pipeline Attack

August 3, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

To boost overall security operations after a serious cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, The U.S. Senate’s freight committee leaders are currently calling upon the Biden administration, private industry stakeholders, and congressional colleagues to take swift action.

Cyberattacks of this caliber are potentially able to shut down all infrastructure operations, and the threat of such an event is still a major risk for the country, explained Maria Cantwell, Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman. With several states undergoing a large disruption in regards to their petroleum materials during May’s Colonial Pipeline cyberattack–an event which hurt the nation’s economy–cybersecurity clearly needs some major improvements.

The Colonial Pipeline had to pay around $4.4 million to be able to restart its systems after the cyberattack affected its 5,500 miles of pipe which transport around 100 million gallons of fuel every day. Additionally, federal agencies have been recently cyberattacked by SolarWinds Russian intelligence, and Microsoft Exchange users were recently targeted in the ‘Hafnium’ attack. Other municipal and state agencies have been victims of cyberattacks recently, as well.

“The rapid growth in the number and sophistication of cyberattacks is the alarm bell ringing about the need to immediately bolster the cybersecurity of our critical infrastructure,” said Chairwoman Cantwell in a recent Senate hearing.

Because the nation’s infrastructure is indeed at risk, the federal government needs to bring options quickly in regards to solving this massive issue, she added.

“The federal government should be part of the solution,” Cantwell continued. “We need to bring about critical infrastructure investments in technology that can help the electricity grid and companies secure their networks from these kinds of intrusions.”

Both Cantwell and Senator Roger Wicker noted that there is effective legislation in the works that could help improve overall protections of the pipeline. Wicker currently serves as the panel’s ranking member and explained that public-private collaborations meaning to bring boosted safety to infrastructure networks and pipeline operations, as well as interagency operability, could have major benefits for overall protection against cyberattacks and to the pipeline itself.

“As the federal government considers ways to improve the cybersecurity framework of the pipeline sector, it will be increasingly important for the public and private sectors to coordinate their efforts more closely,” Wicker said. “Coordination between government and industry is needed to improve information sharing about emerging cyber threats and best practices to address them. Industry [experts] should also build strong relationships with their regulators and law enforcement to increase that collaboration.”

In an effort to indeed prevent cyber attacks like that endured by the Colonial Pipeline, U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary, Polly Trottenberg, noted that the Department of Transportation is working with other agencies to find the best methods of doing so. In fact, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is working to bolster enforcement and inspections across its countrywide operations, especially to monitor pipeline control rooms, improve emergency response plans, and revise integrity management plan requirements within the agency.

“The Colonial Pipeline cybersecurity incident spotlighted the importance of trust and timely information sharing, as well as public and private sector partnership in transportation cybersecurity,” Trottenberg told senators. “It also underscored that we need to keep learning and adapting quickly to meet increasingly complex and sophisticated cybersecurity challenges.”

She noted that collaborative efforts are key in making these improvements become successful and long-lasting.

“DOT will continue to work across the federal government and with the private sector to advance the cybersecurity of the pipelines that fuel and sustain our nation,” she added.

President Biden has issued an executive order following the pipeline attack to bring about strengthened federal capabilities regarding cybersecurity; the order began these efforts by establishing a cybersecurity safety review board. Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration is working to further evaluate and integrate cybersecurity across the entire transportation sector and within other agencies aligned with the industry, according to the agency’s administrator, David Pekoske.

“The pipeline system is crucial to U.S. national security, transportation, and our energy supply,’ Pekoske said. “These pipelines provide connections to other critical infrastructure upon which we depend, such as power plants and the aviation gasoline fuel supply for airplanes.”

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.

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.

Northeast Corridor Improvement Plan Finally in the Works

July 24, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A 15-year rail improvement plan has been initiated by a coalition of transportation organizations, along with Amtrak, while Congress continues to work toward an infrastructure package agreement.

The plan would bring upgrades to the highly-congested Northeast Corridor in an effort to improve current daily train routes and travel speeds along Acela express lines. However, this plan is only likely to become successful if Congress is able to pass a significant infrastructure spending plan.

The plan, set forth by the Northeast Corridor Commission (a group implemented by Congress in 2008), could be a “mobilizing force” for overall transit updates, and the potential changes that could be made throughout the 450-mile-long rail corridor could boost travel trends and steer them away from fuel-emitting vehicles “as our economy returns to full strength.” It could also help to create around 1.7 million new jobs, according to Federal Railroad Administration deputy administrator and Northeast Corridor commission co-chair, Amit Bose.

President Biden’s original bipartisan infrastructure deal would have offered $80 billion for rail over eight years, with $39 billion allocated directly to the corridor. However, the current Senate bipartisan deal offers $66 billion for rail, although experts aren’t sure exactly how much of that could over the 15-year, $100 billion regional plan.

“The corridor supports more than 800,000 daily passenger trips between the greater Washington, D.C. and Boston regions,” explained commission co-chairman and New Jersey Transit president and CEO, Kevin Corbett. “It is imperative that together, we seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to replace aging assets, add rail capacity, [and] improve performance.”

An $11 billion initiative to upgrade and repair the century-old Hudson River tunnels feeding into New York City would be feasible under this plan, which would serve around 200,000 Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passengers who use these routes every weekday. The plan would also bring funding to long-awaited traffic improvement projects along the corridor, and safety-focused projects for this route would be fast-tracked as well–even being able to begin construction as soon as 2025.

The Trump administration had deemed this project as being too high in cost, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has already voiced his support for these improvements.

Other projects under the plan include expansions to rail stations in New York City; Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; Stamford, Connecticut; and Providence, Rhode Island; as well as the rail line within Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel would also receive funding for improvement projects, as it is currently a major chokepoint for Amtrak and MARC trains running near Baltimore Penn Station. As of now, trains have to slow to 30 miles per hour in the 1.4-mile, two-track tunnel, where the large amount of water in the soil under the tracks often cause floor slabs to sink. New replacement tunnels built through Amtrak and Maryland’s $4 billion plan would allow trains to move at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour through this area.

“The investments in infrastructure laid out in this plan will lead to more modern, reliable, and faster trains, expanded service, and a better customer experience–that will benefit customers, economies, and local communities along the entire Northeast Corridor and beyond,” noted Amtrak president, Stephen Gardner.

By 2035, this plan could boost daily Amtrak service by 33%, double commuter railroad capacity, add 60 million new rail trips each year, and reduce overall travel time from New York to Boston on Acela by 28 minutes and from Washington to New York by 26 minutes. Annual travel time savings within the Northeast Corridor through this plan would be valued at around $140 million.

“For the first time, we have a unified region behind a plan,” added the commission’s executive director, Mitch Warren. “It’s a big step forward for the corridor.”

He may be right–Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised to acquire congressional money for the Hudson River Tunnel project, and the bipartisan deal will likely cover $20 billion for the Northeast Corridor project. The commission approves of Congress’ proposed spending and regards it as a good starting place, and adds that if all of its proposed projects are able to reach completion, the travel time saved and positive environmental impacts will be well worth the money.

New Surface Transportation Bill Introduced by Republicans

June 16, 2021 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

The Surface Transportation Advanced Through Reform, Technology, and Efficient Review (STARTER) Act 2.0 is likely to replace an expiring highway law. This legislation would allocate $400 billion over five years for surface transportation programs.

On May 19th, Republican lawmakers released the outline of the bill, which would implement or extend programs for the trucking industry, autonomous technology, self-driving vehicles, and overall highway funding.

The bill would also work to make the process easier in regards to federal environmental permitting as part of the surface transportation proposal backed by Democrats. Such a highway policy bill aligns with the infrastructure-related plans of the Biden Administration, and the House transportation panel’s Democrats are likely to assess their version of the bill by the end of May.

“Our bill focuses on the core infrastructure that helps move people and goods through our communities every single day, cuts red tape that holds up project construction, and gets resources into the hands of our states and locals with as few strings attached as possible,” explained chief sponsor of the bill, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member Sam Graves of Missouri.

Many supporters of the bill have noted its capacity to draw backing from both parties.

“As the process for considering legislation on infrastructure moves forward, I am eager to see these proposals become part of a robust bipartisan effort, just as the president continues to call for,” Graves added.

The measure also aims to set forth an efficient infrastructure grants program, as well as mandate that organizations create an environmental review permitting timetable. It would also work toward updating the current national highway freight plan.

“Streaming the federal permitting and environmental review process absolutely must be a part of an infrastructure package,” Rodney Davis, ranking member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, noted.

For states looking to find ways to fully optimize truck parking capabilities, the bill could also boost the resources available. Additionally, it could also implement an interstate driving training program for commercial driver’s license holders between the ages of 18 and 20–an initiative that would also create higher standards for carriers’ best practices.

For livestock haulers and farm operations, this legislation would also be able to increase hours-of-service regulation flexibility and allocate specific funding solely to programs based in rural regions.

To do this, the bill “provides greater flexibility and supports greater mobility in rural areas by increasing the federal share of project costs for projects located in qualified opportunity zones, in medically underserved areas, or areas with medically underserved populations,” explaining a summary of the measure.

Through this legislation, the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) grant program regarding the aid of areas affected by natural disasters would come into play, as would a nationwide vehicle-miles-traveled fee system and a connected vehicle applications-based competitive grant program.

“This legislation puts true transportation infrastructure first and prioritizes building a resilient transit system,” explained co-sponsor of the bill and ranking member of the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee, Rick Crawford of Arkansas.

For committee chairman Peter DeFazio, the ideal version of the legislation would set forth mobility grid upgrades–especially in regards to transit systems. For his five-year 2015 highway law update, DeFazio recommends $100 billion for transit state-of-good repair criteria needing attention.

“America is facing serious challenges: crumbling infrastructure, the threat of climate change, inequality and racial justice, a rising China that threatens our domestic workforce and manufacturing,” he explained. “We can’t solve these problems by doing the status quo.”

Still, Republicans want to focus on surface transportation policies and have been collaborating with the White House to determine the best courses of actions in regards to funding and infrastructure policy negotiations.

“We believe we can find a bipartisan deal on infrastructure,” said President Biden. “But we’ve made one thing clear: We’ll compromise, but doing nothing is not an option.”

Senate Republicans recently released their strategy which would center upon a $600 billion policy plan, while Biden’s plan requests $2.25 trillion and aims to do acquire such funding by boosting corporate taxes.