Along the road

Public Roads, July-August, 2003

Along the Road is the place to look for information about current and upcoming activities, developments, trends, and items of general interest to the highway community. This information comes from U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) sources unless otherwise indicated. Your suggestions and input are welcome. Let's meet along the road.

Policy and Legislation

USDOT Turns over TSA Reigns to Homeland Security

On March 1, 2003, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) moved out from under the umbrella of USDOT and now is managed by the Department of Homeland Security.

TSA, the creation of Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta and Deputy Secretary of Transportation Michael P. Jackson, was established on November 19, 2001, when President George W. Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in response to September 11, 2001.

"Creating TSA was by far the toughest, most challenging, and most satisfying endeavor I've ever undertaken," said Secretary Mineta. "Starting from a blank sheet of paper, we created an agency of more than 60,000 employees that is truly fulfilling its goal of protecting Americans as they travel across our country, and beyond."

Under Secretary of Transportation for Security Administration James M. Loy reported that TSA met 36 mandates set by Congress, including screening all passengers by the agency's first anniversary and all baggage by December 31, 2003. TSA is one of 22 Federal agencies being transferred to Homeland Security, the new Cabinet-level department led by Secretary Tom Ridge.

New Law Requires Headlights in Work Zones

On February 20, 2003, the Pennsylvania Acting State Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler announced that the Commonwealth's law now requires motorists to turn their vehicle headlights on when traveling through work zones, one of many new safety initiatives that Pennsylvania will adopt this year.

According to Biehler, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) is supplying all of its county maintenance forces with new signs to be placed at the entrances of most work zones to remind motorists to turn on their headlights. Municipalities and utility companies will use the new signs on many of their larger projects, particularly on high-speed roads.

According to PENNDOT, violating the law is punishable by a fine of $25 when signs are in place. PENNDOT will work closely with the Pennsylvania State Police to enforce the new law.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Management and Administration

High-Priority Project Approved in Louisiana

In January 2003, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Louisiana Division Administrator Tony Sussmann approved the Record of Decision (ROD) for the LA-1 highway project, representing a landmark effort in environmental streamlining and contributing to more efficient movement of both foreign and domestic oil supplies.

With the signing of the ROD, FHWA formally approved the environmental impact statement (EIS) for a $520 million improvement to LA-1 that calls for the construction of approximately 26 kilometers (16 miles) of four-lane, elevated highway from Golden Meadow to Port Fourchon, with a fixed high-level bridge at Bayou Lafourche in Leeville, LA. The project will replace a substandard two-lane road that is unreliable during Gulf storms and heavy rain events, and will maintain a critical link to the south Louisiana port that plays a large role in the shipment of oil.

As a result of prioritized environmental streamlining, the ROD was accomplished in approximately 3 years, which is about half the time it normally takes to process a project of this magnitude located in such an environmentally sensitive setting. FHWA and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LA DOTD) quickly resolved complex impacts involving wetlands, fish habitat, and marsh vegetation through close collaboration with other agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

According to LA DOTD Secretary Kam Movassaghi, LA-1 traverses the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary, one of the most diverse and fertile habitats in the world. "This marshland, which is part of America's wetlands, is a national treasure," he says. "No less important is that LA-1 is the access to another national treasure--the oil and gas reserves in the Gulf."

For more information, contact Michele Deshotels at LA DOTD at 225-379-1226, micheledeshotels@dotd.state.la.us, or Bill Farr at FHWA at 225-757-7615, william.farr@fhwa.dot.gov.

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

New Group Evaluates ITS Technologies

A new global working group, International Benefits Evaluation and Costs (IBEC), facilitates the exchange of information and techniques to evaluate the costs and benefits of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) throughout the world. The purpose of IBEC is to streamline international collaboration on techniques for evaluating ITS technologies, providing a focal point for discussion and debate on areas of interest to the international community and encouraging effective use of this information by decisionmakers.