JEFFERSON, LA. — The $1.2 billion widening of the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans — celebrated in a ceremony on June 17 — was completed approximately four months ahead of schedule and under budget. Expansion of the 1930s-era bridge began in April 2006 shortly after Hurricane Katrina and is the largest transportation construction project in the history of Louisiana. 

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald announced a new web-based process making contract documents for road and bridge projects available electronically to construction contractors. The new system allows the department to be more responsive to the contracting community, and creates a more efficient process for communicating project plans to the industry and responding to questions, she said. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nationally, nearly 2.6 billion trips were taken on public transportation in the first quarter of 2013, according to a report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). While this marked a decline of 1.9 percent from the 2012 first quarter, the 2013 first quarter ridership was 2.5 percent higher than the first quarter in 2011. 

CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) participated in a grand opening celebration of “The Gateway,” a colorful placemaking activation of a street median in Chicago’s downtown Loop that invites visitors and residents to explore the vibrant business and cultural district. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Congressional hearing in New York City highlighted the importance of the Northeast Corridor to Amtrak’s intercity passenger rail service. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure leaders called the corridor — Amtrak’s most valuable route — the kind of infrastructure that can be improved upon through smart investment and within existing, realistic budget levels. 

DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently released an updated pavement texture specification that responds to feedback from Colorado's drivers. CDOT's new specification revises its requirements for finishing portland cement concrete pavement (PCCP). The biggest change: To improve driver experience, CDOT decided to discontinue use of tining on all PCCP projects this year. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The amount of state money for public transit over the last five years has increased from $13.307 billion in Fiscal Year 2007 to $13.985 billion in FY 2011, according to the annual Survey of State Funding for Public Transportation — Final Report 2013, recently published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). 

LANHAM, MD. — The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) backs the recommendations released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the need for federal support to the states in their use of life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) for federal-aid highway projects. NAPA had proposed that GAO conduct this audit of state LCCA practices.