WASHINGTON, D.C. —No matter how you slice it, the outlook for the 2012 transportation construction market is mixed, the American Road & Transportation Builders Association's (ARTBA) senior economist said in releasing her annual economic forecast during a 90-minute webinar for Wall Street analysts and construction industry executives.

  LOS ANGELES — A majority of Americans believe new transportation projects should be paid for with user-fees instead of tax increases, according to a new national Reason-Rupe poll of 1,200 adults on cell phones and land lines. The Reason-Rupe poll finds 77 percent of Americans oppose increasing the federal gas tax, while just 19 percent favor raising the tax, which is currently 18.4 cents a gallon.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-six transportation projects in 33 states and Puerto Rico will receive a total of $511 million from the third round of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) popular TIGER program. The announcement comes months ahead of schedule, and will allow communities to move forward with critical, job-creating infrastructure projects including road and bridge improvements; transit upgrades; freight, port, and rail expansions; and new options for bicyclists and pedestrians.

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood awarded $7 million to Georgia and Washington, D.C., to continue work on the Southeast High-Speed Rail Corridor linking Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., to Washington, D.C.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Innovations that minimize the impact of vehicle crashes and increase the visibility of road signs are among hundreds of cutting-edge products that will now be more easily available to states due to new guidance released by the Federal Highway Administration.