KANSAS CITY, MO. — A new survey from HNTB Corporation finds two-thirds (66 percent) of Americans who intend to vote during this year's presidential election feel that a candidate's standing on American transportation infrastructure will influence their decision; more than one in five (22 percent) say this will be extremely influential on who they vote for.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an effort to ensure the continued growth and widespread support for Complete Streets policies, the National Complete Streets Coalition's steering committee recently approved a proposal to incorporate the coalition as an official program of Coalition member Smart Growth America (SGA), the only organization dedicated to researching, advocating for, and leading coalitions to bring smart growth practices to more communities nationwide. The change will take effect July 1.  

AUSTIN, TEXAS — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that Texas’ North Tarrant Express project has entered the final stage to receive $415 million under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) financing program, advancing a project that will address safety and congestion. The North Texas project includes improvements to sections of I-35W and construction of an interchange at I-35W and I-820. In addition, the project develops multimodal managed lanes to serve the region’s public transportation providers.  

EL PASO, TEXAS — The Center for Transportation Infrastructure Systems at The University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Engineering was selected to be part of a research consortium funded by a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Tier One University Transportation Center (UTC) program. The UTC program was cut this year from 60 transportation research centers down to 22, making the competition for funding especially fierce. Of the 22 slots, only 10 were designated for Tier One centers, which can operate on a national level, rather than being limited to regional or transit-related issues.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) Transportation Summit, April 16-18, 2012 in Washington, D.C., APWA President Diane Linderman, P.E., PWLF, and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez signed a new partnering agreement promoting continued coordination and collaboration between APWA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide quality, cost-effective, and safe transportation systems.