ATLANTA — The MARTA Board of Directors unanimously approved the design-build contract for the Atlanta Streetcar Project. MARTA selected the firm URS Corporation after a competitive procurement process. The Atlanta Streetcar is the first phase of what will be a city-wide and potentially region-wide alternative transportation system.

  HOUSTON — Houston’s Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), working with prime contractorTransCore, commissioned the first of five reversible High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane corridors at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony. One of the most substantial undertakings of its kind to date in the United States, METRO’s conversion of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to HOT lanes will increase utilization of the HOV system and subsequently relieve congestion in the general purpose freeway lanes.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a panel discussion hosted by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), transportation experts offered insights regarding the House Ways and Means Committee’s transportation funding proposal that is currently under consideration in Congress. Following the discussion, APTA also released a research report outlining the negative financial impacts this proposal would have on America’s public transportation systems, as well as the communities and individuals that rely on public transportation.

   WASHINGTON, D.C. — One hundred ten years ago — Feb. 13, 1902 — a small group of influential Americans heeded the call from Michigan public official Horatio S. Earle and gathered at the Cadillac Hotel in New York City to launch what has become the nation’s oldest and highly influential transportation advocacy group: the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — During his State of the Union address on Jan. 24, 2012, President Obama called on federal agencies to cut red tape in construction projects. Accepting that challenge, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposed a significant change in the way major transit projects compete for federal funds by streamlining the process and making decisions more responsive to local needs.