Tagged: Transportation

If a preliminary report holds true, the number of road deaths fell again in 2011. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 32,310 people died on highways last year, down almost 2 percent from the 32,885 people who died in 2010.

The Detroit News reports:

"The fatality rate for 2011 is projected to decline to the lowest on record, to 1.09 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.11 fatalities per 100 million in 2010.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Fresh snow in the mountains has slightly delayed the reopening of one high mountain pass in the Washington Cascades. Highway crews are on track to reopen two other scenic cross state routes before Memorial Day.

What's slowing them down? The snowpack is deeper than average for this time of year in Washington, north Idaho and the northern Oregon Cascades.

The Transportation Security Administration says it will be using Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's north security checkpoint for its new expedited screening program.

TSA is testing its new PreCheck system at 28 airports this year.

The peak toll on the Highway 520 floating bridge that began at $3.50 at the end of last year will rise to $4.35 in 2016 after a series of scheduled increases.

Sound Transit says it reached another milestone in construction of a light rail line through Seattle on Wednesday when a tunnel boring machine reached the Capitol Hill station site after a 10-month dig from the direction of Husky Stadium.

Grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help fund ongoing studies looking at critical transportation issues in the Northwest.

Transportation issues affect all of us, whether it’s simply wondering why that red traffic light is blinking, or wondering why the commuter traffic is jammed up again. It’s these kinds of issues, both national and regional in scope, which will be addressed by universities around the Northwest with the help of grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are moving forward with plans to allow tolls on the proposed Columbia River Crossing between Portland and Vancouver. The project will cost as much as $3.5 billion and drivers will likely bear some of that cost.

Public outcry may rescue a popular South Seattle bus line. An amendment to the transit re-alignment plan passed by the King County council late Monday afternoon has temporarily spared the route.

Ten other bus lines that are considered inefficient have been eliminated.

It’s the first phase of a voter-approved plan to make King County's  Metro Transit agency more efficient.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The AAA auto club reports the average price of a gallon of gasoline in Washington is $3.49.

That's up 2 cents in a week and 7 cents in a month. It's 6 cents higher than the national average.

Some metro prices from Monday's AAA survey: Bellingham $3.62, Bremerton $3.54, Seattle-Bellevue-Everett $3.56, Tacoma $3.54, Olympia $3.55, Vancouver $3.53, Yakima $3.61, Tri-Cities $3.29, Spokane $3.18.

If you drove the 520 floating bridge in the past few weeks without a Good To Go pass, expect a bill to come in the mail soon.  The State Department of Transportation sent out 19,000 bills to drivers that will arrive this week.

That might seem like a lot, but it’s a number far less than officials expected.