Transportation

There have been a variety of activities in the world of autonomous vehicles this spring and summer. Here’s a roundup of the most recent federal, state and local policy actions, industry developments and research reports on the topic.

I have an article in this week’s issue of CSG’s The Current State wrapping up the various perspectives on the prospects for infrastructure investment in 2018 that were proffered during Infrastructure Week last month in Washington. But another topic that received some attention from various I-Week speakers and participants involved something else emphasized in President Trump’s infrastructure plan issued in February: streamlining the process by which infrastructure projects receive the go-ahead to move forward, which can often produce years-long project delays.

In addition to the prospects for a federal infrastructure package in 2018, one of the other major topics at various events during Infrastructure Week 2018 (May 14-21) in Washington, D.C. was public-private partnerships. The National Association of Counties and the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings hosted an event May 17 on “modernizing infrastructure policies to advance” P3s. Two veterans of P3 deals, John Porcari of WSP and Judah Gluckman of the D.C. Office of Public-Private Partnerships, were among the panelists. Here’s a report on some of what was said. 

While a comprehensive infrastructure bill may not be in the cards for 2018, that doesn’t mean infrastructure won’t factor into this year’s Congressional agenda. It also didn’t mean Infrastructure Week (May 14-21) was completely devoid of infrastructure-related news. Far from it. Here’s a roundup of some of the infrastructure news from the last couple of weeks.

Greetings from Washington, D.C. As Infrastructure Week 2018 kicks off today here and around the country, a federal infrastructure push appears increasingly unlikely this year. For state and local governments that means doing what they’ve been doing for years: trying to fill the gap.