NATIONAL NEWS

National Journal: The State Of Transportation
http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/the-state-of-transportation.php?rss=1
What were the three most important transportation developments of 2009? And what should be the top three transportation policy priorities of 2010, either for government at any level or for the private sector?

Chicago Tribune: One America in Need
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-200912281659tmsjjacksontq--j-a20091228dec28,0,1048304.story
...This administration and the Congress must step up to this challenge. We need a bold new initiative to Rebuild America. Across the country, our basic infrastructure is in dire need of repair and renewal. Leaking sewer systems expose millions to befouled water dangerous to their health. Outmoded or absent mass transit clogs streets, wastes hours in gridlock and exacts a cruel tax on our lives as well as our economy. An outmoded energy system leaves us ever more dependent on foreign oil, while we fail to lead the new green industrial revolution that will generate the growth markets of the future.  President Obama called us to build our economy on a new foundation -- investing in infrastructure, in new energy, in education and training. We now need a policy to fit the vision. Establish a national infrastructure bank, providing guarantees for pension funds, to invest in building the new green infrastructure of the 21st century and put people to work. Invest in children, ensuring that they have the best education available in the world, from pre-K to affordable college, no matter where they are born.

LA Times: Freight trains make big comeback in nation's transportation network
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rail3-2010jan03,0,27378.story
More than 4,000 miles of train tracks stretch through California, winding up the blustery Cajon Pass and snaking through the desert surrounding Barstow.  Those tracks could be seeing a lot more traffic in the next few years as trains loaded with Chinese-made toys, electronics and clothing roll eastward, connecting West Coast ports with cities across the U.S.  Warren Buffett is a believer. In November, the world's second-richest man paid $34 billion for railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., despite a deep downturn in the railroad industry. Buffett characterized his investment as an "all-in wager on the economic future of the United States." But it's also a bet on globalization and the renewed importance of rail in the nation's transportation network.

NPR: China Aims To Ride High-Speed Trains Into Future
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122179548
...While the United States has allocated $13 billion for the construction of high-speed rail over the next five years, China plans to spend $300 billion in the next decade to build the world's most extensive and advanced high-speed rail network.

STATE NEWS

AP/ABC: New York's Aging Infrastructure a Costly Problem
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9456094
Tens of thousands of miles of aging sewer and water treatment systems need extensive repairs and upgrades that could cost New York billions in the next two decades, an expensive undertaking even with the help of federal stimulus funding, according to state officials.

North Platte Telegraph: What path to take on funding roadways?
http://www.nptelegraph.com/articles/2010/01/03/news/60005131.txt
Higher state gasoline taxes and a bond-issuing plan are among the ideas being pushed by some lawmakers to steer Nebraska out of its crisis in financing road maintenance and construction.  State Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center says the Legislature should raise the gas tax by 5 cents per gallon.

Daily Herald: Will 2010 be the year of transportation?
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=348047
High-speed rail, a transportation funding windfall, airport demolitions and texters driving us distracted. The New Year is coming like a freight train, so get on board my list of hot 2010 topics...

Baton Rouge Advocate: Our Views: Workers pay in transit cuts
http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/79955472.html
From New York City to Baton Rouge is farther in terms of mass transit than in almost any other physical or perhaps even cultural way.  The East Coast metropolis is a town of subways and buses and trains. Mass transit in Baton Rouge is a pitiable shadow of a bus service.  Yet today’s financial crisis is hitting both systems.  The Metro Council approved a plan from the Capital Area Transit System for reduced services and some fare increases to cover a $170,000 projected deficit next year.