NATIONAL NEWS

Logistics Management: Transportation infrastructure: House approves SAFETEA-LU extension
http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/451106-Transportation_infrastructure_House_approves_SAFETEA_LU_extension.php
Faced with the prospect of federal highway and transit funding set to expire at the end of this month, the U.S. House of Representatives last night signed off on a measure to extend the funding through March 28. But it is not a done deal on the Senate side, with Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) blocking a request by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for unanimous consent to move an extension of highway and transit funding and other programs or laws that expire this weekend.

DC Streetsblog: Deja Vu Again: One-Man Senate Filibuster Imperils Federal Transport Law
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2010/02/26/deja-vu-again-one-man-senate-filibuster-imperils-federal-transport-law/
A familiar script for Washington infrastructure watchers began to unfold last night on the Senate floor, as House-side resistance to a 10-month extension of existing federal transportation law prompted Democratic leaders to seek a quick deal on a one-month stopgap -- the fourth such short-term move in six months.  But one GOP senator, the notoriously irascible Jim Bunning (KY), objected to the 30-day extension, which also would ensure continued payment of federal unemployment benefits. When Democrats pleaded with Bunning to drop his one-man filibuster effort, Politico heard the retiring Kentuckian offer a terse response: "Tough s--t."

STATE NEWS

Helena Independent Record: States pitch Ports-to-Plains highway alliance
http://www.helenair.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_da2e8436-22a2-11df-a1e0-001cc4c002e0.html
With the goal of bolstering governmental support for rural transportation development, representatives of a multi-state consortium met with Gov. Brian Schweitzer Thursday, hoping Montana will get behind proposed infrastructure improvements stretching from Alberta to Texas.  Several members of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance told the governor that the region stretching from western Canada south through the High Plains to the Gulf Coast, while thinly populated, is of vital importance to all of North America on many levels, from energy (both carbon-based and renewable) to agriculture.  “As rural areas, we have to have the transportation infrastructure to compete, but we’re outnumbered, so it’s important that we work together,” said Ports-to-Plains president Michael Reeves of Lubbock, Texas. “It’s important that rural America have a voice, and the best way to do that is to pull together so our voices can be heard.”

Alaska Dispatch:  Senators call for new gas tax structure
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/politics/4203-senators-call-for-new-gas-tax-structure
Senate leaders have decided that the potential loss of billions to the state's treasury is an unacceptable risk, and are backing a major review of Alaska's tax on natural gas before May 1.  After hours of testimony this week from the state, attorneys and consultants before the Senate Finance Committee, chairman Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, said he's preparing a committee bill that calls for a new gas tax structure.

Washington Post: Transportation chief says bikes, buses are way to go in D.C.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022405675.html
It was, according to AAA, the worst commute since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Traffic in and out of Washington backed up for hours Feb. 12 on snow-blocked roads that had lost a lane or more. The frustration continued well into last week.  It was a grueling test for the District's young new transportation chief. Furious drivers complained that the city wasn't doing its job. But it wasn't the first time that Gabe Klein had annoyed motorists who thought he should do his job differently.

Las Vegas Sun: Consultant urges change in how rail, road projects are developed
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb/25/consultant-urges-change-how-rail-road-projects-are/
Government leaders have to change their mindset about how transportation projects are developed, planning more regional development and less by states, a leading transportation consultant says.