NATIONAL NEWS

NPR: A National Network Of Bike Trails? It Could Happen
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126263488&ps=cprs
A quiet revolution is starting in the world of transportation. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently announced what he's calling a "sea change" in transportation policy: He wants to make biking as important as driving. "We’re elevating it to the point where as we develop new road systems, as we develop communities where people can use light rail or street cars or buses, bike trails and walking paths will be equal partners, if you will, and equal components of those kinds of transportation opportunities in communities across America," LaHood tells NPR's Guy Raz.

Washington Post: Transit workers rally on Hill
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2010/04/transit_workers_to_rally_on_th.html
Transit workers kicked off a planned rally at noon, protesting service cuts that are affecting transit agencies across the country as they wrestle with declines in ridership and loss of revenue. The protesters are carrying signs, with slogans such as "Fight Back," and handing out T-shirts and fliers. The Rev, Jesse Jackson is scheduled to speak. About 100 Metro employees are expected at the rally, along with workers from across the country.

Gov Monitor: White House Strengthening America’s Rural Economy
http://thegovmonitor.com/world_news/united_states/white-house-strengthening-americas-rural-economy-29077.html
… A second category of policies is aimed at strengthening rural infrastructure.  Without roads, bridges, water projects, and telecommunications, rural America cannot get its products to market efficiently or be fully integrated with the rest of the economy. For this reason, the Federal government has traditionally supported rural infrastructure projects.

STATE NEWS

Globe Street: A Bridge To Nowhere
http://www.globest.com/news/1649_1649/newjersey/184652-1.html
Workers rushed to fix bridge failures on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway nearly a dozen times in the past six months--the consequences of old age, salt and weather corrosion, and the constant pounding of traffic, officials told the Bergen Record. "We are earnestly trying to keep up with bridge repairs. We watch the decks and you can see if the concrete is deteriorated," said Rich Raczynski, chief engineer for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates both toll roads. "The turnpike is almost 60 years old now and the parkway is almost 60 years old as well," he said. "A lot of these bridge decks have reached their useful life. We try to keep up with repairs, but sometimes they get to a point where they have to be replaced."

CBS: Bay Bridge: Competing Against Time
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6430951n
Byron Pitts reports from the construction site of the future Bay Bridge, where there's a race to complete the new, earthquake-resistant span alongside the old structure, which authorities fear cannot stand up to the next large earthquake.

AP: US Transportation Secretary Praises Connecticut for Rail Project
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10479282
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood encouraged Connecticut officials on Monday to work with Massachusetts and the federal government to introduce high-speed commuter rail service to the region, saying it will likely be one of the first completed projects in the nation. LaHood, appearing at the state Capitol with state and federal officials, said the planned service linking New Haven, Hartford and Springfield, Mass., gels with President Barack Obama's vision to connect America with inner-city high-speed passenger rail and spur economic development.