TRANSPORTATION

The November 2021 $1 trillion infrastructure bill provides $5 billion to help states install EV chargers along interstate highways over five years. States now have access to more than $1.5 billion to help build EV chargers, USDOT said. The White House announced earlier this month it had approved 35 of the 50 state plans.

The new electric buses will replace six aging buses which travel an estimated 173,300 miles annually, consuming over 30,000 gallons of fuel.

Amtrak workers are not involved in the labor dispute, but the railroad operates almost all of its 21,000 route miles outside the U.S. Northeast Corridor on track owned, maintained and dispatched by freight railroads.

According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the city of Benson will demolish an elevator next week. Minnesota Highway 9 North in Benson will be closed for two weeks during the demolition.

The Renville County Board of Commissioners heard no comments on a proposed local option sales tax at a hearing held Aug. 9. The tax expected to be approved at the next meeting will be dedicated to the reconstruction of a nine-mile segment of Renville County Road 11.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeking public input on a newly released draft plan that outlines the transportation challenges and possible ways to address them.

Leaving aside the still-high price of diesel, a backlog in new trucks and a difficulty in finding younger drivers could mean an already-stressed industry will remain that way for months, and possibly even years.

The Renville County Board of Commissioners favor designating funds from a proposed local option sales tax for the complete rebuild of a nine-mile segment of County State Aid Highway 11 in the central portion of the county.

The Legislature failed to approve a transportation bill this session, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation is still assessing what the impact will be in terms of accessing federal dollars and inflationary losses for delaying projects.