MDOT Opens North End Installing Temporary Traffic Signal on M-40

Commuting during peak travel times along I-275 in Wayne County just got easier with the opening of all travel lanes on the north end of the project. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is removing northbound lane restrictions north of Joy Road, while southbound lane closures now begin at Ann Arbor Road. All work on this $23.5 million project is expected to be completed in November. The project includes repairing 34 bridges between Hannan Road in Van Buren Township and 6 Mile Road near Northville Township. Work also involves resurfacing both directions of I-275 between Hannan and Ford roads. While the north end of the project is opening two weeks ahead of schedule, work to the bridges at Ann Arbor Trail, Ann Arbor Road and 6 Mile Road will continue, but with lane closures scheduled during off-peak hours. MDOT reminds motorists that a separate project to repair northbound I-275 at Nine Mile Road in Oakland County still has work remaining; however, that work is restricted to weekends continue

Overall, deaths resulting from alcohol and/or drug-related crashes decreased by 10.6 percent, from 357 in 2010 to 319 in 2011, while injuries fell from 6,175 to 6,086. Drug involvement in traffic fatalities fell almost 17 percent, from 153 deaths in 2010 to 127 in 2011, while alcohol involvement declined 3 percent, from 283 to 274. In many cases, deaths involved both alcohol and drugs and are counted in each category. Prior to 2011′s decrease, drug-involved traffic fatalities had increased by nearly 30 percent over the past five years. As part of an effort to address this issue, Michigan trained 15 Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) last year. DREs are trained to recognize signs of impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol and to identify the category or categories of drugs causing the impairment. A second group of 13 officers completed training in 2012, and a third class is planned for 2013. Drug-involved deaths and injuries have been increasing across the country,” said Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the Michigan State Police (MSP). “Officers in Michigan will continue

In response to requests from the public, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has installed a temporary traffic signal on M-40 at northbound I-196 in Holland. The signal is expected to be operational today. MDOT began the $11.5 million project in June to reconstruct 9 miles of northbound I-196 from 130th Avenue to US-31 in Allegan County. The project requires closing the exits at Blue Star Highway and northbound US-31. A detour has been established at M-40 in Holland, but high traffic volumes led to unanticipated congestion on the northbound I-196 interchange at M-40. “The decision to install a temporary signal was made after motorists expressed their concerns about congestion at M-40,” said Michelle O’Neill, MDOT traffic operations engineer at the Kalamazoo Transportation Service Center. “Our staff did traffic counts and discovered traffic volumes at that interchange were much higher than anticipated, so a temporary signal was warranted for the duration of this project.” The temporary signal will improve traffic flow and safety and remain active continue

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/07/19/mdot-opens-north-end-installing-temporary-traffic-signal-on-m-40-19july2012/

Proposed lane improvement in Iowa

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Thursday, June 14, to discuss the design and right-of-way impacts for the reconstruction of U.S. 20 from just east of Woodbury County Road D-22 (Ida Avenue) east to just west of Correctionville. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Correctionville Community Center, 312 Driftwood St. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation will be made. Visit the Iowa DOT’s project-related public involvement event website at for information about scheduled public meetings and hearings, and opportunities continue

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, June 5, to discuss the proposed analysis and evaluation of intersection/interchange alternatives of Iowa 330 between U.S. 65 and Jasper County Road F-17. Included at the meeting will be information about the environmental field studies in the surrounding area. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Baxter Community Center, 203 South Main St. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation will be made. Visit the Iowa DOT’s project-related public involvement event continue

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, June 5, to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on U.S. 6 over the West Branch Wapsinonoc Creek, 3.8 miles east of the Johnson County line. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 4:30 and 6 p.m. at the West Liberty High School Commons, 310 W. Maxson Ave. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation will be made. Through traffic would be detoured during construction using Interstate 80 and Cedar and Muscatine county roads X-30 and X-40. For general information regarding the proposed improvements or public meeting, contact Sam Shea, transportation planner, Iowa DOT continue

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/06/11/proposed-lane-improvement-in-iowa-12june2012/

New Jersey Bus Killed a Man Traffic shifts on Morris County

A 72-year-old man was struck and killed by an NJ Transit bus Tuesday morning in Newark’s South Ward, authorities said. Raul E. Medina was walking along Clinton Avenue near Astor Street about 9 a.m. when he was hit by the eastbound bus, authorities said. The driver did not apparently know Medina had been hit and the bus was eventually stopped, said acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Newark Police Director Samuel Demaio in a statement. Medina, a city resident, was pronounced dead at the scene about a half-hour later, they more

Heading down the Garden State Parkway to the Wildwoods or Cape May, the North Jersey driver’s senses are assaulted, or soothed, by an array of sights. There’s the white-knuckle ride on the nation’s widest motor vehicle span, the 15-lane Driscoll Bridge over the Raritan River. The big crane with an American flag on it. The trip back in time through the Pinelands National Reserve. The towns with unusual names like Little Egg Harbor and Upper Township — Upper What Township? At exit 11 in Cape May County is the most startling sight of all, as out of place as a polar bear in Los Angeles. “People are traveling down the Garden State Parkway for 120 miles and then all of a sudden — traffic light!” said Vicki Clark, president of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, which has an office right next to a light at more

Lanes will be closed and traffic shifted on eastbound Interstate 280 beginning Friday night as crews continue to replace bridge decks over the Whippany River between Parisppany-Troy Hills and East Hanover. Traffic is to be shifted left onto a temporary bridge built in the highway median, state Department of Transportation officials said. About 62,000 vehicles a day use the bridges to cross the Whippany River, officials said. Once the eastbound bridge deck reconstruction is finished at the end of summer, the DOT will shift eastbound traffic onto the newly rebuilt mainline bridge and divert westbound traffic onto the temporary bridge to allow the reconstruction of the westbound bridge to begin, officials more

NJ Transit police will conduct an emergency drill inside the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail tunnel on Sunday. Police will respond to a simulated train incident inside the tube along the Weehawken and Union City border between 9 a.m. and noon. Hudson-Bergen Light Rail service will terminate at Port Imperial Station in Weehawken during Sunday’s drill. Passengers will have to board buses for service between Port Imperial, Bergenline Avenue and Tonnelle Avenue seemore

It would have been a penny-ante crime. But it could have cost Eric Vega his life. The 42-year-old Newark man was walking along an elevated railroad structure near Roseville Avenue in the state’s largest city yesterday morning, looking for wire to steal, transit officials allege. At 4:09 a.m., he raised a pair of bolt cutters and snipped a cable. He got an electric shock and fell 40-feet to the tracks below, NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said. He survived, but transit officials say this is a cautionary tale. The overhead wire cut by Vega was a “static wire” with just 110 volts running through it, officials said. But the Catenary wire next to it carries 25,000 volts, which powers the trains, and is enough to kill. There have been 24 reported thefts of wire along NJ Transit rail lines this year, Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said, and the incidents more

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/06/06/new-jersey-bus-killed-a-man-traffic-shifts-on-morris-county-06june2012/

Bridge Replacement & Public Meeting in Iowa

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, June 5, to discuss the proposed analysis and evaluation of intersection/interchange alternatives of Iowa 330 between U.S. 65 and Jasper County Road F-17. Included at the meeting will be information about the environmental field studies in the surrounding area. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Baxter Community Center, 203 South Main St. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation more

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Thursday, June 7, to discuss the proposed interchange alternatives at Floyd and improvements for the Avenue of the Saints corridor from Floyd County Road B-35 north to March Avenue. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. at the Floyd Community Center, 706 Fairfield St. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation more

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Tuesday, June 5, to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on U.S. 6 over the West Branch Wapsinonoc Creek, 3.8 miles east of the Johnson County line. The public is invited to attend the meeting anytime between 4:30 and 6 p.m. at the West Liberty High School Commons, 310 W. Maxson Ave. Through traffic would be detoured during construction using Interstate 80 and Cedar and Muscatine county roads X-30 and X-40. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal more

Emergency patching work will require closing the Interstate 380 exit ramp at the east interchange of southbound I-380/U.S. 20 (exit 65) near Raymond from 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24, until mid-morning Friday, May 25, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s New Hampton construction office. During this closure, traffic will be routed on U.S. 20 east to South Canfield Road (exit 240), and then back west to the southbound I-380 ramp. There will be static and electronic message signs in place to direct traffic in this area. The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles and wear seat belts. The Iowa DOT has developed a more

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/05/29/bridge-replacement-public-meeting-in-iowa-29may2012/

Department of Transportation,Iowa

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Thursday, May 3, to discuss proposed improvements to Iowa 14/Iowa 57 from the north junction of the roadways through Parkersburg to the south junction. The proposed improvements include resurfacing with milling and corridor improvements. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT and city of Parkersburg staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation will be made. readmore…..

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting Thursday, April 26, to discuss three proposed bridge replacements on Iowa 141 in Guthrie County. One bridge is located over the Middle Raccoon River, 0.4 mile east of the Carroll County line and near the east city limits of Coon Rapids. The second bridge is over Willow Creek, 1.6 miles west of Bayard. The third bridge is over a tributary of Mosquito Creek, 1.2 miles west of Guthrie County Road P-18. For the Willow Creek bridge project, traffic would be detoured using Guthrie/Carroll/Greene County Road N-58, Greene County Road E-63 and Iowa 25 readmore…..

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold a public information meeting Thursday, March 29, to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on U.S.This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation will be made readmore…..

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/04/24/department-of-transportationiowa-24april2012/

Iowa Reconstruction

The Iowa Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting to discuss the proposed reconstruction of Iowa. he public is invited to attend the meeting at the Battle Creek City Hall. readmore….

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold a public information meeting Thursday to discuss two projects on Iowa 117 in Jasper County. This public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. readmore….

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold a public meeting to discuss the Council Bluffs Interstate System. No formal presentation will be made. Iowa DOT staff will be available anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. to individually discuss the project. readmore….

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/04/10/reconstruction-of-iowa/

Bridge Removal, Replacement & Opening in Iowa

Motorists traveling on Interstate 29 in the Sioux City area will be routed through a detour at the I-29 and Wesley Parkway/U.S. 77 interchange (exit 148) due to a bridge removal project beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, March 16, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Sioux City construction office. readmore……

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) will hold a public information meeting Thursday, March 22, to discuss the proposed bridge replacement on Interstate 29 at the I-29/Woodbury County Road K-25 interchange (exit 134) at Salix.
The public information meeting will be conducted utilizing an open forum format. Iowa DOT staff will be present to informally discuss the proposed improvement. No formal presentation will be made.  readmore……

Over the Veterans Day holiday weekend, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) restored traffic on Iowa 333 into Hamburg. This marked a significant milestone in Iowa’s fast-track flood recovery effort, as this was the last section of state highway to remain closed as a result of the Missouri River flooding. readmore….

http://www.ezdrivingtest.com/blog/2012/04/08/bridge-removal-replacement-opening-09april2012/