Public Transportation, Infrastructure | featured news

Facing weekend deadlines for action, congressional leaders have agreed to deals overhauling the nation's transportation programs without a Republican provision forcing approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, and avoiding a doubling of interest rates for new student loans, congressional officials said Wednesday....

The Obama Administration announced this morning that it has decided how to spend $500 million in what Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is calling the 2012 TIGER grants. Houston gets $15 million to “eliminate major gaps in Houston’s bike grid, providing direct bicycle and pedestrian transportation connections to local bus stops and rail stations.”

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a two-year blueprint for transportation that gives states greater spending flexibility, allows the federal government to set minimum safety standards for subway systems and buys time to find a solution for a funding system teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.