���ϳԹ���

Driven by the recent collapse of the Interstate 5 Skagit River Bridge in Washington state, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and House Democratic transportation leaders introduced legislation Wednesday that would provide $5.5 billion to repair structurally deficient bridges nationwide.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has shut down E&K Trucking of Commerce City, Colo., declaring the company a hazard to public safety because it does not maintain its vehicles in good working order.

The federal hours-of-service rule’s July 1 implementation date should be postponed until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration completes mandated research on the rule, American Transportation Research Institute Chairman Steve Williams told a House panel Tuesday.

Two U.S. congressmen from Wisconsin introduced legislation to allow trucks heavier than 80,000 pounds now running on U.S. Highway 41 in that state to continuing using the road if it becomes an interstate next year.

Upcoming restrictions to the 34-hour restart provision of the hours-of-service rule for truck drivers will cost the trucking industry $189 million annually — a $322 million difference from the $133 million benefit that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated when it wrote the new restrictions, according to a new American Transportation Research Institute study.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it would propose changes to the public face of its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program later this year in an attempt to make clearer that the rankings are not necessarily safety scores.

Consumer confidence fell in June from a six-year high the previous month, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it has received 568 applications for grants under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program, surpassing available funding.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has published a “visor card” outlining the changes to truck driver hours-of-service regulations set to take effect July 1.