Friday’s Headlines Take Me to the River
Politico reports that the Biden administration is investing $2.5 billion in updating aging Mississippi River locks and dams like this one in Iowa. Transporting freight by barge produces less emissions than trucks or even rail.
By
Blake Aued
1:18 AM EDT on July 12, 2024
- The bipartisan infrastructure act includes $2.5 billion to improve locks and dams along the Mississippi River, allowing bigger barges through and potentially taking thousands of trucks off the road. (Politico)
- With gas tax revenue declining, some states want Amazon and other delivery companies to pay for road maintenance. (Stateline)
- Fast Company interviewed top congressional bike advocate Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) about bringing back manufacturing back to the U.S., among other topics. (Streetsblog USA did, too.)
- Better bus service can save families thousands of dollars in car ownership costs and help make housing more affordable. (El Pais)
- Bus manufacturer Bluebird received $80 million from the federal government to convert a shuttered Georgia plant to make electric school buses. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- The Seattle city council voted to put a $1.5 billion transportation levy on the November ballot. (The Urbanist)
- Dooring is still killing people on bikes, even though San Francisco has gotten safer for cyclists (Standard). However, the city is nowhere near meeting its Vision Zero goal ten years after adopting the policy (SFGATE).
- The Missouri DOT is spending $100 million to bring St. Louis sidewalks up to ADA compliance. (Fox 2)
- Austin Politics profiled Chris Riley, longtime champion of urbanism in the Texas capital.
- Several Milwaukee bikeshare stations will shut down next week for the Republican National Convention. (Journal-Sentinel)
- A Montana photographer’s project documents 70 years of road deaths. (Places)
- Harrisburg’s last trolley stopped running in 1939. (Penn Live)
- Take a bike tour of Cleveland’s iconic script signs. (Axios)
- Pavement art slows motorists in front of a Pittsburgh library. (Union Progress)
- Here’s where to eat along Tucson’s Sun Link streetcar. (Tucson Foodie)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
Read More:
More from Streetsblog USA
Trump Wants to Slash Federal Funding for Public Transit, Rail (Again)
The president’s proposed budget threatens transit projects across the country.
April 9, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Are the Taxman
Suspending gas taxes might be politically popular, but it doesn't save drivers money and takes away funding for infrastructure.
April 9, 2026
Michigan Bill Would Require Seniors to Regularly Re-Take Their Drivers’ Tests
...but would it really make roads safer?
April 8, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Have Good News and Bad News
Traffic deaths are back down to their pre-pandemic levels, but there is still much work left to be done.
April 8, 2026
How To Push A Livable Streets Project Forward — Even in the Era of Federal Clawbacks
A livable streets superstar is launching a new organization to push forward some of America's most iconic sustainable streets projects — even if Congress is clawing back their funding
April 7, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.