News

Here is a brief weekly update from the RTA business coalition – the voice of the regional business community on transportation.

RTA South Florida tour — short-term deferral
I received several calls over the past few days about the RTA 2022 Regional Leadership Tour to South Florida, which had been scheduled for this week. Due to pandemic conditions, we decided to do a short-term deferral of the tour, with a targeted time frame of later this winter/early spring. We hope to announce new dates as soon as this coming week, at which point we will reopen registration for both current tour attendees as well as for those who could not make it for the late January time frame. Feel free to check the tour website for updates; I also expect to include an update in next week’s briefing on both the tour and another membership engagement opportunity.

From the roads to the skies — advanced manufacturing and mobility
This week brought North Carolina another major announcement involving transportation innovation and manufacturing. Boom Supersonic announced plans to build supersonic jets at a new factory located at the Piedmont Triad airport in Greensboro. This economic development win heralds the opportunity for the next generation in aviation for the First in Flight state, and furthers opportunities for advanced mobility. More in this week’s Thursday Thoughts at 3 blog, including observations from some of our key economic development partners.

Lessons from a bridge in Pittsburgh
I grew up in western Pennsylvania, and I have traveled across the bridge that collapsed on Friday a number of times over many years. A few thoughts:  we are very fortunate that there was no loss of life, and this event should and will serve as another wake-up call for the need to maintain and monitor our existing infrastructure, using both traditional and modern technology, in addition to expanding and modernizing our transportation networks. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate this particular incident, which will be helpful and informative. The collapse will hopefully also catalyze discussions on identifying and devoting sufficient funding for safety and operations, and not just in the city that may have the largest number of bridges in the nation to maintain.

Let’s get moving,
Joe

Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA Executive Director

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