News

Another new international RDU flight — to a truly elevated destination

On Monday, November 13, RDU announced our newest airline — and our newest nonstop, to Mexico City – North America’s highest major city, and the largest city and metro area on the continent.  This will be their 17th airline and 9th international destination.  We applaud the ongoing leadership of RDU to make our hometown international airport increasingly attractive and effective for new flights, destinations, and airlines. Read more in this week’s blog.

NC Section Institute of  Transportation Engineers — annual meeting recap

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking about two of RTA’s priority focus areas during two sessions at the NC Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers annual meeting in Chapel Hill. Several RTA member firms and partners were in attendance at the event, and it was good to see these leaders in mobility coming together to share fellowship, ideas, and energy to make our region and state better.

The first presentation was on America’s first dynamic left turn intersection (DTLi) in Cary. The DLTi treatment enables an intersection to operate more efficiently for the majority of the day, by only opening one left turn lane and simultaneously enabling a flashing yellow arrow. This reduces off-peak delays for travelers, while retaining both left turn lanes during peak periods to maximize capacity. RTA suggested and advocated for the DLTi concept, and NCDOT and the Town of Cary have partnered on the initial pilot installation. You can read more on our website.

During the second session I served on a three person panel focused on funding and policy issues at the local, state and federal level. Some of the topics I discussed included identifying sustainable funding for the RDU runway, considering tolls to accelerate the upgrade of Capital Blvd to a freeway, the designation of 6% of all state sales taxes for transportation, and the need to go faster on transportation projects. We appreciate the ongoing work of our state and federal transportation partners; representatives from NCDOT and Federal Highway Administration provided timely and informative overviews of the current landscape.

Let’s get moving, faster.

Joe

Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA Executive Director