Autonomous boat “bridge” proposed in Amsterdam

A group of autonomous vessel developers is proposing a new way to move people through the unique urban-aquatic environment of Amsterdam. A small fleet of autonomous, electric boats (Roboats) is being designed to travel between the Marineterrein area and the city center, including the busy NEMO science museum. The potential use of autonomous technology here serves the dual purposes of increasing the accessibility of the area, by reducing the walk time by ten minutes, and showcasing this leading-edge technology.

Light rail debate could put an end to the Columbia River bridge project

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has taken the position that the new Columbia River Crossing bridge project will die if Washington State attempts to remove light rail from the project. However, the GOP-controlled majority in the Washington State Senate has said that it will reject any bridge proposal with light rail, claiming they don’t want to pay for new transit-operations taxes and that rail is a waste of potential road space.

Disagreement over the environmental impacts of the Bayonne Bridge project

Two federal agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, do not agree on the assessment of the environmental impacts of raising the Bayonne Bridge between Bayonne, NJ, and Staten Island, NY. The disagreement primarily concerns the impacts on air quality and the resulting effects on the local communities.