U.S. Department of Transportation

Latest Articles

Riot squads

While Boston chilled, LA burned. What makes fans in some cities go wild — win or lose?
On the morning that the Celtics and the Lakers readied for Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, framing one of the most storied and intense rivalries in pro sports, the police departments of Boston and Los Angeles geared up for the worst.
By CHRIS FARAONE | June 28, 2010

Pedal promise

The ongoing perils and recent improvements en route to a riding renaissance.
Boston has its fair share of deserving bad reputations: the sports fans whined for some 86 years about a “curse” because the Red Sox couldn’t seal the deal; the drivers are terrible; and, thanks in no small part to those driving skills, the city’s streets were thrice voted by Bicycling Magazine as some of the worst in the country for cyclists.
By TOM MEEK | May 13, 2010

A media market splintered

Online
The fragmentation of the local media market, long predicted, is finally a reality.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 05, 2010

The 'Urban and Rural' plan

Going Green
How’s this for a sobering statistic: by 2035, Mainers will be spending 50 percent more time in our cars.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 15, 2010

‘Wonderful Wickenden Street’ crumbles

Art Dept.
At the end of Wickenden Street, just off the roadway, construction equipment stood guard over piles of steel and rubble: remnants of an old Route 195 overpass taken down over the last month or so as part of a larger effort to shift the highway.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 10, 2010

Bridge to nowhere

What's in a name? Plus, a curious consultant, and bashing Obama.
The Department of Transportation has taken quite a few knocks in this space over the years. So to try to offset that, spurred by the story in the June 8 Urinal about the Pawtucket River Bridge, let us throw them a compliment: they do a hell of an artist's rendering.
By PHILLIPE and JORGE | June 10, 2009

Free for all

Is Mayor Menino getting White-washed? Plus, Sam Yoon's not-so-friendly skies
Striking parallels emerge between the upcoming mayor's race and the historic race of 1983.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 12, 2008

Beatin’ the odds

Politics and other mistakes
Imagine this: A developer suddenly shows up in your rundown little town and announces plans for a multi-million-dollar project.
By AL DIAMON | October 16, 2008

PACTS priorities are a green-transport victory

Reality-based community
Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee showed that Southern Maine’s transportation priorities are rooted in our current economic conditions.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | October 09, 2008

No rules

Politics and other mistakes
The state of Maine doesn’t give away money. Except for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Economic Development, and the state treasurer.
By AL DIAMON | September 25, 2008

Traffic Jammed

This small state should have better transit. So why doesn’t it?
It’s not just the relatively small number of RIPTA users who suffer from the inadequacy of Rhode Island’s transit system.
By AMY LITTLEFIELD | August 20, 2008

Traffic Jammed

What I learned from Free Fare Friday

Bus stop
Truth be told, I am an elitist asshole who rarely takes the bus.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | July 23, 2008

Time for a clean sweep?

A former guard calls for prison reform
In early 2007, Rhonda Dawson, a thoughtful, candid, 45-year-old African-American guard at the Maine State Prison in Warren, quit her job after four years because, she says, of racist taunting from her fellow correctional officers.
By LANCE TAPLEY | July 23, 2008

Sierra Club under fire from coastal activists

Conservation
Two coastal advocacy organizations are accusing the Sierra Club of backing down from its position as a protector of Sears Island, a large, uninhabited island off Maine’s Down East coast.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 04, 2008

RI DOT marks the spot

A veritable treasure trove of dubious state doings
Just when you think questionable doings couldn’t get any more questionable in Rhode Island, along comes the state Department of Transportation.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | March 26, 2008

Spitzer screws himself

Wandering NY governor annihilates a once-promising political career
In times of personal hardship and anguish, Phillipe + Jorge are always the first to offer our understanding and consolation to the aggrieved.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | March 12, 2008

The trouble with Carcieri’s musical chairs

Roundabout
Well, so much for the Carcieri administration’s assurances that the governor’s latest round of musical chairs would not bring with it an increase in staff positions and/or salary costs.
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | March 12, 2008

A smack to the head

Pow! Chafee gets McCain right in the kisser
McCain’s pants-ing moment, as he entertained a typical GOP (all-white) AARP rally, was highly entertaining.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | February 20, 2008

Are the prisons overcrowded?

Letters to the Portland editor: February 15, 2008
I am asking the whole Legislative Committee to physically go and inspect the prison to ascertain how much bed space is there.
By LETTERS TO THE PORTLAND EDITOR | February 13, 2008

Gathering steam

Local train proposals seek funding, find support
As flight attendants do with pin-on airline wings, TrainRiders hosts used to distribute blue “I rode the Amtrak Downeaster today” stickers to children only.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | February 06, 2008

Our bridges are in a heap of trouble

Local motion
About 40,000 vehicles cross the Sakonnet River Bridge, which connects Tiverton and Portsmouth, most days — more than the combined traffic of the Pell and Mount Hope bridges.
By MARY ANN SORRENTINO | January 30, 2008

Democratic pig pile

Hillary’s victimization rap is Clintonian politics at its best and worst
Oh, are the other Democratic candidates “piling on” poor little Hillary Clinton?
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | November 07, 2007

Jockular plus

New England is the home of past and future champions
Phillipe + Jorge have been absolutely giddy, as we have gone crazy about the World Series’ success of the Olde Towne Team.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 31, 2007

Carcieri goes for his cuts

The Governor on his cost-reduction plan, the casino threat, and more
Carcieri seems to find motivation in things like a handwritten note sent by an elderly telephone company retiree, exhorting him to cut state spending.
By IAN DONNIS | October 24, 2007

Clash on the Providence waterfront

High-stakes battle pits competing visions for key real estate
A specter is haunting the Providence waterfront — the prospect of change.
By IAN DONNIS | October 17, 2007

The highway kind

Politics and other mistakes
For critics of government excess, the Maine Turnpike Authority is a big target. You can even see it from outer space.
By AL DIAMON | October 17, 2007

State house stalemate

Carcieri takes another run at cutting state workers, but the outlook is murky
Many Rhode Islanders take an almost visceral delight in those occasions when a state worker is shown to be goofing off on the public’s dime.
By IAN DONNIS | September 12, 2007

The problem with teenage drivers

Reforms take a deliberate approach to improving safety
Reforms take a deliberate approach to improving safety
By BRIAN C JONES | August 20, 2007

Growing up and blowing away

Politics and other mistakes
State Representative Richard Sykes has discovered something alarming: old people are leaving Maine.
By AL DIAMON | August 02, 2007