Did You Know?

The United States Highway Trust Fund is a transportation fund comprised of three accounts: the Highway Fund, the Mass Transit Account, and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. The Highway Trust Fund is financed via a federal fuel tax of 18.4 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon of diesel fuel.  The taxes are distributed as follows:

Gasoline:

15.44 cents – Highway Fund

2.86 cents – Mass Transit Account

0.1 cents – Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund

Diesel:

21.44 cents – Highway Fund

2.86 cents – Mass Transit Account

0.1 cents – Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund 

S&P Credit Risk from Highway Funding Delays

Standard & Poor’s, which downgraded the U.S. credit rating last August after the government came close to defaulting on its debt, is now warning that another credit crisis could occur unless the government adequately funds long-term transportation and infrastructure spending.

Panama Canal Authority Board of Directors appoints new Canal Administrator

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board of Directors recently announced the appointment of engineer Jorge Luis Quijano as the new Panama Canal Administrator. Mr. Quijano will succeed Alberto Alemán Zubieta, who has been at the helm of the Canal for the past 16 years and whose term will end on September 3, 2012.

North America's largest container ship calls on Long Beach port

On March 16, the largest container ship ever to call on North America reached Long Beach, Calif., according to the Port of Long Beach. The 1,200-foot MSC Fabiola, which arrived from China’s Port of Yantian, carried more than 12,000 containers.

New Panama Locks Opening Faces Three-Month Delay

The Panama Canal’s new locks will probably not be ready for their scheduled opening in October 2014, but will be ready for a trial run by a vessel in December, said Jorge Quijano, the engineer in charge of building the canal’s third set of locks.