Wyoming

Rhode Island:  Only because the state is so tiny, the state has a public transportation system – RIPTA – that serves the whole state, not just a region.

South Carolina:  We have all driven on highways and seen those signs advertising businesses at the exit such as gas, food and lodging.  Ever wonder how a business gets on that sign.  South Carolina explains their process and fees.  Below are the annual fees:

Standard Interchange Less than 30,000 vehicles per day $900 per direction
Intermediate Interchange 30,000 to 50,000 vehicles per day $1,500 per direction
Premium Interchange More than 50,000 vehicles per day $2,500 per direction

South Dakota:  The DOT offers some key information such as “South Dakota has 83,744 miles of highways, roads and streets. This statewide system carried over 8.5 billion vehicle miles of travel in 2006. The SDDOT is responsible for 7,848 miles of the roadway system. Although only 9.4% of the total mileage, the state highway system carries over 68% of all vehicle miles traveled.”

The state also has a fun kid’s page, which includes recipes for travel snacks!  Click here for instructions on how to make the “gravel pit” or “pot hole pizza.”

Tennessee:  For the meantime you still do not have to pay tolls on roads in Tennessee, but that could end soon as the state has passed legislation allowing for tolling.  Some of the reasons given for the use of tolling include:

  • The trucking and shipping industry loses $20 billion every year due to congestion. That cost is passed on to customers.  It is cheaper and more environmentally friendly to run a truck at 55 mph moving down the highway on a toll lane than having it sitting in traffic.
  • With tolls bearing some of the cost to construct and operate new highways and bridges, funds from traditional revenue sources may be made available to invest in mass transit, the construction of non-toll highways, and the maintenance of existing infrastructure.

Texas:  Continuing my fascination with transportation videos, here is an explanation of lemon law in Texas.  For all of my readers in Texas, please get the free “Don’t Mess with Texas” litter bags!

Utah:  The state DOT has their own YouTube page.  Watch below to see the 4500 South Bridge move down the street, literally.

Vermont:  Vermont is of course home to Amtrak’s Vermonter (which all I know about it is that it is chronically late in New York).  Apparently the Vermonter can be taken between in-state stops for $12.

Virginia:  I love histories of transportation, and Virginia has provided a lengthy chronicle.  Some of the highlights include:

  • 1923: A three-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax is enacted to produce revenue for road construction. Voters defeat a bond issue for road construction, favoring a pay-as-you-go method.
  • 1959: The state’s first interstate segment is opened – the Interstate 95 bypass of Emporia.
  • 1988: Legislators allow private companies to build and operate for-profit toll roads. Plans for the first such facility – an extension of the Dulles Toll Road – are approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in 1989.

Washington: Working with the Dept. of Ecology, Washington is pushing an effort to shrink carbon footprints, with the Carbon Bigfootabsolutely ridiculous mascot of the Carbon Bigfoot.  The pledge includes transportation steps such as:

  • Using cruise control on the highway
  • Removing the roof rack when not using it
  • Checking and inflating tires monthly
  • Reducing weekly car travel by biking, walking, skateboarding, busing or carpooling.

West Virginia:  226 million tons of freight are carried by rail in West Virginia each year.  The state is home to a variety of rail tours, including the Potomac Eagle.

Wisconsin:  The state DOT runs a forward-thinking program to get people to commute via bicycle by setting up bicycle buddies to travel together, pairing riders of similar skills.

Wyoming:  The picture at the beginning of the post is of the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, the state is home to numerous other gorgeous highways (as there is little public transportation, appropriately, in Wisconsin).