The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Federal Highway Administration" ...
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Sick drivers causing fatal wrecks
The story (and follow-up pieces) exmined the issue of dangerous sick drivers who fill U.S. highways. The July 21 story found that hundreds of thousands of drivers carry commercial licenses even though they also qualify for full federal disability payments. The tractor-trailer and bus drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells that led to deadly crashes, with violations found in every state.
Tags: bus drivers; truck drivers; National Transportation Safety Board; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; blackout
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Land Condemnation: Who Pays the Price?
The investigation focuses on Kentucky's system of acquiring land for highway construction which wastes millions of dollars in public funds, is often performed by biased and unqualified surveyors, and efforts which have failed to change the system over the last three decades.
Tags: Federal Highway Administration; Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet; FOIA; public funds; highway construction; land condemnation
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A Bridge Too Old
This story shows that in spite of more than $300 million in repairs, the Tappan Zee bridge has worse safety ratings than it did ten years ago. The reporters used a computer analysis of government records for their story.
Tags: Federal Highway Administration; National Bridge Inventory; bridge safety; New York State Thruway Authority; public funds; transportation
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County's Aging Bridges at the Breaking Point
One third of Ventura county's bridges were built before 1965 and 28 of them have been designated as "structurally deficient." But the county is still waiting for the funds to fix or replace them. California's winter floods in 2005 washed away one bridge and left others even more weakened. Dodge examines the Federal Highway Administration's Inventory and discusses funding problems as well as the potentially fatal consequences of continuing neglect.
Tags: Federal Highway funds; state highway grants; bridge repairs; structural damage; floods; erosion; engineers; transportation; roads
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Mr. and Mrs. Grimm Get a Load of Shrimp Cross Country, Fast
The Journal tells the story of truckers Rod and Kim Grimm, a married couple who make rushed deliveries across the country by taking turns behind the wheel. And they are not alone, as more and more companies choose to hire team truckers to reduce shipping time. "A recent Federal Highway Administration study found drivers sleeping five hours a day on average, and at risk of nodding off at the wheel. Team truckers have particularly hard time of it .... The highway administration is considering new rules that would require drivers to work more regular shifts."
Tags: deliveries; business; trucking industry; fatigue; safety
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Deadly Driving: Safety Agency Puts Motorists at Risk
In an eight-month investigation, The Detroit News examined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and found "the federal agency created 35 years ago to make vehicles safer is failing consumers, leading to at least 3,100 deaths and 18,000 injuries each year." The agency also fails to find defects in cars and trucks and fails to force recalls for repairs.
Tags: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; federal agencies; NHTSA; auto safety; automobile recalls; vehicle defects; auto-safety issues
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US audit: Big Dig is 'bankrupt'
Big Dig managers have systematically covered up hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns for years through shell-game accounting that made public estimates for the road-and-tunnel work little more than a mirage. While state officials insisted the project was on time, on budget, and tightly managed, a two-month Boston Globe investigation found little of that was true.
Tags: audit; budget; bankruptcy; management; Federal Highway Administration; Roads; construction
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Railroaded
The American Press sheds light on how railroads in Southwest Louisiana have become a threat to public safety, and have raised concerns about devaluation of local residents' properties. Union Pacific has planned on building a storage-in-transit station in spite of the objections of the homeowners in the vicinity. "Public officials on the state and local level ... have battled for years to toughen regulations governing the rail industry," the Press reports.
Tags: Federal Railroad Administration; zoning; hazardous waste; roads; transportation; highways; Southern Pacific Railroad; traffic; legislation; FOI request; noise pollution
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The Little Engine That Might
Governing discusses the "catch-22" cities face in constructing and implimenting mass transit systems across the country. "If you don't complete the system," they report, "you can't attract riders. And if you don't have the riders you won't be able to complete it." None of the transit systems make money or relieve much highway traffic, but cities still want them and are still building them.
Tags: light rail transit; MetroLink; Federal Transit Administration
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More than a quarter of U.S. bridges deemed inadequate, records show
"More than a quarter of the nation's bridges are too weak, dilapidated or overburdened for their current traffic, according to federal records." The Kansas City Star investigated Missouri and Kansas bridges, and found that "as of last year, nearly four out of 10 Missouri bridges were 'deficient.' In Kansas, nearly 26 percent of bridges rated as either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete." However, "relief is coming. The Missouri General Assembly has approved selling up to $2.25 billion in bonds over several years to accelerate road and bridge projects already in the works. . . And in Kansas, the Legislature passed a 10-year, $13 billion transportation program in 1999. About $356 million of the money is earmarked for bridge work."
Tags: bridges; construction; Federal Highway Administration; Kansas Department of Transportation; budgets; transportation; highways; traffic