Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan Aims to Fund Projects Through Loans

Logo via BRIDGE Act Summary

While details on President Trump's $1 trillion Infrastructure plan may still be weeks away, two senators, Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), have introduced a bipartisan infrastructure funding plan.

The Building and Renewing Infrastructure for Development and Growth in Employment (BRIDGE) Act is designed to address a national investment shortfall in maintaining and improving the transportation network. The plan seeks to provide a financing tool to state and local governments and spur infrastructure projects and create new jobs.

“As we mark the fifth annual Infrastructure Week, we must think boldly and make real investments in our nation's infrastructure rather than kick the can down the road with short-term fixes,” said Sen. Warner in a press release. “The BRIDGE Act offers a bold, bipartisan solution to help address our infrastructure needs by incentivizing private investment and pairing it with public resources.”

The bill proposes establishing a financing authority – similar to a bank – called the Infrastructure Financing Authority, which would provide loans and loan guarantees to help state and local governments fund the most economically viable projects. The government would provide the bank with initial seed funding of up to $10 billion. This $10 billion could be used to make possible $300 billion or more in total project investment, according to the authors of the bill, and is structured to be self-sustaining over time, without requiring additional federal funding.

The IFA would be a government-owned entity that would operate independently of any federal agency, according to a BRIDGE Act Summary. It would be led by a chief executive officer and board of directors consisting of seven voting members appointed by the executive and legislative branches of government.

Projects submitted to the IFA board would undergo analysis to show a clear public benefit and meet economic, technical and ...Read the rest of this story

Transponder partnership mean fewer in-cab hassles

Transponder partnership means fewer in-cab hassles

Honeywell Connected Freight Monitors Valuable Goods in Transit

Screenshot via Honeywell

Honeywell has launched the Connected Freight solution, a logistics technology that provides real-time information about the location and condition of critical freight in transit.

Connected Freight is designed to give shippers and logistics companies the ability to monitor high-value and perishable shipments to prevent damage or loss. The technology was developed in collaboration with Intel and three third-party logistics companies: DHL, Expeditors, and Kuehne + Nagel.

"Honeywell is developing a range of Connected Supply Chain solutions that leverage technology and data to make supply chains more efficient and better able to adapt to rapid change," said Taylor Smith, president of Honeywell's Workflow Solutions business. "For shippers, logistics providers, retailers and others faced with a host of costly freight challenges, such as theft, damage, spoilage and delays, this convenient cloud-based solution provides customers with detailed analytics in order to plan, anticipate and react immediately to incidents that occur during shipment."

The Connected Freight solution consists of sensor tags that sense a range of environmental conditions, such as temperature and vibration. The tags can be attached to pallets or individual packages. The sensor data is then captured by a mobile gateway placed inside a truck or shipping container and transmitted over a cellular network to a cloud-based platform.

Users can set alerts based on temperature, shock, tilt, humidity, pressure, and intrusion detection. It can alert manufacturers of high-value or highly sensitive technology if the equipment has been damaged while being loaded or unloaded, or if it may have been stolen. The cloud can store data for compliance and audit needs and provide predictive and reactive analysis, such as which routes to avoid.

Related: Six Steps to Thwart Cargo Theft

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HDT’s Day At The Races

The Bandit Series is looking to bring Big Rig Racing back to America. And on the series' permier sponsors, Minimizer, invited HDT to attend the thrid race on the circuit as their guest at the Montgomery Motor Speedway, just outside Mongomery, AL. Minimizer chief visionary officer, Craig Kruckeburg, likes to take his turn behind the wheel, and provided fans with some excitment when a mix-up in turn four put his Ford tractor into the wall. But no one was hurt and a good time was had by all!

Photos: Jack Roberts

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Steve Kerr explained why an NBA coach today couldn’t succeed with a Trump-like approach

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The current record for largest purse in a prize fight is believed to be held by Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, who agreed to a 60-40 split of revenue for their 2015 boxing match on pay-per-view.