News - page 21

A large part of an Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River near Mount Vernon, Wash., collapsed Thursday evening after an oversize truck hit an overhead span of the bridge, says a report from Time.com.

Several vehicles fell into the river when it collapsed, though no one was injured. The collapse occurred about 60 miles north of Seattle, and detours are in place to mitigate congestion, says Time’s article.

The collapse apparently occurred after a truck made contact with the bridge, but investigators are still unsure whether the truck actually caused the bridge collapse or whether the crash occurred as the bridge was collapsing, reports say.

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Where is a collision with a heavy-duty truck most likely to happen? That dubious distinction goes to New Jersey.

The ranking is based on analysis of federally recordable truck-involved crash data over three years, 2010-12, byOverdrive and sister company RigDig Business Intelligence(RigDig.com/bi). The Garden State had 12 truck-involved wrecks occurring for every 10 lane-miles of National Highway System roadway during that period.

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The price of oil made gains above $91 per barrel Thursday, rebounding from a steep drop, as the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate to a new low.

By early afternoon in Europe, the benchmark oil contract for June delivery was up 48 cents to $91.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 percent from 0.75 percent at its meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Thursday. The effects of the rate cut remain to be seen, but traders saw it as an encouraging step supporting the economy and possibly leading to increased oil demand.

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Traffic congestion on U.S. roadways is back after two consecutive years of declines, with traffic congestion up 4% in the first quarter compared to 2012, according to traffic information provider Inrix in its sixth Traffic Scorecard Annual Report.

The good news, it says, “This suggests that after a tumultuous economic year in 2012, the economy is back on the mend, bringing increased traffic congestion.”

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Shell and TravelCenters of America (TA) have finalized an agreement to develop a U.S. nationwide network of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling centers for heavy-duty road transport customers.

The plan is to construct at least two LNG fueling lanes and a storage facility at up to 100 existing TA and Petro Stopping Centers branded full service travel centers along the U.S. interstate highway system.

Construction and opening of the LNG stations will be done in a phased approach with at least two natural gas fueling lanes and associated storage capability established at each facility.

Pending customary approvals, the company estimates the first of these stations will be operational in roughly one year’s time with a priority to develop the main trucking corridors to provide the potential for what Shell says will be the first-ever coast-to-coast LNG-fueled commercial transport network.

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