New northbound and southbound bridges are being built along the future Highway 404 extension over Mount Albert Road, north of Newmarket, to help York Region grow. This is the second of four projects to extend Highway 404 north to East Gwillimbury. Over the next five years, Highway 404 will be extended by 13 kilometres from Green Lane to Ravenshoe Road.

The Green Lane interchange will be upgraded to include new ramps to the north, and new interchanges will be built at Queensville Sideroad and Woodbine Avenue. New bridges will carry Highway 404 traffic over Mount Albert Road and Boag Road and Doane Road traffic over Highway 404.

The government awarded the $8-million construction contract to Brennan Paving and Construction Limited of Markham. Work is underway and should be completed by fall 2009. During construction, Highway 404 traffic will not be impacted. In 2008, a section of Mount Albert Road, from Colonel Wayling Boulevard to Woodbine Avenue, will be fully closed. Local traffic will be detoured to Green Lane.

For more information: http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2008/11/06/c5903.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html

Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public hearing on the safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operations. The three-day hearing will begin on February 3, 2009, at the NTSB's Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C.

Helicopter EMS operations provide an important service to the public by transporting seriously ill patients or donor organs to emergency care facilities. The pressure to safely and quickly conduct these operations in various environmental conditions (for example, inclement weather, at night, and unfamiliar landing sites for helicopter operations) has the potential to make HEMS operations more at risk than normal passenger carrying operations.

"We have seen an alarming rise in the numbers of EMS accidents and the Safety Board believes some of these accidents could have been prevented if our recommendations were implemented," said Member Robert Sumwalt, Chairman of the Hearing. "This hearing will be extremely important because it can provide an opportunity to learn more about the industry so that possibly we can make further recommendations that can prevent these accidents and save lives."

The NTSB issued a Special Investigation Report on EMS Operations in January 2006. The report involved the analysis of all EMS-related aviation accidents that occurred from January 2002 through January 2005. There were a total of 55 accidents that occurred during this 3-year window; 41 helicopters and 14 airplanes. These accidents killed 54 people, and seriously injured 19. Analysis of the accidents indicated that 29 of 55 accidents could have been prevented with corrective actions identified in the report.

However, over the past 11 months the Safety Board has investigated nine fatal EMS Accidents with a total of 35 fatalities. In 2008 alone there have been 7 fatal accidents with 28 fatalities. This is a drastic increase in accidents since the Special Investigation Report and therefore has prompted the Safety Board to examine this issue in greater detail by holding this hearing.

There will be witnesses from all EMS communities including pilots, medical personnel, managers, and FAA. The issues that will be discussed during the hearing include:

* Operational Structure and Models
* Flight Operations
* Aircraft Safety Equipment
* Training
* Oversight

The hearing will be webcast. An agenda and webcast details will be posted on the Board's website, http://www.ntsb.gov, when available.

Vehicle owners across the nation can be instantly informed of a safety recall under a new automated alert system announced today by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters. The recall alerts can be received via e-mail or RSS-feeds on personal computers, cell phones or PDA devices-automatically and free-of-charge.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are about 600 vehicle recalls each year. Historically, one in four motorists ignore these recalls when they are announced. "It is extremely important that people are aware of recalls and act quickly to get their vehicles repaired," Secretary Peters said. "When it comes down to it, ignoring a recall means ignoring a safety defect that could put you and your family at risk."

Under the new alert system, consumers can elect to receive all vehicle recalls as they are made public, or personalize the alerts to specific vehicles. David Kelly, acting administrator of NHTSA, noted that the new vehicle recall notification system is an expansion of the agency's consumer safety communications program. Earlier this year, NHTSA also introduced automated recall alerts for child safety seats and tires.

"I urge everyone to visit the safercar.gov website and sign up for all three recall alert programs," Kelly said. "In these cases, information is not just power, it can save your life and the lives of your family and loved ones."

To start receiving NHTSA's recall alerts, go to http://www.safercar.gov/ and select the "Email recall notifications" option.