When transportation planners and policy makers look back on 2024, what will they remember? For starters, the Biden-Harris Administration secured $695 billion for 74,000 projects all over the country, much of which was spent on repairing road and rail infrastructure. And, without further ado, congestion pricing is set to go into effect in New York City on January 5, 2025, and Boston may soon follow suit. The 2024 presidential election may throw a wrench in some important transit projects on the drafting table, while others can continue without federal support, but only time will tell that outcome. Here are some of the biggest transportation stories AN covered this past year.Portland International Airport, Main Terminal Expansion by ZGF Architects (Ema Peter)ZGF completed new mass timber airport in PortlandANs Best of Design Awards Project of the Year went to the airport in Portland, Oregon, designed by ZGF. Jurors commended the new PDX Airport for its palatial spaces framed by mass timber. AN contributor Sam Lubell reviewed the timber mecca after traversing below its 9-acre mass timber roof.The $2.15 billion facility replaces what was previously a quilt of patched-together buildings, Lubell wrote. It is one of the most stunning American airport spaces in decades. But in this case, the exciting new technology isnt really new at all. Its wood, highlighted by an extraordinarily intricate 380,000-square-foot Douglas fir roof composed of over 800 curved glulam beams (some 80 to 90 feet long), 842,000 board feet of mass plywood roofing, and more than 36,900 pieces of 2-by-6 infill panels.Grimshaw Architects won Stirling Prize for Elizabeth LineLondons newest train line named after the late Queen Elizabeth was the 2024 Stirling Prize winner. The Elizabeth Line, designed by Grimshaw Architects and many others, connects Reading in the west to Sheffield in the east with 62 total miles of track; it was made possible thanks to new cross running service in Londons city center.This years Stirling Prize winner stood out because, in recent years, RIBA has primarily prized buildings for its annual award, not tunnels. (Last year, the John Morden Centre by M, a brick and timber retirement community just south of London, won.) And Elizabeth Line is an infrastructure project rather than a building, at least in the words conventional sense.However, the Elizabeth Line isnot the first transportation projectto be awarded the Stirling Prize. In 2006, Richard Rogers Partnership won for its work on Madrids Barajas airport and, in 2002, Wilkinson Eyre was recognized for Millennium Bridge. Social Impact Collective put green roofs on Boston bus stopsSince taking office in 2021,Bostons #28 bus has been a test bed for Mayor Michelle Wusclimate-focused administration.Last October, Mayor Wu shared that 30 bus sheltersalong the linewhich extends through Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury to downtownwill be capped with drought-resistant plantings.The initiative is part of the city of BostonsHeat Plan, namely a component titled Cool Commutes.The system was designed by Social Impact Collective, a Boston-based, minority-owned architecture and design firm. Weston Nurseries, a Massachusetts-based plant nursery; YouthBuild Boston; and JCDecaux, Bostons street furniture contracting partner, are all on the development team.Rendering of new commuter station at Co-op City (Courtesy MTA)The Bronx gets approved for 4 new commuter stations and loads of housingInthe Bronx, residents ofCo-op City, Parkchester, Morris Park, and Hunts Point will soon enjoy new Metro-North Stations; with strings attached. The four newcommuterhubs are thanks to arezoning approval by New York City Council from last August. These stations will anchor a new 6-mile development corridor where 7,000 new homes will be built across 46 city blocks.Transportation always unlocks growth, but what kind of growth will rezoning deliver? The jury is split over whether or notrezoning will provide civic benefit, or if it will exacerbate inequality in New Yorks poorest borough. While the Mayors office and several Bronx City Council members champion this latest approval, several community groups view it as a trojan horse for gentrification. Inglewood, Californias people mover receives $1 billion in federal fundingIn early January, the Biden administration invested over $1 billion in a new people mover for California, which aims to connect downtown Inglewood, aLos Angeles suburb, with several of the areas largest professional sports and performance venues via a 1.6-mile-long pedestrian belt.Governor Hochul lays out plans for NYCs Second Avenue Subway Extension and Interborough ExpressNew YorkGovernorKathy Hochul, in early January, laid out major transportation plans in her 2024 State of the State address. The big takeaways were: three new subway stations under Second Avenue could be coming to Harlem, filling in a major transit desert, and BrooklynandQueenswill have new orbital service.As of last September, the Second Avenue Subway Extension was in limbo, thanks to congestion pricings faltering. But now that congestion pricing is back on the table, it could go ahead as planned. Preliminary design on Interborough Express is now also underway.Phase Two of The Underline in Miami is now open (Courtesy The Underline)Phase Two of The Underline, led by GSLA Design, opens to the public in MiamiIn Miami, a transit project called The Underline passed a major milestone last April. With The Underline, the city of Miami, the Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation of Public Works (DTPW), and Friends of The Underline have stitched together paths for bikingand walking while connecting severaltransitstops, schools, hospitals, and businesses along the way.Phase Two, led by Ken Gardner of Gardner + Semler Landscape Architecture Design (GSLA Design), follows up on Phase Onedesigned by Field Operations. There, the landscape designers behind the High Line combined resiliency with recreation. The 0.5-mile stretch of greenspace was built on three key drivers: safety, nature, and community. A pathway that separates bikers and pedestrians promotes safety, while native vegetation addresses nature, and public art and space for cultural programming makes the park a hub for community-based activity.