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Pages 11-26

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From page 11... ... 1 Introduction The Interstate Highway System is not only a testament to America's engineering prowess but also an embodiment of what the country can accomplish when its leaders are united behind a common vision. It is perhaps not surprising that the generation that waged World War II would conceive of, plan, and build the Interstates. Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... 12 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM ability to drive hundreds of miles on the same route through multiple states without crossing a single intersection is taken for granted. In the transportation domain, the United States has arguably never accomplished more than it did during the Interstate era. Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... INTRODUCTION 13 largely remained the same throughout this period, the U.S. population and economy have undergone major changes, including marked growth in parts of the country that were lightly populated in 1956. Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... 14 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM In the context of the historical pattern of underestimating traffic loadings, together with the unanticipated requirements for the system to be made resilient to future climate change and capable of accommodating an increasingly automated vehicle fleet with concomitant cyber threats, the Interstate Highway System and its upkeep must be viewed through the lens of an ever-changing demographic, economic, environmental, and technological landscape. To keep pace with these changes, the system cannot simply be preserved and restored; rather, planning and reinvestment choices must be made with an emphasis on renewal, modernization, and adaptability. Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... INTRODUCTION 15 In the FAST Act, Congress encouraged the study committee to consult with FHWA and state departments of transportation (DOTs) , metropolitan and local transportation planning agencies, the motor carrier and freight shipping industries; other operators and users of Interstate highways; highway safety advocates; and other interests, as deemed appropriate by the committee. Read the entire page →
From page 16... ... 16 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM BOX 1-1 Section 6021 FAST ACT, Request for This Study The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the actions needed to upgrade and restore the Dwight D Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways to its role as a premier system that meets the growing and shifting demands of the 21st century. Read the entire page →
From page 17... ... INTRODUCTION 17 experience, and expertise in highway and transportation system planning; construction, operations, and administration; civil and environmental systems and transportation engineering; economics; law and public policy; traffic safety; and travel and demand modeling (see Appendix A for biographical sketches of the committee members) Read the entire page →
From page 18... ... 18 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM long-range in nature. Estimating investment needs for the entire Interstate System 50 years into the future, however, would require numerous assumptions, and much speculation, about many prospective developments and their interactions. Read the entire page →
From page 19... ... INTRODUCTION 19 System that are already heavily used and projected to account for most of the country's population growth. Although increasingly automated and connected vehicles may be entering the fleet, their impacts on travel demand should be marginal over most of the time frame. Read the entire page →
From page 20... ... 20 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM functioned alone. The committee recognizes the desirability of assuming such a broad and comprehensive perspective on the Interstate Highway System, but could think of no practical way to do so for the purpose of estimating investments needs and their impacts. Read the entire page →
From page 21... ... INTRODUCTION 21 • Representatives of urban transit systems, the trucking and shipping sectors, and the automobile industry; • Experts in public policy, economics, and engineering and those with prior highway transportation experience; • Experts in the technology of highway construction, vehicles, energy, telecommunications, and other relevant fields and industries; • Practitioners of travel demand modeling and forecasting; • Individuals and organizations advocating for energy conservation, community and environmental interests, and traffic safety; and • Experts in transportation infrastructure funding and financing and the role of transportation in supporting national security logistics. The more than 100 individuals who met with the committee are listed in Appendix B Read the entire page →
From page 22... ... 22 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM potentially speculative exercise that the committee could not envision yielding a productive outcome. Similarly, even after hearing from many presenters about the importance of the Interstate Highway System to the economy and the daily lives of Americans, the committee could think of no good way to respond in a direct manner to the call for an examination of the system's future impact on access to employment and education or on communities and quality of life. Read the entire page →
From page 23... ... INTRODUCTION 23 development and the implications for motor vehicle travel, prospects for a dramatically changing climate, and the consequences of technological advances for the vehicle fleet. Modeling As stipulated by Congress, the committee consulted the report of NCHRP Project 20-24(79) Read the entire page →
From page 24... ... 24 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM progression of layered improvements described above would enable the determination of investment needs for the future Interstate System. Based on information in the commissioned resource paper on future traffic growth, the models were run using rates of VMT growth ranging from 0.75 to 2.0 percent annually for a period of up to 20 years, as well as for a longer time frame. Read the entire page →
From page 25... ... INTRODUCTION 25 in keeping with Congress's request for a study employing the methods proposed in the NCHRP report, which center on these models and whose results are routinely presented to Congress, the committee used the models to the extent possible. Case Studies Finally, pursuant to the NCHRP proposed methodology, the committee commissioned a set of nearly two dozen case studies of ongoing and planned Interstate projects. Read the entire page →
From page 26... ... 26 NATIONAL COMMITMENT TO THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM means by which the Interstate System is currently funded and how revenues are allocated. Importantly, this chapter and the complementary Appendix J examine funding options and provide estimates of how each option could generate the revenue levels required to fund the 20-year investment needs identified in Chapter 5. Read the entire page →

From page 11...

... 1 Introduction The Interstate Highway System is not only a testament to America's engineering prowess but also an embodiment of what the country can accomplish when its leaders are united behind a common vision. It is perhaps not surprising that the generation that waged World War II would conceive of, plan, and build the Interstates.