Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:


Pages 9-16

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 9...
... 9 1 Introduction The nation's $4 trillion road and highway transportation network1 touches nearly every aspect of the lives of almost 330 million Americans. Travel on roads and highways by passengers and freight dominate all other modal options by a large share.
From page 10...
... 10 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Even so, the many benefits highways provide come with substantial costs. Congestion in the nation's largest urban areas cost the average traveler $1,350 in wasted time in 2018.3 The quality ranking of U.S.
From page 11...
... INTRODUCTION 11 of the federal government's broader investment in highway research, development, and technology (RD&T) programs.
From page 12...
... 12 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION Two other congressional criteria are central to success of the highway innovation process: (a) that RD&T programs address stakeholder input and (b)
From page 13...
... INTRODUCTION 13 on road and highway construction, maintenance, and operations.11 Governmental expenditures on roads and highways, while substantial in and of themselves, do not capture the untold benefits of highway transportation to the lives of individuals and the economy; the $60 billion in annual medical costs and productivity losses associated with highway crashes;12 and the unestimated environmental and public health costs of highway vehicle emissions.13 The challenges demanding innovation in the highway sector have grown and changed over time. When the federal highway program began in earnest in the decades of the post–World War II era, the state agencies responsible for roads faced broad challenges in how to best acquire land, design, contract for, fund, and construct highways.
From page 14...
... 14 VITAL FEDERAL ROLE IN HIGHWAY INNOVATION • operating highways safely and efficiently, especially through rapidly advancing technology; • planning for and overcoming the difficulties of adding new capacity (land constraints, cost, opposition of neighboring residents, funding, environmental concerns) where needed; • minimizing the environmental impact of highway construction, maintenance, and operations; • mitigating harmful health effects of highway emissions on natural systems and fragmentation of natural habitats; • making infrastructure more resilient; • coordinating highway investment and operations with other modes of transportation; and • addressing the chronic problem of generating the large streams of revenues needed to maintain and expand highways and address all of the issues associated with them.
From page 15...
... INTRODUCTION 15 CONCLUSIONS 1.1 Highway transportation affects almost all aspects of the lives of individuals and society, for good and for ill, and requires ongoing innovation in the public sector to maximize benefits and minimize costs. 1.2 Needed highway innovations cover a wide array of topics including construction, materials, design, safety and public health, operations, resiliency, environmental protection, planning, policy, and funding/finance, among others.

Key Terms



This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.