A compelling presentation, given by the Hon. Norman Y. Mineta* and Norman Augustine, TRB Chair, was delivered during the 98th Transportation Research Board (TRB)‘s Chair’s Luncheon on January 16, 2019, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, D.C. The TRB Chair’s Luncheon is the premier event of the TRB Annual Meeting, estimated to have drawn 750 leaders in transportation from the public and private sectors throughout the United States and abroad. Jerry Voigt, ACPA President & CEO and ISCP Member, Jim Mack, ACPA Chairman, CEMEX and ISCP Member, and Leif Wathne, ACPA Executive VP and ISCP Director, were present to hear the presentation during the TRB Chair Luncheon.
Based on a consensus report developed in response to language in the FAST Act of 2015, the presentation was titled “Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System: A Foundation for the Future”. The language requested the TRB to conduct a study of the actions needed to upgrade and restore the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
The prospect of an aging and worn Interstate System that operates unreliably is concerning in the face of a vehicle fleet that continues to transform as the 21st century progresses, and the vulnerabilities due to climate change place new demands on the country’s transportation infrastructure. Unless a commitment is made to remedy the system’s deficiencies and prepare for the challenges that lie ahead, the system risks becoming increasingly congested; far more costly to operate, maintain, and repair; and vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate and extreme weather.
This report offers:
LOOMING CHALLENGES
• AGING ASSETS IN NEED OF REBUILDING
• ESCALATING URBAN TRAFFIC LEVELS
• DEMANDS FOR MORE SYSTEM COVERAGE
• EXPECTATIONS FOR CONTINUAL SAFETY GAINS
• TRANSFORMATIONS TO THE VEHICLE FLEET
• Changing Climate Conditions
• Eroding Revenues for System Funding
– AN INVESTMENT IMPERATIVE—A Blueprint of the Estimated Annual Interstate Investment
– KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
– A TRIED AND TRUE APPROACH
– ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• 2 VIDEOS
• Opportunity to download: Report, Summary Booklet, Biographies, Press Release, Highlights, and Webcast
One of the key points of the study suggests current spending levels are much too low, and that $45 to $70 billion are needed annually over the next 20 years to undertake the long-deferred rebuilding of pavements and bridges and to accommodate and manage growing user demand.
Particularly encouraging is that this figure applies to Interstate highways only, and not the full Federal-aid highway system or other highways
To see some additional highlights of the report, please go to: “Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System”: http://www.acpa.org/renewing-interstates/
To download the PDF of the complete report on which the presentation was developed, please click on image above left, or go to: https://www.nap.edu/resource/25334/interstate/
* Mr. Mineta served as the 14th U.S. Secretary of Transportation and was previously a U.S. Representative. Mr. Augustine is the retired Chairman of Lockheed Martin Corp. They serve with more than a dozen other transportation and business leaders who provided oversight and other leadership in the development of the consensus study report.
ISCP thanks ACPA for some of the content of this article.