New TRIP Report: Restoring the Interstate Highway System—Eisenhower’s Vision 64 Years Later

A new report by TRIP (Transportation Resource & Information Partnership), a national transportation research nonprofit, focuses on the U.S. Interstate Highway System and provides excellent information that supports the critical need for investment in this valuable highway system.

The report titled “RESTORING THE HIGHWAY INTERSTATE SYSTEM: Meeting America’s Transportation Needs with a Reliable, Safe and Well-Maintained National Highway Network”, describes how, as the Interstate reaches 64 years old, it faces increasing congestion, unprecedented levels of travel—particularly by large trucks—and insufficient funding to make needed repairs and improvements.

Sixty-four years after President Eisenhower articulated a
vision for the nation’s 20th Century transportation system,
a Congressionally-mandated report has found that the
U.S faces a “daunting” task in restoring and
renewing its most important transportation system.

The nation’s Interstate Highway System is beset with growing traffic congestion, increasing car and truck travel, and aging pavements, bridges and interchanges that need to be reconstructed and modernized. Today, the Interstate Highway System continues to save Americans time, lives and money while playing a critical role in supporting economic growth and enhancing the lifestyle choices of the nation’s residents and visitors. If Americans are to continue to enjoy the benefit of the unparalleled level of access and mobility provided by the Interstate Highway System, which have enabled the nation’s unprecedented development and growth, the U.S. will need to commit to a well-funded program of Interstate restoration, modernization and renewal…

The report states America’s
most critical transportation link will need to be
rebuilt & expanded to meet the
nation’s growing transportation need.

It examines the Interstate system’s use, condition and benefits, and the findings of a 2019 report prepared by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), at the request of Congress as part of the FAST Act. The TRB report addresses the condition and use of the Interstate system and on actions required to restore and upgrade the Interstate system.

The TRIP report includes a chart that ranks states whose Interstate systems are the most congested, have experienced the greatest increase in vehicle miles of travel (VMT) since 2000; carry the greatest share of commercial trucks; have the largest share of pavement in poor condition and bridges in poor/structurally deficient condition; and have the highest fatality rate.

The report is a “must read” for anyone with an interest in investing in, building, rehabilitating and preserving this important system of highways.

For the new TRIP report, please click on image above, or go to: www.tripnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/TRIP_Interstate_Report_2020.pdf

For the appendix, which includes data for all states, please go to: www.acpa.org/?mailpoet_router&endpoint=track&action=click&data=WyIyNTE3IiwiMzIyNGFlIiwiMTI3IiwiZTA1MzIzYzM4Yzk5IixmYWxzZV0.

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Founded in 1971, TRIP is a private, nonprofit organization that researches, evaluates, and distributes economic and technical data on surface transportation issues. By generating traditional and social media news coverage, TRIP informs and promotes policies that improve the movement of goods and people, make surface travel safer, and enhance economic development and productivity. For more on TRIP, please go to: www.tripnet.org