Transportation system faces freight ‘crisis’

   "The transportation system that supports the movement of freight across America is facing a crisis," said the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) last week as it released a report, Unlocking Freight..
   "In 10 years, an additional 1.8 million trucks will be on the road; in 20 years, for every two trucks today, another one will be added. Already bottlenecks on major highways used by truckers every day are adding millions of dollars to the cost of food, goods and manufacturing equipment for American consumers," said the group.
   The report identifies key projects in 30 states that would improve freight delivery and dependability, and offers a plan to address what is needed to relieve freight congestion, generate jobs and improve productivity.
   Despite more long-distance freight being moved by intermodal rail, the report finds that trucks will still carry 74 percent of the load. On average, 10,500 trucks a day travel some segments of the Interstate Highway System today. By 2035, this will increase to 22,700 commercial trucks for these portions of the interstate, with the most heavily used segments seeing upwards of 50,000 trucks a day. Yet from 1980 to 2006, traffic on the Interstate Highway System increased 150 percent while interstate capacity increased only 15 percent. The report identifies the 1,000 miles of most heavily traveled highways used by trucks.
   "To accommodate this predicted growth in freight movement, we need to think nationally, regionally, and on a multimodal level,” said Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Central to this effort should be the creation of a National Multimodal Freight Plan to ensure that transportation investments are coordinated and made where most needed. By linking trucks, rail, waterway transport and aviation, freight can be moved more efficiently throughout the nation." — Chris Dupin