Dubuque Iowa News

News Growing Freight Demands Reaching Transportation Crisis Posted 9 July 2010 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 are encountered every day by truckers, adding millions of dollars to the cost of food, goods and manufacturing equipment for American consumers. As a result, according to a new report released today, the transportation system that supports the movement of freight across America is facing a crisis. At joint news conferences today in Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tenn.; and Harrisburg, Pa., the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) released “Unlocking Freight,” an analysis of America’s freight system that finds our highways, railroads, ports, waterways, and airports require investments well beyond current levels to maintain – much less improve – their performance. The report identifies key projects in 30 states that would improve freight delivery and dependability, and offers a three-point plan to address what is needed to relieve freight congestion, generate jobs and improve productivity. AASHTO President and Mississippi Department of Transportation (DOT) Executive Director Larry L. “Butch” Brown said, “The simple fact is: no transportation, no economy. They are inseparable. We must invest to maintain and strengthen the American ‘transconomy.’” At the annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Conference of State Highway and Transportation Officials (MVC) in Des Moines, Brown said, “Congress must invest in all transportation modes, from waterways to roads and rails, to get us where we need to be as a competitive nation. Millions of jobs and our nation’s long-term economic health depend on it.” 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 today, 10,500 trucks a day travel some segments of the Interstate Highway System.  By 2035, this will increase to 22,700 trucks on these portions, with the most heavily used segments seeing upwards of 50,000 trucks a day. Between 1980 and 2006, traffic on the Interstate Highway System increased by 150 percent, yet interstate capacity increased by only 15 percent. The report identifies the 1,000 miles of most heavily traveled highways used by trucks. In a related news conference releasing the report in Pennsylvania, Governor Edward Rendell stood at the Norfolk Southern Intermodal Facility in Harrisburg and said, “This report outlines what’s at stake if we fail to invest to meet the growing demands on our transportation infrastructure. This includes the roads, rails and seaports we need to move raw materials and goods to market, and keep our economy globally competitive.”  “As the gateway to the Northeast, Pennsylvania gets more than our share of truck traffic,” Rendell said. “In fact, Pennsylvania is one of six states – along with Arkansas, California, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas – that collectively account for 88 percent of the most heavily used truck routes.” “It’s unfortunate that many of the 35 million travelers who hit the road for the Fourth of July holiday this past weekend spent hours of their vacation time stuck in traffic,” said John Horsley AASHTO’s executive director. “Ten thousand commercial trucks face that kind of gridlock everyday.” MVC President and Iowa DOT Director Nancy Richardson said at the Iowa news conference that her state’s agricultural and manufacturing supply chain is crucial to the economic recovery, stability and growth of Iowa and the nation. She said, “States need greater investment and sound federal transportation polices to allow them to expand capacity when and where necessary.” MVC Vice President and Minnesota DOT Commissioner Thomas Sorel said, “The Port of Duluth-Superior is an example of hundreds of freight-related projects in desperate need of greater investment. It’s one of the largest inland seaports in the world, bringing in iron ore and coal docks, grain elevators and specialized cargo facilities lining the industrial waterfronts of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. Yet the infrastructure is currently deficient in terms of capacity, physical condition and safety.”   The nation's multimodal freight transportation system directly affects economic development, current and future jobs, and the quality of life in our communities,” said Ohio DOT Director Jolene M. Molitoris, MVC incoming vice president. “Today, the nation's freight transportation system supports more than 10 million jobs, from couriers, truckers, laborers, shippers, railroad conductors, and mechanics to postal carriers, warehouse operators and stock clerks. Now, think about how many more jobs will be added as the industry grows over time and you begin to see yet another reason why this study is so important.” In Memphis, Tennessee DOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely and Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department Director Dan Flowers co-hosted a news conference, along with other state and local officials, and industry and business leaders. Commissioner Nicely said, “To accommodate this predicted growth in freight movement, we need to think nationally and regionally, and on a multimodal level. 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.” Each year, 147 million tons of freight passes through Tennessee by way of trucks, rail cars and barges. Nearly half of Tennessee’s gross domestic product comes from the movement of goods, and more than half of the statewide employment is in goods-dependent industries. The segment of Interstate 40 through Tennessee and Arkansas alone accounts for nearly one-third of the nation’s busiest truck miles. According to Nicely, a current strain on the movement of freight in the tri-state region is the lack of vehicular and rail crossings along the Mississippi River. Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas are currently working to develop a third Mississippi River bridge crossing – dubbed the Southern Gateway Project. Environmental studies on the project are now underway and include consideration of a multiuse bridge that would include both vehicle and rail access.

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