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Interstates: The Next 50 Years
New Funding, Technology, Materials
and Methods Will Shape a Generation of Roads
By Bruce Buckley
In June 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation
that would help shape a nation. The Federal-Aid Highway Act
of 1956 paved the way for the creation of the interstate highway
system - a vision that today connects people nationwide via
a 42,795-mi. network of roads.
Eisenhower's foresight helped create the backbone of U.S.
economic growth, reduced congestion on local and state roads,
and helped improve road safety.
But even Eisenhower couldn't have imagined the demands on
the highway system caused by tremendous population growth
and the subsequent increase in licensed drivers - at a time
when funding sources are becoming scarce. As the industry
celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Interstate, experts
are looking at ways to address the system's growing needs
over the next five decades.
Since 1956, the U.S. population has grown 81.5 percent to
298.2 million, and 2056 estimates suggest the population could
hit 437.2 million - a 46.6 percent increase from today. Meanwhile,
the number of licensed drivers has grown 163.5 percent since
1956 to 204.7 million. In 50 years, that number could hit
382.6 million - an 86.9 percent increase.
Faced with that kind of growth, today's Interstate is not
expanding fast enough to handle demand, said Charles Potts,
CEO of Heritage Construction and Materials in Indianapolis.
"You've heard the saying, 'Build it and they will come,'"
Potts said. "Well we haven't built it and they've already
come."
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta said the basic
issues of interconnectivity have been addressed since the
days of Eisenhower, but as he looks toward the next 50 years,
congestion relief and capacity building should be the focus.
"We need to focus on the intermodal nature of traffic
growth," he said. "As you look at the next 20 years,
the growth in traffic from imports and exports alone will
put a tremendous load on the system. We've got to be able
to take traffic that's generated from the maritime trade and
then put it on highway and rail and move it to the interiors."
Where's the Money?
If anything can cloud the vision of Interstate progress, it's
funding. Experts note that the traditional gas tax model is
falling well short of financial demand. In fact, the American
Road & Transportation Builders Association in Washington,
D.C., estimates the Highway Trust Fund could reach a zero balance
as early as 2009.
Increasing the gas tax has proven politically unpopular, especially
as prices at the pump approach $3 per gallon. Plus, cars are
becoming more fuel efficient, further eroding the revenue stream.
With traditional models failing, Interstate projects are increasingly
looking toward alternative funding sources, including public-private
partnerships and tolling. SAFETEA-LU contains provisions that
encourage public-private partnerships, including expanded opportunities
in private activity bonds and in loans available under the Transportation
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
Such partnerships are fueling the nation's most ambitious Interstate
plan - the Trans-Texas corridor. The 600-mi. corridor is being
funded through a development agreement between Cintra-Zachry
and the Texas Department of Transportation, which includes a
$6 billion investment from Cintra-Zachry to design and construct
a 316-mi. toll road section.
Meanwhile, existing Interstates are being leased to help fund
future improvements. In 2004, the Chicago Skyway was leased
for 99 years to the Spanish-Australian consortium of Cintra
Macquarie for $1.8 billion. The state of Indiana signed a $3.8
billion contract in April to lease the Indiana Toll Road to
Cintra Macquarie for 75 years.
Richard Norment, executive director of the National Council
for Public Private Partnerships, said he has seen a spike in
interest in PPP this year. Texas and Virginia have experimented
with the model for nearly a decade, but Norment said discussions
of PPP are now going on in nearly a dozen states.
It's an alternative that he said will gain favor out of necessity.
"It's going to be a slow process," he added. "We've
had 50 years of experience with Uncle Sam paying for our Interstates,
but people are also upset with gas prices and don't want to
increase the gas tax. If the Highway Trust Fund isn't sufficient,
what is going to happen to our roads?"
Jim Riley, transportation services chairman at Kansas City,
Mo.-based design and engineering firm HNTB, estimated that as
much as 20 percent of Interstate funding in the next five years
could come from private sources.
"There's going to be a boom in the amount of urban Interstates
that will be financed by private money because our gas tax
isn't going anywhere in the next five years," he said.
States Step Up
Public-private partnerships underscore the shifting roles in
the development of Interstates. Since the 1980s, there have
been ongoing discussions about "devolution," giving
more power to the states to address their own needs. It's a
trend that Secretary Mineta said needs even more discussion
today.
"Mayors and governors know more about what their problems
are and how to solve them than someone at the federal level,"
he said. "I want bottom-up solutions rather than top-down
solutions."
The federal role in the Interstate system is a major point of
debate under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.
The NCHRP currently has commissioned a panel that will look
at the next 50 years of the system.
Kenneth Orski, a panel member and president of Urban Mobility
Corp. in Potomac, Md., said the panel will discuss the federal
government's role in expanding the system.
"The feds could remain in charge of maintaining the existing
system with the Highway Trust Fund, but any additions to the
nation's highway infrastructure would be financed by the states,
perhaps in cooperation with the private sector," he said.
"That's a scenario worthy of exploration."
Information Superhighways
One area where the federal government continues to have a
strong guiding role is in technology. Intelligent Transportation
Systems are being looked at as a cost-effective way to address
congestion.
Basic 511 systems are starting to roll out across the country.
The $1.67 billion T-Rex project in Denver is among the new
projects that include ITS, using cameras and sensors to monitor
traffic while alerting drivers of congestion via dynamic message
signs.
This year, Florida became the 23rd state to activate 511 service
on its roads.
But the 50-year vision of ITS is more far-reaching. The Vehicle-Infrastructure
Integration initiative under U.S. DOT is working with vehicle
manufacturers to create information exchanges between vehicles
and traffic managers. Data from cars could be collected to
identify congestion, and traffic alerts could be sent directly
to drivers in their cars rather than via signs.
Mike Walton, professor of civil engineering at University
of Texas in Austin, said automated guideway systems could
also be created to help manage traffic.
"Fifty years down the road, I think we'll have much of
the system in place," he said.
Transportation Dedication
To handle growing traffic concerns, planners are looking increasingly
at dedicated lanes. Urban areas continue to look at HOV and
HOT lanes to help address congestion. Last year, Virginia DOT
signed a $900 million deal with Fluor to construct four HOT
lanes on portions of Interstate 495.
With significant growth in truck traffic in recent decades,
many experts are pushing for dedicated truck lanes on Interstates.
"Truck traffic has become such a big part of our economy,
we'll have to separate them from automobiles in the near future,"
said Kumares Sinha, a professor of civil engineering at Purdue
University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Bridging the Gap
As the nation's Interstates continue to age, the next generation
of highways could require a new generation of construction materials
and techniques. Critics argue that in a low-bid environment,
such innovations can often be stifled because of the impact
on the bottom line.
In light of this, the federal Highways for Life pilot program
is promoting innovation by providing grants for cutting-edge
state projects.
Connecticut DOT is pushing the envelope with its Q Bridge project
on Interstate 95 in New Haven. The $350 million project uses
a method called extradosing, which incorporates elements of
segmental girder and cable-stayed design. The method, which
has been used successfully in Japan, allows for long spans without
high towers.
Bridges in the future could also feature high-tech material
use, including fiber reinforced polymer decks.
Leo Vecellio, CEO of Vecellio Group of West Palm Beach, Fla.,
said that, given the demand to replace bridges that have reached
the end of their lifecycle, he expects bridge work to be prime
testing ground for Interstate innovation.
"The bridge replacement program will have to continue at
perhaps an even higher pace than before," he said. "If
there's a place for new materials, that's it."
Despite the changing environment, the main drivers of Eisenhower's
initiatives remain the same - to build a safe, free-flowing
system that promotes economic growth.
"Our system is what has made us the world's leading economy,"
said Potts, the Indianapolis contractor. "We need to come
together to create a plan that moves us forward. The nation
needs to understand again how critical our Interstates are." |
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