Federal Government Freight Bottleneck Report Highlights America ’s Growing Transportation Infrastructure Capacity Crisis

Washington, D.C. [February 03, 2006]—A January 2006 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) report shows the nation is experiencing a freight transportation capacity crisis that increasingly threatens the strength and future productivity of the U.S. economy, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA).

The FHWA report, “An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways,” found bottlenecks are causing truckers 243 million hours of delay annually. At a direct user cost of $32.15 per hour, the delay from bottlenecks is costing trucking companies nearly $8 billion annually, the report said.

The study analyzed four major types of highway freight bottleneck delays: highway interchanges, signalized intersections, steep grades and lane reductions. Ranked by annual hours of delay for all trucks, the top cities for highway interchange bottlenecks included: Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y; Atlanta, Ga.; Phoenix, Ariz., Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, Calif.

“The results in this report should not be surprising to anyone,” ARTBA President Pete Ruane said, noting that nearly 75 percent of all freight in America is carried on highways. “The root cause of all traffic congestion is the failure of government at all levels to make the transportation capital investments necessary to keep pace with the mobility demands of a growing population and U.S. economy,” Ruane added.

Overall, bottlenecks represent 40 percent of all congestion delays, followed by traffic incidents (25 percent), bad weather (15 percent), work zones (10 percent), poor signal timing (5 percent), and special events (5 percent), FHWA says.

Without major capacity investments, FHWA estimates “that by 2020, 29 percent of urban National Highway System routes will be congested or exceed capacity for much of the day and 42 percent of National Highway System routes will be congested during peak periods.” By comparison, the agency said, only 10 percent of the urban National Highway System routes were congested in 1998.

“President Eisenhower embraced a vision for transportation 50 years ago when he created the Interstate Highway System,” Ruane said. “The FHWA report underscores the need for federal policymakers to begin developing new policies to modernize and add significant capacity across all modes of transportation infrastructure to meet the challenges for the next 50 years. It can be done, but it’s going to take the unprecedented involvement and leadership of the entire business community, and political will by Congress.”

Established in 1902, ARTBA is the consensus voice of the U.S. transportation construction industry in the Nation’s Capital.

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Editor’s Note: The FHWA report can be accessed at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/otps/bottlenecks/index.htm.