Surface Transportation Research and Technology Assessment
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Introduction
As the turn of the Century approaches, the United States is at the end of almost fifty
years of building and expanding its surface transportation infrastructure, particularly
the national highway system. During those years, older elements of the infrastructure such
as the rail system and port connections have been pruned and reshaped. Much of this
surface infrastructure, even those segments that were built or modernized relatively
recently, has aged, with significant portions nearing (indeed, often exceeding) their
original design lives. Thus, the infrastructure requires regular maintenance and extensive
renewal to ensure preservation of the level of service that enables the Nation to meet its
strategic goals of safety, mobility, and economic competitiveness. Simultaneously, freight
volumes and passenger travel over the surface network have grown steadily, spurred by
brisk domestic and international trade, a healthy economy, and logistics technologies that
have made travel and shipping more efficient. This trend is projected to continue.
Much of the Nation’s far-flung transportation network (see Figure 1) is aging and
costly to maintain, and suffers periodic service disruptions for repairs or
reconstruction. Since businesses today depend on just-in-time deliveries to keep inventory
costs low, surface artery closures for maintenance or reconstruction cause costly delays
in meeting tight shipping schedules. Good performance from the Nation’s physical infrastructure is
equally important to transportation system users, general taxpayers, and the Government.
Moreover, the performance depends on segments of surface infrastructure that are privately
owned and maintained, such as railroad tracks, as well as those owned and maintained by
public entities, such as most roads and bridges.
Figure 1. The U.S. Transportation Infrastructure, 1995
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