DOT names 6 interstates ‘Corridors of the Future’

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday, Sept. 10, six interstate routes that will be the first to participate in a new federal initiative to develop multistate corridors to help reduce congestion.

The routes will receive the following funding amounts to implement their development plans: $21.8 million for I-95 from Florida to the Canadian border; $5 million for I-70 in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio; $15 million for I-15 in Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California; $15 million for I-5 in California, Oregon and Washington; $8.6 million for I-10 from California to Florida; and $800,000 for I-69 from Texas to Michigan.

“We are using a comprehensive approach to fighting congestion along these major interstate routes,” says Deputy U.S. Secretary of Transportation Thomas J. Barrett. “What we are doing represents a real break from past approaches that have failed to address growing congestion along our busiest corridors.”

Monday’s announcement follows a yearlong competition to select a handful of interstate corridors from among the 38 applications received from public and private sector entities to join DOT’s “Corridors of the Future” program aimed at developing innovative national and regional approaches to reduce congestion and improve the efficiency of freight delivery. The selected corridors carry 22.7 percent of the nation’s daily interstate travel.

The proposals were selected for their potential to use public and private resources to reduce traffic congestion within the corridors and across the country. The concepts include building new roads and adding lanes to existing roads, building truck-only lanes and bypasses, and integrating real-time traffic technology such as lane management that can match available capacity on roads to changing traffic demands.

DOT and the states now will work to finalize formal agreements by spring 2008 that will detail the commitments of the federal, state and local governments involved. These agreements will outline the anticipated role of the private sector, as well as how the partners will handle the financing, planning, design, construction and maintenance of the corridor.

For more information on the selected corridors and the proposals, go to www.fightgridlocknow.gov.