Growing Freight Demands Reaching Transportation Crisis, AASHTO Study Says

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MVC President and Iowa Department of Transportation 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. 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 Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely hosted a news conference along with Dan Flowers, the head of the Arkansas DOT, and other state and local officials, industry, and businesses. Nicely said, “To accommodate this predicted growth in freight movement, we need to think nationally, regionally, and on a multi-modal 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 pass 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 I-40 through Tennessee and Arkansas alone accounts for nearly one-third of the nation’s busiest truck miles.

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, according to Nicely. 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 multi-use bridge that would include both vehicle and rail access.

Unlocking Freight is the second in a series of reports generated by AASHTO to identify the need to increase capacity in our transportation system. For more information and to see state examples of freight capacity needs, go to http://expandingcapacity.transportation.org