Interstates - The Next 50 Years

New funding, technology, materials and methods will shape next 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-mile network of roads.

Over the next 50 years, 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 today's Interstate system. Tremendous population growth and the subsequent increase in licensed drivers are putting heavy strains on our highways, even as sources of funding are 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 50 years.

Since 1956, the U.S. population has grown 81.5 percent to 298.2 million and by 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 fifty years, that number could hit 382.6 million - an 86.9 percent increase.

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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, Ind.

"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 fifty years congestion relief and capacity building should be the focus.

"As we look at the future, we need to focus on the inter-modal 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, some officials, such as the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, estimate the Highway Trust Fund could reach a zero balance as early as 2009. Increasing the gas tax has proven politically unpopular, especially as prices 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 says will gain favor out of necessity.

"It's going to be a slow process," he said. "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, estimates 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 our 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 on Future Options for the National System of Interstate and

Defense Highways, which 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.

Kumares Sinha, professor of civil engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said he expects trucks to become a major issue during the next 20 years.

"Truck traffic has become such a big part of our economy, we'll have to separate them from automobiles in the near future," he said.

Bridging the gap. As our 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 I-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 which have reached the end of their lifecycle, he expects bridge work to be prime testing ground for Interstate innovation.