Thursday, February 01, 2007

Peters: DOT will aggressively support the development of the Corridors of the Future

Secretary Peters Advances Plans to Reduce Congestion on the Nation’s Busiest Highways

Announces Semi-Finalists in Corridors of the Future Program

February 1, 2007

Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Transportation
Copyright 2007

Ambitious, forward-leaning plans to reduce traffic tie-ups on several of the nation’s busiest highways are one step closer to becoming a reality as a short list of interstate corridors under the Corridors of the Future program was announced today by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters.

Peters said that the Department is using this national congestion relief effort “to fight back against the traffic that is choking our major roads.” She said the Corridors of the Future effort is a progressive approach that includes transportation planning across state lines in ways that reduce congestion and preserve the efficient flow of goods and commerce across America. She went on to caution that “if we don’t act today, our economy will be facing a standstill in the future.”

The Department is advancing 14 of 38 proposals located on eight major transportation corridors including: I-95 between Florida and Maine; I-15 in southern California and Nevada; I-80/94 and I-90 linking Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan; I-5 in California, Washington and Oregon; I-70 from Missouri to Ohio; I-69 from Texas to Michigan; I-80 in Nevada and California; and I-10 from California to Florida.

The proposals currently include various combinations of expanded highway capacity, truck-only lanes, increased freight and passenger rail development, and extensive use of innovative technologies to keep traffic moving and improve overall safety. Peters said the applicants “exhibited creativity and innovation in their initial proposals to reduce congestion.” She indicated that the Department looks forward to the next phase of the program in which these ideas will be further developed and refined.

The 14 projects were selected based on the potential of each to reduce congestion on the eight corridors of national and regional significance using innovative financing and project delivery techniques. She noted that the Department will select up to five Corridors of the Future in the summer of 2007.

Peters said the Department will aggressively support the development of the Corridors of the Future by accelerating permitting schedules, identifying new financing options, and promoting innovative project delivery methods to “move these projects from the drawing board to completion faster than ever before.”

The Corridors of the Future program is one element of DOT’s six-point National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on America’s Transportation Network launched in May 2006. The overall national congestion initiative is focused on reducing traffic on highways, relieving freight bottlenecks, and reducing flight delays.

Contact: Brian Turmail
Tel.: (202) 366-4570

© 2007 U.S. Department of Transportation: www.dot.gov

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