AASHTO report: connecting rural, urban America crucial to economic growth

John Horsley, executive director of AASHTO, said even as truck traffic is increasing across the country, more adequate rural roads are necessary to enable trucks to connect the rural and urban areas so that products can get from the farms and hen houses of rural America to consumers in more populated areas. (Photo by DOROTHY COX)

By DOROTHY COX
The Trucker Staff

8/30/2010

LITTLE ROCK — Members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) today made a strong case here for increased highway funding to grow economic development by connecting rural and urban communities.

John Horsley, executive director of AASHTO, said even as truck traffic is increasing across the country, more adequate rural roads are necessary to enable trucks to connect the rural and urban areas so that products can get from the farms and hen houses of rural America to consumers in more populated areas.

Horsley was joined by Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Director Dan Flowers, Mississippi Department of Transportation Director and AASHTO President Butch Brown and Marvin Childers, president of the Arkansas-Missouri-Oklahoma Poultry Federation.

“Without roads to industry there is no industry,” said Brown, emphasizing that highways are a crucial part of economic development.

And he commended “truckers“ for “offering to tax themselves” to have a better highway system (the American Trucking Associations has supported a fuel tax increase as long as the money goes to highway projects).

Brown said there is “little or no political will to do the next right thing“ as far as highway funding, and Horsley commented that Congress extending the current highway bill for another six years to the tune of $450 billion would be “a good down payment“ on fixing the nation's ailing infrastructure.

According to the study, more investment is needed in America's rural transportation system to keep agriculture, new energy products and freight moving; improve access for the travel, recreation, and tourism industries; connect new and emerging cities; and to ensure reliable access to key defense installations.

"Improving connectivity and mobility for the 60 million Americans who live in rural areas is just as important as improving mobility for those who live in metropolitan areas," said Horsley, "Rural states are essential to the nation's success, not only to meet the needs of their own citizens, but also to maintain their part of the national network on which the U.S. economy depends."

The AASHTO report offers a three-point plan to ensure the connectivity of rural and urban America. In any reauthorization of federal transportation legislation:

• Continue to fund rural portions of the Interstate Highway System and other Federal-aid highways that connect America

• Double federal investment in rural transit systems to meet rising demand; and

• Expand the existing capacity of the Interstate system; upgrade rural routes to Interstate standards; and connect newly urbanized areas to the Interstate system.

Key findings from the report include:

• Sixty-six cities with populations of 50,000 or more — including one state capital — do not have immediate access to the Interstate system

• During the next 30 years, 80 percent of the nation's population growth is expected to concentrate in the South and West

• In 2008, almost one out of eight people aged 65 and older lived in rural areas.  This elderly population exceeds 9.6 million people and relies heavily on rural roads and public transit systems for their transportation, and

• Many of the nation's most popular tourist destinations — including ski slopes, seashores, and national parks — experience significant traffic delays. Many of these destinations are not close to Interstate or National Highway System routes.

Brown said, "In Mississippi, we're fortunate to have waterways, ports, highways, and rail, but we must ensure that all rural states have good transportation options that will enable them to generate jobs and create strong economic growth."

"Arkansas is a rural state with many more highway needs than funds to meet those needs. We have over 16,000 highway miles in our system, the12th largest state highway system in the nation. While nationally there are cities with populations over 50,000 that are not served by an interstate — we have a city of 20,000 not even connected to an interstate with a four-lane highway — El Dorado," said Flowers, who also is president of Southeastern Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (SASHTO).

The report also finds that rural economic development efforts depend on access to Interstate and National Highway System routes.

"Rural roads are critically important to the success of our industry," said Childers. "Getting feed delivered to our farms and the chickens, turkeys and eggs delivered from the farms to our processing plants in a timely manner must take place for our industry to succeed. Trucking is a critical mode of transportation for rural America. It carries 70 percent of agricultural and food products and provides the link between farmers, manufacturers, processors and markets. We cannot survive without a quality transportation system. Improving and keeping our transportation infrastructure in good repair is very, very important to the economy of this region."

For more information and to see state examples of rural capacity needs, go to http://expandingcapacity.transportation.org/.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) represents the state departments of transportation in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association serving as a catalyst for excellence in transportation. Follow them on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/aashtospeaks or go to their website: http://www.transportation.org/.

Dorothy Cox of The Trucker staff may be contacted for comment at dlcox@thetrucker.com.