Transportation leaders at all levels are faced with a dynamic world of influences that will impact their operations, organizations, policies and practices in the near term as well as into the future. Many of the routine activities and mainstream initiatives in practice today will change in the future due to the influences exerted on our transportation systems by non-transportation related elements. State and federal transportation officials have tools and relatively robust processes in place to plan for and address their long-term infrastructure needs such as pavement performance and other feature rehabilitation. However, there exists no comparable long-range planning tool or vision of the future of surface transportation practices which will guide policy decisions, organizational structure, institutional change, and practices within the state DOT's. For example, will the following questions be addressed:
- What should our transportation systems be like to optimize our national economy?
- How will our surface transportation systems be impacted by the global economy?
- What role will technology play in the optimal surface transportation system of the future?
- How will finance tools and mechanisms evolve to serve transportation investment in the future?
- What impact will the 'greening' of our transportation systems have on the organizational, institutional, and policy activities of our DOT's.
- What steps must be taken to fully integrate our transportation systems by mode?
- What must our state and local transportation systems and organizations do to address the overwhelming growth of freight in this country?
This project was conducted in a collaborative effort between the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) -- both managed by the Transportation Research Board -- and the Hudson Institute -- a non-profit center for policy studies. Each of these institutions advanced concurrent, parallel research initiatives for the Transportation Vision 2010 and Beyond. The elements completed by the Hudson Institute will represent a variety of topics paid for with private funding.
The NCHRP efforts listed below examined specific areas of the Transportation Vision 2010. In addition to their value for the larger vision effort, each of these NCHRP sponsored studies have independent utility.
NCHRP Project 20-24(33)A, 21st Century Freight Mobility
Agency: ICF Consulting
Principal Investigator: Sergio J. Ostria
Effective Date: 09/12/2003
Completion Date: 07/31/2004
Funds: $80,000
This project looked at the future of freight movement in the United States as part of the global economy with its multi-dimensional elements. Included was an analysis of (1) the declining role of rail freight, (2) the accelerated growth in motor carrier freight movements, (3) the significant role ports continue to play in the global market, (4) the large impact air freight will have on trade, and (5) the future of freight movement on waterways within the United States. Attached is the agency's unedited report as submitted:
NCHRP 20-24(33) A Final
NCHRP Project 20-24(33)B, Using Technology to Manage and Operate 21st Century Transportation Systems
Agency: Delcan, Inc.
Principal Investigator: Richard R. Mudge
Effective Date: 08/22/2003
Completion Date: 08/31/2004
Funds: $75,000
This project examined the role that technology might play in helping transportation agencies to better manage the nation's highway and transit network. The focus was on improvements to management, but the implications go well beyond what one conceives as day-to-day operations. The quality and quantity of information that technology can provide also offers opportunities for transport agencies to improve how they support overall economic growth and opens the door to financial techniques that may also encourage economic productivity. The ability to fund and deploy these systems depends in part on the private sector, so a brief mention is made of private and consumer benefits. Attached is the agency's unedited report as submitted:
NCHRP 20-24(33) B Final
NCHRP Project 20-24(33)C, Vision 2010 and Beyond
Agency: Tom Warne and Associates, LLC
Principal Investigator: Thomas R. Warne
Effective Date: 09/24/2003
Completion Date: 07/31/2004
Funds: $75,000
The Vision 2010 and Beyond project will be combined with the Hudson effort to aggregate the various research elements for the overall Transportation Vision 2010 initiative. This project relied on the visioning process that occurred in January 2004 to provide the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) with a broad view of future transportation issues. In addition, the work performed added to a companion effort by the Hudson Institute to create the final Transportation Vision 2010 document. Attached is the agency's unedited report as submitted:
NCHRP 20-24(33) C Final
