DOT's Anthony Foxx Urges Investment in Freight Corridors Over Next 30 Years
“The national government has an interest in the country being able to move freight freely, effectively, efficiently and safely,” Foxx told Transport Topics in an interview Feb. 12 about the 300-page, yearlong study he unveiled earlier this month.
Highways aren’t the only parts of the nation’s freight network that are increasingly congested, Foxx said.
“It’s multimodal congestion,” he said. “In the Midwest, there’s a lot of rail congestion. In the East and West Coasts, there’s a lot of first- and last-mile congestion around densely populated areas.”
BUS TOUR: Foxx to visit five states, D.C.
The study is a graphic analysis of what’s likely to happen if the nation does not make greater investments and plan better in all areas of transportation, from pipelines to transit to trucking. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx interview with Transport TopicsDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx tells Transport Topics that relieving congestion on freight corridors is a top priority.DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx's interview with Transport TopicsDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx talks about the critical need to relieve congestion along freight corridors.
The study warns that the United States’ multimodal freight system, “once the envy of the world,” is increasingly unable to meet the needs of a growing population and a changing economy.
Without greater investment and better planning by states and the federal government, for instance, congestion could plague 37% of the National Highway System by 2040, compared with 11% in 2007, the study found.
“Every year, trucks are losing $27 billion on wasted time and fuel,” the study said .
Since its unveiling Feb. 2, the study has been downloaded 140,000 times, Foxx said. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx interview with Transport TopicsDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx talks about the challenge of coordinating infrastructure improvements when agencies are involved at the local, state and federal level.DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx interview with Transport TopicsDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx describes the challenge of working with local, state and federal agencies in trying to solve the nation's infrastructure problems.
“People are hungry for a new idea on how they’re going to get from one place to another,” he said. “And they know that things are getting worse right now, so they know that we can’t keep going along the way we’re going, and I think one of the messages that the report gives us is that the old pipelines, how dollars flow, aren’t going to get this country where it needs to go.”
