DESIGNING THE 100 MPH EXPRESSWAY

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A ONE HUNDRED-MILE STRETCH OF CENTURY EXPRESSWAY IS RECOMMENDED BY CORNELL AERONAUTICAL LABORATORY TRANSPORTATION SPECIALISTS. IT WOULD SERVE AS A NATIONAL PROVING GROUND FOR AUTO TRAVEL AT A STEADY 100 MPH. THE CENTURY EXPRESSWAY, IF SUCCESSFUL, COULD PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR PLANNING A NATIONAL NETWORK OF HIGH-SPEED HIGHWAYS FOLLOWING THE SCHEDULED COMPLETION OF THE NATIONS INTERSTATE SYSTEM. CENTURY EXPRESSWAY TRAFFIC WOULD BE LIMITED TO PASSENGER CARS MEETING PERFORMANCE AND SAFETY STANDARDS. ONLY MOTORISTS HOLDING SPECIAL LICENSES WOULD BE PERMITTED TO ENTER. TRUCKS WOULD BE BARRED. CARS PERMITTED ON THE EXPRESSWAY WOULD HAVE TO PASS A 90-SECOND AUTOMATIC INSPECTION OF CRITICAL SAFETY ITEMS SUCH AS TIRES, BRAKES, STEERING, COMMUNICATION AND SIGNALING EQUIPMENT. THE DRIVER WOULD BE TESTED BY PILOTING THE CAR THROUGH A SERPENTINE TEST SECTION, CLIMAXED BY AN UNEXPECTED STOP, TO DETERMINE HIS STEERING ABILITY AND REACTION TIME. A SPECIAL MERGE- CONTROL SYSTEM WILL DIRECT CARS INTO THE HIGH-SPEED TRAFFIC FLOW. HIGH-SPEED LANES WOULD BE THIRTEEN TO FIFTEEN FEET WIDE. EACH LANE WOULD HAVE ITS OWN HARD-SURFACED EMERGENCY ESCAPE SHOULDER. THE CAPACITY OF EACH LANE AT 100 MPH IS ESTIMATED AT 3,000 CARS PER HOUR (KEEPING CARS ABOUT 150 FEET APART). CARS MUST BE STREAMLINED FOR EFFICIENT CRUISING AT 100 MPH. IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED IN DURABILITY AND IN HANDLING QUALITIES AT HIGH SPEED. FULL STREAMLINING SHOULD CUT THE CAR'S DRAG COEFFICIENT FROM 0.60 TO 0.35. THE COMBINATION OF ADVANCED DESIGN AND LOWER WEIGHT SHOULD MAKE THE CARS MORE EFFICIENT TO RUN. THE CAR WILL BE SAFER AND EASIER TO CONTROL. IN THESE CRUISERS ON THE CENTURY EXPRESSWAYS OF THE FUTURE, CRUISING AT ANYTHING SLOWER THAN ABOUT 90 MILES PER HOUR WILL BE PROHIBITED.

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrnews/hr-news-34-02.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Publication Date: 1969

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: pp 48-52
• Serial:
  • Highway Research News
  • Issue Number: 34

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Driver performance; Drivers; Expressways; High speed ground transportation; High speed vehicles; Inspection; Motor vehicles; Networks; Personnel performance; Reaction time; Roads; Speed; Streamlining; Vehicle characteristics
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver reaction
• Old TRIS Terms: Roadnet
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222985
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 11 1994 12:00AM