HOW MUCH TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE DOES RURAL AMERICA NEED?

Rural America (RA) has been the beneficiary of large investments in freight and passenger surface transportation infrastructure. Unfortunately, this infrastructure is becoming out-of-date due to the technological changes occurring in transportation and other industries, and is showing the effects of time. RA needs further investments in the transportation infrastructure in order to move the large quantities of heavy products it produces long distances to market and because of the geographic dispersion of the rural population. Parsimonious funding for the rehabilitation of the rural infrastructure means that future sources of funding will have to be found. Reduced state allocations to the local rural road system suggest that agriculture and other rural sectors will face the dilemma of increased property taxes to fund the maintenance and reconstruction of the existing local rural road system or face a reduction in the miles of road. Agriculture must also be concerned about the deterioration of the aging inland waterway system, especially since federal funding of new construction must be matched by waterway user taxes. Moreover, the railroad industry still has 41% of its trackage still hauling only 1% of the total net ton miles. This suggests further rail abandonment as these tracks need rehabilitation. Technological and structural change in agriculture and transportation have made some rural transportation infrastructure investments less than beneficial to agriculture and RA. The 21st century will witness the emergence of an economic environment that will require agriculture and other rural interests to decide which transportation infrastructure investments to support and which investments they can, after all, do without.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of Minnesota, St Paul

  Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics
  St Paul, MN  United States  55108
• Authors:
  • Fruin, J E
  • Baumel, C P
• Publication Date: 1992-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 25 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Agricultural industry; Freight transportation; Government funding; Highway transportation; Infrastructure; Inland water transportation; Maintenance of way; Passenger transportation; Property taxes; Railroad transportation; Rural areas; Rural transportation; State taxation
• Uncontrolled Terms: User taxes
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Finance; Freight Transportation; Highways; Marine Transportation; Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00789433
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Staff Paper P92-8
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 6 2000 12:00AM