HISTORIC TRENDS AND FUTURE CONSEQUENCES OF PROJECTED TRAFFIC ALONG RURAL INTERSTATE 35

Vehicular traffic moving through rural sections of Interstate 35 in Texas is growing at a dramatic rate. For example, in the rural areas between San Antonio and Dallas, traffic grew between 4 and 8% annually between 1983 and 1992. Some rural sections exhibited traffic growth rates as high as 10% between 1970 and 1993. And as traffic grows, so does travel time--an inevitable consequence of congestion. Thus, a trip from San Antonio to Dallas, which took approximately 4.5 hours in 1972, will require 8 hours by the year 2006, given a modest 4% traffic growth annually. Other disturbing, congestion-related consequences include rising pollution levels and greater operating costs for passenger cars and trucks, not to mention more accidents. If the problems associated with increasing traffic demand in the state are not resolved, Texans can expect higher costs of living and greater losses in productivity. The primary objective of this report is to demonstrate the future loss of personal mobility by the highway user on rural sections of the Interstate. A second primary objective is to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive economic analysis of the problems associated with large traffic flows by using rural IH-35 as an example of a high-traffic corridor. Additionally, this report will provide a foundation for suggesting alternative solutions to the problem of traffic congestion on high-traffic corridors. By demonstrating the problems of growing traffic demand on rural high-traffic corridors in Texas, and by building on the findings of an earlier study, we suggest that a supercorridor--also known as a managed transportation system (MTS)--continues to be a feasible option for mitigating the growing traffic congestion problems on rural corridors.

• Record URL:
  http://www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf_reports/1326_1.pdf
• 
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Research study title: Economic Feasibility of a Managed Transportation System.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Austin

  Center for Transportation Research, 3208 Red River Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78705

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Transfer Office, P.O. Box 5051
  Austin, TX  United States  78763-5051

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Gonzalez-Ayala, S
  • Euritt, M
  • Harrison, R
  • Koontz, C
  • McCullough, B F
  • Macias-Mohr, R
• Publication Date: 1996-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 88 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pollution; Crash rates; Interstate highways; Mobility; Motor vehicles; Operating costs; Rural highways; Traffic congestion; Traffic mitigation; Travel time; Trend (Statistics)
• Uncontrolled Terms: Mitigation
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Old TRIS Terms: Managed transportation systems; Supercorridors
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00737972
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA/TX-97/1326-1, Res Rept 1326-1, CTR 1326-1 Interim Rept
• Contract Numbers: Study 0-1326
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jun 19 1997 12:00AM