Rural Connections: Challenges and Opportunities in America’s Heartland
America's rural heartland plays a vital role as home to a significant share of the nation’s population, many of its natural resources and the primary source of the energy, food and fiber that supports America’s economy and way of life. The strength of the nation’s rural economy relies greatly on the quality of its transportation system, particularly its roadways, which link rural America with the rest of the U.S. and to markets in other nations. The economy of rural America, which supports the quality of life for the approximately 50 million Americans living in small communities and rural areas, rides on the quality and connectivity of the rural transportation system. But roads, highways and bridges in the nation’s heartland face a number of significant challenges: they carry growing levels of traffic and commerce, lack adequate capacity, fail to provide needed levels of connectivity to many communities, are not built to adequate standards to accommodate growing freight travel in many corridors, have significant deficiencies, lack many desirable safety features, and experience serious traffic crashes at a rate far higher than all other roads and highways. This report looks at the condition, use and safety of the nation’s rural transportation system, particularly its roads, highways and bridges, and identifies needed improvements to America’s rural transportation system.
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Corporate Authors:
TRIP
1726 M Street, NW, Suite 401
Washington, DC United States 20036-4521 - Publication Date: 2011-9
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Appendices; Figures; Illustrations; Maps; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 38p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Bridges; Crashes; Economic development; Fatalities; Highway maintenance; Highway safety; Rural areas; Rural development; Rural highways; Rural transportation; Rural travel
- Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01355086
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Oct 22 2011 10:23AM