Conditions and Performance Chapter Listing

Conditions and Performance Home Page

Introduction

Background

Current Conditions and Performance

Projected Conditions and Performance in 2007

Resources Needed to Maintain and Improve the Interstate System

Addressing Interstate System Needs

Implications

The Cost to Maintain Interstate highways and bridges can be viewed as a "floor." This is the level of investment required to maintain the physical conditions of the Interstate assets already in place. However, operational performance would be expected to decline at this level of investment. The Cost to Improve Interstate highways and bridges can be viewed as a "ceiling." This level of investment would address all cost-beneficial highway investments and correct all bridge deficiencies. Investments above this level would not be expected to have a positive rate of return.

If current highway and bridge spending patterns remain constant, and the overall level of highway and bridge spending increases as predicted in this report, $126.0 billion (in constant 1997 dollars) will be expended for capital improvements to Interstate highways and bridges over the next 10 years. This level of investment would be 6.7 percent above the $117.5 billion Cost to Maintain level, but would need to rise 79.4 percent to reach the $226.0 billion Cost to Improve level. Using the analogy introduced above, this level of investment would lift us a little ways off the floor, but we would still be far away from the ceiling.

This study shows that if additional resources become available for capital improvements to the Interstate system, they could be utilized in a productive fashion. There is substantial room for improvement to highway and bridge conditions and performance in terms of improving pavement conditions, reducing bridge deficiencies, reducing congestion, and reducing the overall costs experienced by highway users traveling Interstate routes. Additional investment may also tend to have favorable impacts that are not modeled, such as improved system reliability and economic productivity.