U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
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| Conditions and Performance Report Appendix E—Condition and Performance of the Transportation System Serving Federal and Indian Lands |
| Conditions and Performance Chapter Listing Conditions and Performance Home Page Characteristics of Federal Roads and Lands Conditon and Performance of Roads by Federal Agency Funding of Roads Serving Federal and Indian Lands
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Condition and Performance of Roads by Federal Agency Federal land management agencies are under heavy pressure to accommodate tourist traffic and resource development. For example, heavy visitation to some National Parks is increasing the demand for new parking and wider roads. The FLMAs can often not "build" their way out of this situation since doing so would undermine the very resources agencies are trying to preserve. For the Federal Government to continue its mission of providing visitor enjoyment and conserving resources, innovative and creative solutions will be required. Possible solutions to these problems are briefly discussed at the end of this chapter. The transportation systems serving various Federal and Indian lands are discussed below.Forest ServiceThe Forest Service has jurisdiction over 155 national forests and 20 grasslands in the United States. This includes approximately 191 million acres in 40 States, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. This collectively amounts to about 29 percent of all federally owned land. National Forests are used for recreation, watershed management, grazing, wilderness protection, mining, and energy protection. National Forests are being used for lower-impact activities than during the 1980s. National Forests are home to more than half the Nation's inventory of softwood timber, but harvesting has been reduced by about 80 percent since the 1980s.National Forests contain a diversity of fish and wildlife habitats. National Forests have 128,000 miles of streams, including 3,338 miles of the Wild and Scenic River System, and 2.2 million acres of lakes and reservoirs. The National Forests contains the headwaters for over 80 percent of the freshwater in the United States, and about half of the Nation's cold water fisheries. They are home to more than 60 percent of all the animal species in the country, including 50 percent of big game animals and 140 threatened or endangered species. There are over 414,000 miles of roads serving the National Forest system. These are divided among three categories: Forest Highways (FH); Public Forest Access Roads (PFAR), which are higher standard arterials; and Forest Development Roads (FDR), which are non-public administrative roads that provide access for the management and protection of the National Forest system. Exhibit E-5 describes mileage, pavement characteristics, and backlog information for these three road categories. Exhibit E-5. Roads Serving National Forests Exhibit E-6 describes pavement characteristics for Forest Highway Roads. Approximately 60 percent of roads on this system have a "fair" rating.
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service system includes 378 park units that encompass more than 79 million acres. This extensive network includes national parks, parkways, monuments, historic sites, military parks, battlefields, and recreational areas. Roads are the primary method of transportation within the National Park system, although there are actually about 70 mass transit systems serving these properties. As a result, some of the most popular NPS sites suffer from increasing traffic volume, larger vehicles, and the spiraling demand for visitor parking. More than 3.2 billion vehicle miles are annually traveled within the NPS system, an estimate that increases about three percent each year. In 1994, a report was submitted to Congress on "Alternative Transportation in National Parks," one of the first attempts to address this growing problem of congestion on the NPS system.There are about 8,127 miles of park roads and parkways (PRP). Exhibit E-7 describes the extent of this system, while Exhibit E-8 identifies pavement condition. Exhibit E-7. Park Roads and Parkways
Approximately 35 percent of PRP bridges are deficient. The backlog of PRP road, bridge and tunnel improvement needs exceeds $2.2 billion. An additional $350 million would be required to complete all portions of certain park roads that have been partially constructed, such as the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi and the Foothills Parkway in Tennessee. Also, there are national parks where congestion is a major problem and constructing wider or new roads is not an acceptable solution. This increases the need for using alternative modes of transportation. Bureau of Indian AffairsThe Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has stewardship over programs that serve Indian tribes and Alaskan native villages. There are more than 560 federally recognized Indian tribes in the United States. Not only do Native Americans have special cultural needs, but many live in isolated locations with little arable land and few known natural resources. Some of the isolation is perpetuated by a lack of transportation facilities. Isolation is also a result of geologic features such as islands, lakes, rivers, and terrain. Except for a few tribes with urban land, oil and mineral resources, or recreational operations, nearly all reservations are among the most economically depressed areas of the country with very high unemployment rates. Some tribal governments have been successful in initiating economic development activities, including small industries and casinos. These require a viable Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) system. In many instances, rural transit is needed to serve Native Americans, particularly the elderly, sick, and those without private vehicles. Some tribes are providing these services on a limited basis.The IRR system provides access to and within Native American areas. There are two categories of Indian Reservation Roads. BIA system roads include 23,000 miles that are owned and maintained by the BIA and tribal governments. The second category consists of about 25,600 miles of Federal, State, and local public roads that provide access to or within Indian reservations. Exhibit E-9 describes the extent of the Indian Reservation Roads system. Exhibit E-10 describes pavement condition. Over 2 billion vehicle miles are annually traveled on this system, although it is among the most rudimentary of any transportation network in the United States. Over 66 percent of the IRR system is unimproved, earth and gravel. Some of these roads resemble roads in developing Nations. In some instances, the IRR consist of wheel tracks. In other instances, the road is unimproved earth surface, and many streams are crossed using low water crossings. Approximately 19 percent of the 753 bridges owned by the BIA are deficient. Exhibit E-9. Indian Reservation Roads
These conditions make it difficult for residents of
Indian country to travel to hospitals, stores, schools,
and employment centers. The poor road quality also
impacts safety. The annual fatality rate on Indian Reservation
Roads is more than four times the national average. The
estimated backlog of improvement needs for BIA and selected
State and local IRR roads exceeds $6.8 billion. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages the National Wildlife Refuge System. This system consists of 553 wildlife refuges and wetland management districts encompassing 93 million acres of land. The FWS properties receive about 34 million visits annually. The FWS also operates 67 National Fish Hatcheries and 43 Administrative Sites which are open to the public for visits and tours. On most FWS roads, traffic volumes are less than 400 vehicles per day, although several refuges have roads with substantial traffic volumes.
The FWS owns approximately 9,000 miles of wildlife refuge roads. Most of these are public roads (also called refuge roads), but there are nearly 3,100 administrative roads within the FWS network. Collectively, these roads have about 271 bridges. Exhibits E-11 and E-12 describe the extent and condition of the FWS system. Exhibit E-11. Fish and Wildlife Service Roads Bureau of Land ManagementThe Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controls 41 percent of all Federal lands, the largest owner. Its 264 million acres represent nearly 12 percent of the area of the United States. Concentrated largely in the Western U.S. (including Alaska), BLM lands often make up between 20 to 80 percent of each State.The BLM is responsible for the balanced management of lands and resources. Activities have traditionally included grazing, timber harvesting, mineral and oil extraction, although tourism has increased significantly at BLM sites. Between 1991 and 1997, visitor use at BLM lands jumped by nearly 62 percent. Virtually all visits require the use of an access road. The BLM lands are served by two categories of roads. Most are Public Lands Development Roads (PLDR) owned by the Bureau of Land Management. These represent the backbone of the BLM system but are not considered public roads. However, there are about 9,000 miles classified as arterials which are considered public roads. Many of them serve public uses and special purposes, such as those that serve recreational development areas. The second category is land management highway system (LMHS) roads. Approximately 7,200 miles of State and local roads are designated as LMHS. Over 70 percent of the LMHS are under county jurisdiction and the remainder under State supervision. A significant portion of this road system is primitive in nature, but is usually adequate for BLM general management. The BLM has constructed new roads over the last 25 years to meet recreation and other access needs. The condition of paved roads is shown in Exhibits E-13 and E-14. Exhibit E-13. Bureau of Land Management Roads
Bureau of ReclamationThe Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) administers 348 dams and reservoirs in 17 Western States and shares management over 308 recreation sites. Reclamation is the ninth largest electric utility and the second largest producer of hydropower in the United States, with 59 power plants producing nearly 42 billion kilowatt-hours annually. Reclamation is also the Nation's largest wholesale water supplier, delivering 10 trillion gallons of water to more than 31 million people each year. Reclamation projects provide one out of five western farmers with irrigation water.The Bureau of Reclamation owns approximately 1,980 miles of roads and 600 bridges that are open and intended for use by the general public. These public BOR roads and bridges are eligible for discretionary Public Lands Highway funding under the FLHP. Funding varies since it is a discretionary program. The remainder of the roads and bridges (not intended for use by the general public) are funded through appropriations directly to BOR or by project beneficiaries, and bridges are provided through BOR appropriations. The road system serving BOR lands is summarized in Exhibit E-15. Exhibit E-15. Bureau of Reclamation Roads Department of DefenseThere are approximately 500 major military reservations in the United States. These encompass about 24 million acres of land. Installation roads are open to use by dependents and public visitors, although some may require a security clearance. Roads on military installations serve housing, offices, commissaries, base exchanges, recreation facilities, unrestricted training facilities, hospitals, and traffic crossing the installation. This road network is similar to the street system in urban areas, and in many cases, military roads are an integral part of a local community. Motorists may not even realize they are on a military street.Department of Defense (DOD) regulations allow public access to unimproved recreational facilities such as lakes, beaches, and wooded areas for bases within the continental United States. The public may access these areas for fishing, swimming, and hunting except where an overriding military mission specifically requires a suspension of such use. Improved recreational facilities such as baseball, football, and soccer fields, gymnasiums, golf courses, swimming pools, and bowling alleys are also available. Many installations have an annual open house, where the public is invited to tour the installation, attend military demonstrations, and view shows. About one-third of the installations have museums or other cultural attractions, which the public is encouraged to visit. These facilities attract an estimated 15 million visitors annually. Approximately 28 billion vehicle miles are traveled per year on military roads. About 24,000 miles of paved roads referred to as Military Installation Roads (MIR) are under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense (DOD). Approximately 2,100 miles (8 percent) are
classified as primary and principal arterial roads, about 5,400 miles (21 percent) as collector roads,
and about 18,000 miles (71 percent) as local roads. About 24,000 miles are open to public travel,
while the remaining roads are located within restricted areas. The extent and condition of DOD roads
are described in Exhibits E-16 and E-17.
Additionally, over 1,000 high-accident locations (HALs) have been identified. A HAL is a location with five or more property-damage accidents, three or more injuries, or one or more fatalities. The cost to improve and eliminate deficiencies at these HALs is more than $165 million. Of these sites, there are 175 very high accident locations (VHALs). A VHAL is a location with 10 or more property-damage accidents, 5 or more injuries, or 1 or more fatalities. The annual estimated total accident cost for these VHALs exceeds $150 million, and the total cost to correct safety deficiencies is approximately $30 million. United States Army Corps of EngineersThe United States Corps of Engineers (COE) is the largest provider of water-based recreation. The COE currently administers approximately 11.7 million acres at 463 lakes and waterways. In 1997, there were 4,340 recreation areas, of which 2,500 were managed directly by the COE. These areas are located in 43 States, but the majority of COE resources are east of the Rocky Mountains, where most Americans live. The road system serving COE facilities is summarized in Exhibit E-18.
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