| Our Nation's Highways |
The highway system is vital to the Nation's economy. Ninety percent of personal travel and 25 percent of freight movement is served by highways. |
| Air Quality | In 1992, highway vehicles produced 26 percent of all volatile organic compounds emissions -- a dramatic reduction of 53 percent since 1970. |
| The Vehicle Fleet | The cost-per-mile for operating an intermediate-size vehicle in 1993 was 39.5 cents. |
| Licensed Drivers | There were 173 million licensed drivers in the United States in 1993, or 87.6 percent of the population 16 years of age and over. |
| The Highway System |
The United States has 3.9 million miles of roadway, of which 3.1 million miles are rural roads. The Interstate System accounts for only 1.2 percent of total mileage but carries 22.8 percent of total travel. |
| Condition and Performance |
In 1993, there were 40,115 fatalities. However, the fatality rate has decreased 64 percent since 1970. |
| Proposed National Highway System |
The proposed National Highway System represents only about 4 percent of the Nation's total public road mileage but carries over 42 percent of the travel. |
| Motor-Fuel Use | In 1993, 137.2 billion gallons of fuel were consumed for highway use, averaging about 707 gallons per motor vehicle or 16.7 miles per gallon. |
| Travel | Americans' motor-vehicle travel in 1993 reached 2.3 trillion vehicle-miles, an average of 11,834 miles per year. Automobiles are responsible for 70.7 percent of this travel. |
| Financing Our Highways |
Although expenditures for highways now exceed $87 billion a year, this amounts to less than 3.8 cents per vehicle-mile traveled. |
| Selected Statistics by State |
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| Publication Listing | |