2008 Conditions and Performance - Policy | Federal Highway Administration

Introduction

Chapters 11 and 12 provide an in-depth look at specific components of the Nation's transportation system. Chapters 13 through 15 offer a more extensive discussion of topics that were touched upon in the core analytical portion of the report, Chapters 2 through 10. These chapters highlight and present additional insights into these issues and related activities currently underway within the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Chapter 11, NHS Bridge Performance Projections, examines the serviceability of bridges on the National Highway System (NHS) and projects the future state of these bridges during the next 50 years under alternative financial and management strategies. This chapter builds on the analytical work presented in Chapter 7 by looking at a broader range of bridge performance indicators over a much longer period of time.

Chapter 12, Transportation Serving Federal and Indian Lands, includes an analysis of the condition and performance of transportation serving Federal and Indian lands and details the funding mechanisms for transportation on these lands. A substantial portion of this chapter highlights the role of transportation in these regions and the benefits of Federal lands to the larger American economy.

Chapter 13, Freight Transportation, discusses the role of freight transportation and identifies investment and performance issues specific to freight. This chapter details the demands placed on the Nation's freight network, the costs of congestion, and the safety and environmental challenges that need to be overcome in developing a more robust freight infrastructure. It concludes with a discussion of the steps policymakers have taken to address the Nation's freight needs.

Chapter 14, Congestion Reduction Strategies, identifies potential solutions to the highway operational performance problems identified in Chapter 4. This chapter outlines four broad types of strategies including strategic additions of capacity, improved system management and operations, travel demand management, and creating an efficient transportation market through road pricing.

Chapter 15, National Household Travel Survey, discusses selected findings from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). Since 1969, the NHTS and related studies have provided key information on how the American public uses the Nation's highway system. This chapter uses NHTS data to illustrate several broad themes about travelers, trips, and vehicles in the early Twenty-First Century.