In this paper, the main directions of the future national highway program under consideration in the USA are examined. The new highway policies derive from a review of all US transportation policies conducted by the US Department of Transportation during 1989. Six teams of Federal officials were formed, each was charged with assessing one broad market segment, such as urban/ suburban transportation - whose boundaries cut across modal and Federal administrative lines. Teams contacted stakeholders by organising over 100 consultative meetings and visits throughout the country. The process yielded coherent policies, responsive to national needs. The new highway policies respond to seven main needs identified through the foregoing process: encourage productivity and mobility; alleviate urban and suburban congestion; foster rural accessibility and development; improve deficient bridges; make major progress in road safety; enhance environmental quality; and reinvigorate research and development. Some of the important changes to Federal highway programs called for concern: focusing more Federal investments on highways of national significance; strengthening requirements of maintenance, safety, and traffic management systems; allowing States more flexibility in spending many types of Federal aid with a concomitant reduction in the Federal share of project expenses; assisting metropolitan air quality improvement and rural development; easing restrictions on tolling the use of Federally aided highways; and increasing support for new technologies and their diffusion. The paper includes information on total receipts for highways, in all units of government 1987-1990 in tabular form.
Samenvatting