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MORE LANES or TRAINS? * USA - Six States Seek Stimulus Aid to Add Rail to Congestion-Plagued I-81
Washington,DC,USA -DC Streeets Blog, by Elana Schor -October 13, 2009: -- Interstate 81 stretches for 846 miles through six states -- New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee -- and serves as a crucial corridor for freight traffic. But crucial doesn't mean safe or enjoyable, and I-81 is an undisputed hotbed of traffic accidents... As the Washington Post reported in July, one out of every four vehicles on I-81 is a truck, a higher rate than the road was designd for. Between 2003 and 2007, the Post found, I-81's accident fatality rate was nearly twice the size of the much larger I-95, which experienced more crashes overall... So what can be done to keep freight cargo moving while making I-81 safer and more efficient? Unfortunately, environmental groups and local residents have spent much of their time fighting off plans to widen the highway, including an $11.4 billion effort to double the number of lanes for nearly half the length of the road... Virginia Transportation Secretary, Pierce Homer, told the gathering that the six states along I-81, in adition to several southern neighbors, are seeking $300 million in economic stimulus aid to pay for expansion of freight rail... (Photo by WaPo - The safety and freight challenge that is I-81)Labels: trucks vs trains
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