a question of congestion: DOT advances plans to ease traffic tie-ups

Relief may be on the way for motorists accustomed to fighting traffic on I-95 between Massachusetts and Florida or 1-10 from Florida to California. Both routes have made the short list of roads to be considered for congestion relief projects under the Department of Transportation's Corridors of the Future program.

Designed to reduce traffic tie-ups on major U.S. roads, the Corridors of the Future program promotes transportation planning across state lines in ways that reduce congestion and preserve the efficient flow of goods and commerce. The program got under way last fall, when the DOT began soliciting proposals for plans to fight congestion on some of the nation's busiest highways.

Last month, several of those plans came one step closer to becoming reality. In early February, the DOT announced it was advancing 14 of 38 proposals located on eight major transportation corridors. Those corridors are I-95 between Florida and Maine; I-15 in southern California and Nevada; I-80/94 and I-90 linking Illinois, Indiana and Michigan; I-5 in California, Washington and Oregon; I-70 from Missouri to Ohio; I-69 from Texas to Michigan; I-80 in Nevada and California; and I-10 from California to Florida.

The proposals include various combinations of solutions: expanded highway capacity, truck-only lanes, increased freight and passenger rail development, and extensive use of innovative technologies.

Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters says the DOT will support the Corridors of the Future program by accelerating permitting schedules, identifying new financing options, and finding new methods to "move these projects from the drawing board to completion faster than ever before."