Toward a Vision for the Nation ’ s Surface Transportation System : Policies to Transcend Boundaries and Transition to a New Era

Introduction Throughout history, the ability to move people and goods effectively and efficiently has been a prerequisite for a nation’s success and economic health. The history of the United States is particularly symbolic of this symbiotic relationship between transportation system capacity and national prosperity. Investments in turnpikes, ports, canals and railroads provided the initial ability for the nation to expand beyond the original colonized coasts, and promote the agricultural and industrial development of the nation’s heartland. Similarly, investments in urban transit and streets allowed growing American cities to handle the increasing number of people that were needed to support the massive expansion of the nation’s industrial capacity. In more recent times, the construction of the interstate highway system has arguably done more to influence urban America than any other single initiative or program.