1997 STATUS OF THE NATION'S SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM: CONDITION AND PERFORMANCE. REPORT TO CONGRESS

This is the 1997 edition of a series of reports required by Congress on America's surface transportation system. The report provides information on the physical and operating characteristics of the highway, bridge, and transit portions of our Nation's intermodal transportation system. It also discusses the current financing of those transportation modes and the future investment that will be required to achieve benchmarks of system performance. The investment analysis employs subjective assumptions about travel growth, land use, vehicle use patterns, and other factors that can be expected to influence future funding requirements. The analysis in this report is based on data submitted by State and local transportation agencies. The report has four sections: (1) Introduction; (2) Highlights - a bulleted summary covering conditions and performance, finance, and investment requirements for highways, bridges, and transit; (3) Questions and Answers - a series of significant and relevant questions and answers about these topics, plus information on the National Highway System, the backbone of the intermodal surface transportation system; and (4) U.S. Freight: Economy in Motion - an overview of the current status of freight transportation via the different transportation modes (highway, rail, air, water, and pipeline) and an outline of the forces of change expected to transform freight transportation in the future.