Applying the Swim2 Integrated Model in Freight Planning in Oregon

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been developing a statewide long-range plan for freight movement that concerns infrastructure investment and policy options. Concerns about economic uncertainty led to an emphasis on analysis of options under a range of alternative futures. The second generation Oregon StateWide Integrated Model (SWIM2) was used to support this analysis. SWIM2 is a spatial economic model system that includes representation of the transportation, economic and land use systems and their interactions. It is the product of continuing work on transportation model improvement underway in Oregon. In this practical work, it was used to provide information to the planning committee on alternative scenarios for the period up to 2030, considering impacts of different levels of growth in economic activity by economic sector and different ranges of transportation costs on the suitability of infrastructure investment options and on the distribution of economic benefits. The focus of the planning work was expanded substantially from what it would have been without the SWIM2 inputs, allowing consideration of a much wider range of impacts on the transportation system and on both the magnitude and distribution of economic benefits. Concerns about the risk of plans becoming inappropriate under potential economic futures were addressed. The potential impacts of substantial changes in transportation costs were considered. A tool developed for visualizing model outputs with a flexible query system and pre-established graphical formats provided to be very useful in this practical setting.