Provide connections to new and emerging centers of population and commerce

New and emerging cities and towns require better transportation connectivity to keep competitive and support jobs.

• Sixty-six cities with populations of 50,000 or more do not have immediate access to the interstate system.

• During the next 30 years, 80 percent of the nation’s population growth is expected to concentrate in the South and West.

Alabama’s I-65 Connector

I-65 is a critical connector between suburban Shelby County and the city of Birmingham to the north and Montgomery to the south. In 1970 the population was 38,000; by 2009, it had grown to 188,000. Travel delays due to traffic congestion hamper commuting time on a daily basis. Capacity improvements will be critical to ensuring continued job growth, as well as access to health care and tourism.

Arizona’s Sun Corridor

Phoenix and Tucson are at the core of the Arizona Sun Corridor Megapolitan area, one of 11 emerging megaregions in the U.S. Interstate 10 is the only high-capacity corridor connecting these cities and recent studies have show the need to widen the freeway to 10 lanes, adding parallel capacity to accommodate the freight and traffic movements projected for the area. Service to the rural communities along the corridor, including Casa Grande, Eloy and Marana will enhance employment and economic development opportunities.

Tourism and Trade Spur Nevada Capacity Needs

No Nevada corridor needs more congestion relief than Interstate 15 in Las Vegas. An economic and tourist lifeline, I-15 travels alongside the Las Vegas Strip, bringing commerce and over 40 million visitors a year to the famed vacation getaway. In addition to supplying more than 75 percent of southern Nevada goods movements, I-15 is also part of the CANAMEX transportation corridor connecting U.S., Mexican and Canadian trade. As a vital trade route, the U.S. Department of Transportation has designated I-15 through California, Nevada and Utah as a “Corridor of the Future.”

Designed to carry approximately 130,000 vehicles per day, I-15 currently sees over 270,000 vehicles daily through central Las Vegas. That number is expected to balloon to over 500,000 by 2030.



For more information and for detailed examples by state of needed capacity on both the National Highway System and the Interstates, go to http://ExpandingCapacity.transportation.org.

More information on AASHTO’s authorization programs can be found at http://AreWeThereYet. transportation.org.