Noting the major role rural roads and highways play in trucking, freight, and driving despite hosting less than one-fifth of the U.S. population, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced ongoing rural investments Wednesday.
Springing off of the World Economic Forum, Chao pointed out that in the United States, as in many countries, rural transportation networks are vital to economic growth and opportunity, but face major disparities. In the United States, 69 percent of highway lanes run through rural areas, and two-thirds of all U.S. rail freight originates from such areas. Nearly half of all truck miles carry them across rural roads — as well as bear 72 percent of large truck occupant deaths. Roughly half of all highway fatalities occur on rural roads.
“This is of special concern because safety is the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Number One priority,” Chao wrote. “So it’s vitally important not only to growth and competitiveness but to safety, that the transportation and infrastructure needs of rural communities be addressed.”
Of particular note in that effort are the Rural Project Initiative and the Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative. While the Rural Project Initiative is still being implemented, its goal is the sponsorship of more rural infrastructure projects in the form of greater access to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) major loan program. On the other hand, ROUTES works with rural communities to improve data sharing and analysis, as well as access federal transportation grant funding and loan programs. Overseen by a ROUTES Council, the program is meant to rebalance USDOT discretionary grants and better address important transportation needs.
While the USDOT already puts around $70 billion into infrastructure needs annually, Chao noted that efforts are being made to increase the rural share of that haul. Since 2016, the rural share of discretionary funds has nearly doubled across nine transportation programs, and awards given to rural projects more than tripled.
“Addressing rural-urban transportation disparities will help ensure a more inclusive transportation network for the future,” Chao said. “That’s a goal that all countries can and should incorporate into their national transportation plans.”