Posted on 03/01/2006 10:14:13 AM PST by Willie Green
For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.
Researchers at Purdue University are mapping a plan for the future of the nation's interstate highways. They provided details Tuesday of a vision of what a road trip might look like 40 years from now.
Researchers say the plan would take drivers off the roads and put them onto the rails. High-speed passenger trains would whisk people along the interstate quicker than the cars and trucks rolling alongside. A trip from Indianapolis to Chicago could take less than an hour.
"If you chose to travel by high-speed rail rather than by highway, that four-hour trip would take you approximately 50 minutes," said Dr. Bonnie Savage, Purdue University.
Savage spent three years researching congestion on interstate highways. She says within ten years, more than half of an average motorist's time will be spent sitting still in traffic jams. Dr. Savage says traffic congestion costs the country about $78 billion a year in lost productivity, wasted fuel and other expenses.
The idea for a new national transportation network is based on an old one. Planners invented the current interstate highway system exactly 50 years ago. The new proposal upgrades the original and would serve the region's needs for the next 40 years.
The new plan calls for putting cars and trucks in separate lanes on rural highways like parts of I-65. Truckers would use their own, exclusive lanes, side-by-side in the country and on elevated highways in the city.
"Of major concern to us in the state of Indiana is increased freight movements. We are in the center of the United States. We're 24 hours away by truck from 80 percent of the US population that consumes goods and services," said Tom Sharp, INDOT commissioner.
Planners say the system would pay for itself by getting rid of a pattern of transportation waste. They suggest corporate travelers, as well as ordinary drivers, can save fuel, time and resources. Drivers would utilize wider lanes, and find less congested traffic.
State officials expect the plan will be attractive enough to draw federal dollars to refurbish the interstate system.
"This isn't something where we say, 'This would be nice if it was a shorter trip.' This impacts us. This impacts our lifestyle. This impacts our economics. We are truly set on the verge of needing this. We are lucky to have the opportunity to develop something like this in the time frame where it's needed," Savage said.
If plan is going to succeed, drivers will have to use it. No one knows how enthusiastic people will be about giving up their wheels and letting someone else do the driving for them. But according to a WISHTV.COM epoll Tuesday, some 71 percent of respondents say they´d absolutely use it.
I've got a better idea.
Develop cars and highways that can safely handle 150 - 200 MPH travel.
Socialistic snuff. I can just imagine these guys sitting around in a well-decked out library wearing smoking jackets.
I once went from Center City Philadelphia to Cameden NJ and back, stopping only for a liter of gin, durring the halftime of an Eagles game, but admittedly I blew several red lights and had EZ Pass. Still, it's a feat that is spoken of in reverent tones by those at the bar at the time.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
Wasn't this a Simpsons episode?
Four hours? I usually get from Indy to Chicago in 3 hours.
I doubt it. Why would it be any different than planes?
You drive to the airport, at least 90 minutes before departure time.
You get injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected, and all that.
The plane leaves and arrives on time.
Then what? You gotta rent a car or get a taxi or find a bus.
The miles from Indy to Chicago are a small portion of the time spent.
Who will develop the people who can safely drive those cars?
safely ?
Lots of people say this ... in theory. I say it, too -- I'd love to ride the bus or train to work. In practice, however, the inconvenience of train or bus travel very often outweighs any advantages in time. Sure, it's 50 minutes from Indy to Chicago -- once you're actually on the train. But it's probably closer to 4 hours when you count the time you spend in the stations at either end.
For me, for example, I'd have to drive half-way to work just to catch the bus that takes me the rest of the way, and I have to surrender my ability to work late or leave early, or head to a different office during the day.
Engineers - they've been idiot-proofing life for hundreds of years.
If Willie Green wants to invest his own life savings in such a venture, he should be encouraged to do so.
This would give the best of both worlds - the privacy of being in your own vehicle coupled with the cheaper and faster travel of mass transit.
If these conveyor systems could be put in tunnels and use maglev/bullet train technology, you could drive across the country in a matter of hours.
Someday it will happen.
Hi-performance cars with computer control would accomplish the same thing. The conveyor is a bit capital intensive.
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