Articles and Links about Roads and Transportation

Here is a list of articles about roads and transportation that have been published on the Internet (Click on the link)

PUBLIC ROADS On-Line (Summer 1996) - Index. This is a series of articles that were published on the 40th anniversary of the Interstate highway system.

Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating The Interstate System by Richard F. Weingroff (U.S. Department of Transportation historian), 1996.

The Federal Highway Administration at 100 by Richard F. Weingroff (U.S. Department of Transportation historian), 1993.

Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways - Engineering Marvels, by Richard F. Weingroff, 1996.

Highway History - FHWA now (in July 2002) has a site for anyone interested in highway history. It brings together a series of articles by FHWA's Richard F. Weingroff from Public Roads magazine about the evolution of highway transportation in the 20th century, along with online only features. In addition, the site makes available three unique monographs by the FHWA's former "unofficial historian," the late W. Lee Mertz, on the origins and construction of the Interstate System.

The Best Investment A Nation Ever Made - A Tribute to The Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate & Defense Highways, by Wendell Cox & Jean Love, Wendell Cox Consultancy, for the American Highway Users Alliance, June 1996. An in-depth economic study of 40 Years of the U.S. Interstate Highway System: an analysis.

A History of Roads in Virginia "The Most Convenient Wayes", published by the Virginia Department of Transportation, Office of Public Affairs, August 2002. It is a .pdf document, and the size is 1,074 KB. This is the latest update of this publication; there has been an update about every 10 years for the last 40 years.

The History and Heritage of Civil Engineering in Virginia, by J.C. Hanes and J.M. Morgan, Jr., 1973, Virginia Section of American Society of Civil Engineers.

Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) from United States Department of Transportation.

Here is a list of public and private websites about roads, transportation and urban planning, produced by major research organizations (Click on the link)

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AAHTO) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It represents all five transportation modes: air, highways, public transportation, rail and water. Its primary goal is to foster the development, operation and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system.

American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is the U.S. transportation construction industry's representative in Washington, D.C. Its mission: advocating strong federal investment in the nation's transportation infrastructure to meet public demand for safe and efficient travel and shipment of goods. The industry ARTBA represents generates more than $200 billion in U.S. economic activity annually and employs 2.5 million Americans.

Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance - dedicated to serving the specific needs of businesses involved in Virginia’s transportation construction industry. VTCA serves contractors, materials suppliers, consulting engineers and other professional service firms.  They are the industry's forum for open communication with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and other agencies.

Virginia Transportation Research Council - Bringing Innovation To Transportation. A partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation and the University of Virginia.

Transportation Research Board (TRB) - A unit of the National Research Council, a private, nonprofit institution that is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board's mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation by stimulating and conducting research, facilitating the dissemination of information, and encouraging the implementation of research results.

Our Nation's Highways by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The information in this publication provides a condensed overview of facts and figures about our Nation's highways. It is considered to be of interest to the average citizen. Except where noted, FHWA is the source of the data provided by the States. This is a 156K .pdf document.

American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) Old Dominion Section, which is located in Richmond, Virginia. The mission of the American Society of Highway Engineers is to promote the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of safe and efficient highways; to foster a general understanding of the value of highways and seek support for their fiscal viability; to stimulate and publicize technology advances in the highway field; to encourage communications among all segments of the highway industry; to stress the value of individuals; and to facilitate ethics, leadership and career growth of the members.

The Road Information Program (TRIP) is a nonprofit organization that promotes transportation policies which relieve traffic congestion, improve air quality, make highway travel safer and enhance economic productivity.

Washington Airports Task Force is a non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the expansion and enhancement of aviation services for Virginia and the National Capital region. Two links of interest - New Potomac River Crossings and Western Transportation Corridor.

Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance is a business-citizen organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of and involvement in regional transportation issues. The Alliance's mission is to build a world-class Northern Virginia regional transportation system through an ongoing program of research, education, consensus building, public mobilization and citizen information.

American Highway Users Alliance is an avenue to a host of resources about federal highway funding, mobility, safety, highway use taxation, environmental impact, so-called "smart" growth, tolling, and more. The Highway Users publishes periodicals and special studies that report on federal transportation issues, highway safety and mobility, environmental impact of vehicular traffic, highway taxes, and more.

Wendell Cox Consultancy and the Public Purpose - International Public Policy, Demographics, Economics & Transport. Mission: To facilitate the ideal of government as the servant of the people by identifying and implementing strategies to achieve public purposes at a cost that is no higher than necessary.

Reason Public Policy Institute (RRPI) - A national, nonprofit research organization that promotes innovative, dynamic public policy solutions. RPPI is a division of the Reason Foundation, a national nonprofit research and education organization that explores and promotes innovative policy solutions based upon market competition, individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, and dynamism. In addition to serving as the home of Reason Public Policy Instititute, Reason Foundation also publishes the independent monthly political and cultural magazine, Reason.

The Thoreau Institute - seeks ways to protect the environment without regulation, bureaucracy, or central control. The Institute was founded in 1975 under the name of Cascade Holistic Economic Consultants to help environmentalists and others understand and influence public land management. Since then, the Institute has worked as a consultant to or partner with every major national environmental group as well as numerous state and local groups. The Institute distributes its work over the Internet and in books such as The Vanishing Automobile and Other Urban Myths. The Institute's Board of Directors includes representatives of a variety of public land interest groups.

Here is a list of private websites about roads and transportation that have been published on the Internet (Click on the link)

Kurumi's 3-Digit-Interstate Highways - Detailed information about all the 3-digit Interstate highways.

ZZYZX Interstate Highway List and Page- Detailed information about all the mainline Interstate highways.

The Roads of Metro New York by Steve Anderson. Explores the history and development of the expressway and parkway system in the New York City-Long Island-Westchester area. Even the highways that never made it past the planning stages are explored in detail.

US 460 Construction by Bruce Harper. This project is designed to connect the south end of the US-460 Bypass around Blacksburg with the north end of the US-460 bypass around Christiansburg. Along with a new interchange on I-81 and a connection from the south end of the Christiansburg bypass, this will provide a direct limited-access connection from Blacksburg to I-81 and points beyond. Bruce's page for Virginia Highways.

Maryland Roads by Mike Pruett. A fine source of info about Maryland's highways, past and present. Features description of Maryland's Interstates, U.S. and state highways by route number. History and methods of route numbering in Maryland. Secret, hidden, and decommissioned state routes located and described.

The Highways of North Carolina by J. Vincent. An excellent source of info about the Tarheel State's road system, with many photos.

AARoads.com - A joint effort of road enthusiasts eager to share road pictures, stories, and information with you. In addition, this site hosts four state highway pages, and links to highway pages from all over the Internet. This site has several major topic areas related to roads, including many excellent links.

Virginia Suburbs of DC - This site features a huge library of Virginia Suburbs of DC-oriented Web links, divided into categories, and updated weekly. Plus there's a new feature article every one-two weeks on something Web-related that is of interest to Northern Virginia residents or visitors, a 24-hour chat room, a bulletin board and free email newsletter to keep readers informed of new additions to the site.

SlugVirginia and - Slug-Lines - Free Commuter Carpools - Slugging is not exactly hitchhiking but not quite a carpool. Some call it "Casual Carpooling". This unique method of commuting in Northern Virginia thrives without government regulation. The process is quite simple. People need extra riders to qualify for the minimum occupancy threshold to get into the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and other folks need a ride to work. Riders line up in lines at bus stops called Slug Lines and drivers pick up those going to their destination.

MoveMontgomery - MoveMontgomery is a web site created to support the public involvement goals of the Montgomery County Transportation Policy Task Force. The Transportation Policy Report Phase II, was a Countywide initiative to identify what's needed to improve mobility in Montgomery County, Maryland, to enhance the livability of its neighborhoods and promote the vitality of its business centers.

Marylanders for a Second Crossing - a citizens' group advocating official study of a second Potomac River highway crossing between Montgomery County, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.

Privatization: A New Path Across the Potomac - a proposal for a privately funded "Techway" highway between Herndon, Virginia and Gaithersburg, Maryland, by the National Taxpayers Union & Foundation. Press release.

Transport Newsgroups on Usenet

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By Scott M. Kozel, Roads to the Future, PENNWAYS

(Created 1-8-1999, last updated 5-18-2011)