US driving data fuels calls for highway investment

New estimates released by the US Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that American driving between July 2013 and June 2014 is at levels not seen since 2008, fuelling calls for greater investment in highways that must bear growing volumes of traffic.
September 1, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

New estimates released by the US Department of Transportation's 831 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) show that American driving between July 2013 and June 2014 is at levels not seen since 2008, fuelling calls for greater investment in highways that must bear growing volumes of traffic.

"More people driving means our economy is picking up speed," said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "It also means we need to increase our investment in transportation to meet this demand, which is why Congress needs to pass the President's four-year, uS$302 billion Grow America Act."

According to FHWA's Traffic Volume Trends report – a monthly estimate of American travel – drivers in June 2014 logged 261.7 billion vehicle-miles travelled (VMT), the highest level for any June since 2010 and the biggest single-month gain this year. It is the nation's fourth consecutive month of VMT growth.

Americans drove more than 2.97 trillion miles between July 2013 and June 2014, the most recent month for which data are available. In the first half of 2014, drivers travelled 1.466 trillion miles – the largest since 2010 and the fourth-highest in the report's 78-year-history.

"These data are critical to helping the nation's leaders make informed decisions about critical infrastructure investments," said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. "To ensure our roads, bridges and tunnels can keep pace with the demands of the American public, greater investment is needed – and the Grow America Act is a step in the right direction."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Report analyses multiple ITS projects to highlight cost and benefits
    March 16, 2015
    Every year in America cost benefit analysis is carried out on dozens of ITS installations and pilot studies and the findings, along with the lessons learned, are entered into the Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) web-based ITS Knowledge Resources database. This database holds more than 1,600 reports and periodically the USDOT reviews the material on file to draw conclusions from this wider body of evidence. It has just published one such review ITS Benefits, Costs, and Lessons Learned: 2014 Update Re
    Read More
  • Vermont approves US$685.7 million transportation bill
    June 4, 2014
    Vermont plans to spend a record US$685.7 million on transportation projects under legislation signed by Governor Peter Shumlin. The FY 2015 Transportation Bill contains the largest investment in transportation infrastructure in state history. The bill provides for infrastructure improvements and maintenance and supports the Agency of Transportation’s (VTrans) vision of a safe, efficient, multimodal transportation system that promotes Vermont’s quality of life and economic growth. It also supports the contin
    Read More
  • Covid turns tolls cashless
    December 23, 2021
    When coronavirus hit, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission made its long-planned e-tolling system permanent; this made sense, but it was still a difficult decision, explains the organisation’s Carl DeFebo
    Read More
  • Inrix expands traffic data programme collaboration
    October 12, 2012
    Nearly a year after the I-95 Corridor Coalition, the University of Maryland (UMD) and Inrix announced a three-year expansion of the Vehicle Probe Project (VPP), the coalition and its partners are expanding their collaboration once again. Through a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Awards Grant, the coalition will use Inrix traffic information to expand coverage to over 40,000 miles of roads across fourteen states.
    Read More

Highlighted Content