Advancing freight planning with contextualized transportation data and an understanding of commercial vehicle journeys
Given that freight transport activity will grow by 50 percent in tonnage by 2050, support for overhauling the U.S. transportation network is growing in order to accommodate the impending freight system demands. Thankfully, the landmark $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed by the U.S. Senate in 2021 has considerable funds allocated to improving the nation’s transportation systems. In fact, up to $77.9 billion is earmarked to address the varying freight systems needs across the country.
There’s no shortage of needs to choose from either. Bridges to build, highways to repair and port infrastructure changes are just a few. For a transportation planner, deciding where to start can feel daunting. But in order to understand where future freight plans will take a community, it’s necessary to have an understanding of the past and current freight activity to model potential changes after.
In order to build a justifiable freight improvement plan and take advantage of the funding opportunities presented within the IIJA, transportation analytics and data will be critical.
Transforming freight with the IIJA
The IIJA is a massive investment into roads, bridges and water pipes to prepare the U.S. road network for the increased freight demand. With the bill comes many competitive grant programs and transportation planners and Departments of Transportation need to ready their applications for funding if their projects are to be selected.
The IIJA includes many new opportunities to deploy intelligent transportation technologies. Key programs within the infrastructure bill are eligible for or already include funding for advanced transportation analytics such as:
- Highway safety programs — to distinguish vehicle types involved in collisions as well as modernizing data collection systems to share data more efficiently with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Connected vehicle research — to safely account for vulnerable road users and pedestrians.
- Strengthening mobility and revolutionizing transportation — Specifically using innovative data to support the efficient movement of goods and services to improve on-time pickup, deliveries, improved travel time reliability as well as reduced fuel consumption and emissions.
Funding is also being increased for existing programs with IIJA including the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) program also known as the INFRA grant program. Within this program funds are being considered for:
- Multistate corridor organizations
- Enhancement of freight resilience to natural hazards or disasters
- Surface transportation improvements connected to border crossings
- Marine highway projects
All of these initiatives would have a significant impact on improving freight and enhancing goods movement planning. These types of projects would also greatly be aided with accurate transportation data and analytics as shown with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
