Transportation Management for Major Highway Reconstruction. Major Highway Reconstruction in the United States: What’s Ahead

This introductory article to the National Conference on Corridor Traffic Management for Major Highway Reconstruction states that the major implication for this conference is that the national highway program is clearly entering a new era, one that will focus more and more on the need to reconstruct many aging and traffic-saturated urban highways. Greater emphasis than ever should be put on preconstruction plans and procedures for work zone safety practices. And once these plans have been made, project sponsors should stress additional monitoring to assure that the desired practices are properly carried out at each work zone site. Most highway departments must also start emphasizing the benefits derived from highway construction and reconstruction. The private sector role can and will expand over the coming years. The private sector has already made important contributions to many urban transportation improvements. A few private sector actions of particular importance are ramp metering, high- occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes, incident control management, traffic surveillance, and parking regulations. Increased capital will be necessary at all levels of government to meet current and future highway needs. Both public and private sectors must get involved in the money solution, because better highways are among the most effective investments any metropolitan area can make.