📄 Click Here to View/Download Full Proposal (PDF, 16 pages)
🔗 View Full List of Future Interstate Highways (FHWA.gov)
This proposed Formula Program echoes the National Vision that led to the creation of the original Interstate System through the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956—championed by President Eisenhower. That legislation enabled a safe, efficient, and high-capacity highway network to support national defense and economic growth.
Today, North America’s economy has grown dramatically, shifting the need from predominantly east–west movement to greater north–south connectivity. Many designated Future Interstate Corridors are limited to single states, while multi-state corridors—essential for continental trade and rural access—lack both designation and funding.
🤝 Submitted in Partnership With:
- I-69 Corridor (Texas and beyond)
- I-14 Gulf Coast Strategic Corridor (Texas)
📣 Take Action: Support the Formula Program
✅ Download Resolution Supporting the Formula Program
Once approved, send your signed resolution to:
Joe Kiely, Vice President of Operations
joe.kiely@portstoplains.com
Whether you represent a City, County, Chamber, MPO, or Economic Development Corporation, your support helps build national momentum for this critical proposal.
💡 Why It Matters
- Supports Trade: Connects ports of entry, freight hubs, and inland markets across North America.
- Drives Economic Growth: Unlocks investment in underserved rural regions.
- Improves Safety & Resilience: Modernizes aging roads to Interstate standards.
- Strengthens National Defense: Enhances the Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET).
🚧 What the Proposal Does
There is currently no dedicated federal funding to plan and construct Future Interstate Highways. This program creates that structure by:
- Allocating funds to states based on unconstructed, multi-state Future Interstate mileage
- Exempting those funds from Highway Trust Fund “Rate of Return” formulas
- Empowering states to set their own development priorities annually
- Guaranteeing federal commitment to complete congressionally authorized Future Interstates
📈 The Need is Urgent
Since Congress first authorized a 40,000-mile Interstate System in 1944, only modest growth has followed:
- 1990s: ~42,700 miles
- 2000s: 46,747 miles
- 2020s: Over 48,000 miles
The U.S. population has more than doubled, trade has surged 14,700%, and our economy has grown 60-fold since 1956. Yet, the Interstate system has not kept pace—particularly in multi-state north–south corridors.
🧭 National Vision for Future Interstates
Future Interstate Highways designated at the Federal Level are intended to:
- Strengthen National Connectivity
- Support Freight and Economic Development
- Promote Cross-Border Trade and International Commerce
- Advance National Defense and Emergency Preparedness
- Modernize Transportation Infrastructure
⚠️ No multi-state Future Interstate Highway has been completed to date. This proposal is essential to change that.
Communities, chambers, counties, MPOs, and transportation coalitions across the country are uniting to call for a dedicated funding mechanism to complete these vital corridors. Let’s build what’s next—with the same boldness that built the Interstate System 70 years ago.