The Future Interstate Historical Corridors

The Future Interstate Historical Corridors commemorates historical cultures that struggled for the freedom in the United States of America. The U.S. Department of Transportation/Transportation Research Board issued a report to Congress in 2018 titled, “Renewing the National Commitment to the Interstate Highway System: A Foundation for the Future” the following list of High Priority Corridors would form the “Future Interstate Historical Highway Corridors.” The U.S. DOT Transportation Research Board concluded that the nation's interstate highway system needs to increase the efficiency of traffic flows to lead to more prosperity. The future interstate corridors not only need to alleviate traffic congestion on the current interstate systems but must also provide freight mobility corridors and rural connectivity in the regions of the nation not already served by the 45,000-mile interstate system. The additional future interstate must also foster economic growth in the regional “gaps”.

By creating additional interstate corridors strategically located to divert traffic away from congested areas while connecting regions with untapped economic potential, we unlock opportunities for growth in low populated areas. The improved transportation infrastructure leads to increased job creation, enhanced trade opportunities between states, and overall economic prosperity. Investing in these new corridors now produces sustained economic development across various industries of tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, and high technology. Beyond the purely practical considerations, these future interstate corridors present an incredible opportunity to commemorate our nation's diverse historical cultures and event.

The future interstate corridors will be expensive, however new renewable electrical power systems build along these corridors can achieve both reducing environmental impact while at the same time provide a new revenue source to cover the cost of their construction. Building solar farms along the paths of these corridors, located every 50 miles, produces clean energy for electric vehicles charging independent of fossil fuels where the excess power not used for electric charging can be sold to local utilities. A 300-mile highway with 640-acres of solar farms stretched over a 50-mile interval can produce $1 billion per year that can be paid into the Federal Aid Highway Trust fund and state transportation departments based on an agreed cost share formula. The solar farm system can be built as soon as the routes are selected in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Constructing the solar farms can be paid initially by Federal grants or loans which can be repaid within 2 years after completion by immediately selling power to the local grid. After the initial 2-year payoff period, the revenue can be paid into the Federal-Aid Highway Trust fund and state transportation budget to pay for detailed engineering design and during actual construction which typically takes about 5 years. Highway construction costs can be paid as-you-go over a 3–6-year period depending on the cost per mile. After construction costs are covered the revenue then continues into the Federal-Aid Highway Trust Fund and state budget to maintain the highway and help build other highway projects. A state is free to form public-private-partnerships, regular state bonds and tolling if the project will exceed the revenue rate, although this last option should be used as a last resort, and the tolls removed when basic construction costs are paid-off.

Congress should amend future surface transportation authorization bills or vote on separate acts to add these new High Priority Corridors in Section 1105(c) of ISTEA (P.L. 102-240) with the following interstate designations.

1) Acadian Exile, Creole, Tejas Spanish Trail Historical Corridors

a) Future I-18: Louisiana

i) I-18 follows LA 3127 from I-49 New Orleans to Donaldsonville following the proposed LaDOTD Megaproject Westbank Connector Expressway.

ii) I-18 follows LA 3127 south of Donaldsonville, then west across the Atchafalaya River Basin to the proposed LaDOTD Megaproject Lafayette Regional Xpressway

(1) Future I-518 from Future I-18 to LA 3127 then LA 3235 Larose to LA 1 Port Fourchon

(2) Future I-418 Branch Connector to I-10 Port Allen, then U.S. 190 following U.S. 190 east to I-110, continuing along U.S. 190/U.S. 61 to I-12.

(3) Future I-318 Spur Connector to the LaDOTD Megaproject Mississippi River South Baton Rouge Bridge

iii) I-18 follows the proposed LaDOTD Megaproject Lafayette Regional Xpressway route south and west of Lafayette

(1) Future I-218 Beltway follows the northern section of LaDOTD Megaproject Lafayette Regional Xpressway then east of Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville to Future I-18

(2) Future I-118 Connector to LA 14 Erath to LA 82 Forked Island Bridge

iv) I-18 follows U.S. 190 to U.S. 165/Future I-53 to Kinder Louisiana, then new terrain route from U.S. 190 Kinder to U.S. 190 Merryville Louisiana and the Texas border at the Sabine River.

b) Future I-18: Texas

i) I-18 follows new terrain route from the Louisiana border at the Sabine River to U.S. 190 Jaspar Texas

ii) I-18 follows U.S. 190 west to U.S. 287 Woodville TX, with interchanges at Future I-14 and Future I-47.

iii) I-18 follows U.S.287 from Woodville TX to Palestine TX

iv) I-18 follows U.S. 287 from Palestine TX to I-20 Fort Worth TX

v) I-18 runs concurrently with I-20 and I-35 West through Ft Worth TX

vi) I-18 follows U.S. 287 from I-35 West to I-40 in Amarillo TX

c) Future I-47: Texas

i) I-47 runs from I-10 in Beaumont TX to U.S. 287/U.S. 96

ii) I-47 follows U.S. 287 to U.S. 190/Future I-14 Woodville TX

iii) I-47 runs concurrent with Future I-18 to TX 19 Palestine TX

iv) I-47 follows TX 19 from U.S. 287 Palestine to U.S. 175 Athens and U.S. 175 to I-45 in Dallas Texas

2) Great Plains Native American Historical Corridor

a) Future I-31: North Dakota to Texas

i) I-31 follows U.S. 52 at the Canadian border to U.S. 83 in Minot North Dakota

ii) I-31 follows U.S. 83 North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, to U.S. 54 in Liberty Kansas

iii) I-31 follows U.S. 54 Liberty Kansas, through Oklahoma to U.S. 287 Staford

iv) I-31 follows U.S. 287 to Dumas TX

3) Mississippi River Mound-Builders Historical Corridor

a) Future I-53: Louisiana and Arkansas

i) I-53 starts from I-10 east of Lake Charles, then follows U.S. 165 to Monroe LA,

ii) I-53 follows U.S. 165 to U.S. 425 then to AR-530/Future I-69 in Monticello AR

iii) I-53 follows AR-530 to I-530 Pine Bluff AR

iv) I-53 follows I-530 to I-30 in Little Rock AR

4) Ohio River Mound-Builders, Coal Mining and Energy Production Historical Corridors

a) Future I-66: Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio

i) Extend I-66 north along I-81 from the existing I-81/I-66 interchange to VA 37 and U.S. 50 in Winchester Virginia, following U.S.50 east of Parkersburg

ii) I-66 follows new terrain connector across the Ohio River from U.S. 50 Parkersburg West Virginia to U.S. 50 in Ohio to U.S. 35 east of Chillicothe to I-75 in Dayton Ohio

iii) I-66 U.S. 35 from I-75 Dayton Ohio to I-70 west of Dayton.

b) Future I-68: West Virginia

i) Extend I-68 from I-79 Morgantown West Virginia to WV 2 New Martinsville, follow WV 2 south to U.S. 50/Future I-66 east of Parkersburg WV

5) Emancipation Proclamation and Underground Railroad Historical Corridor

a) Future I-63: Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina

i) I-63 begins at I-75 south of Findlay OH and follows U.S. 68 to OH 31 from Kenton OH to U.S. 33 Marysville OH to I-270 west of Columbus, following I-270 to U.S. 23 south of Columbus

ii) I-63 follow U.S. 23 to OH 823 then U.S. 52, crossing Ohio River near Greenup KY, then U.S. 23 through Kentucky and Virginia to I-26 Kingsport TN, following I-26 to Charleston SC.

6) Lindsey Graham-Bud Shuster Appalachian Historical Corridor: Pennsylvania to South Carolina

a) Future I-99 Pennsylvania to South Carolina

i) Extend I-99 from the existing I-99/I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike

ii) Future I-99 follow U.S. 220 through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina

iii) Modify High-Priority Corridor 5 in ISTEA 1991, redesignate I-73 to I-99 following U.S. 1 to the South Carolina State line then U.S. 501 to Myrtle Beach

7) Lincoln Highway Independence Historical Corridor [Ohio, Indiana, Illinois]

i) Future I-76 Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois

ii) Extend I-76 from I-71 to U.S. 30 in Ohio

iii) I-76 follows U.S. 30 through Ohio and Indiana to IN 49 east of Valparaiso, then a new terrain route to I-65 and the proposed Illiana Expressway through Indiana and Illinois to I-80 near Morris Illinois

Modify the existing High Priority Corridor 3 in Section 1105(c) of ISTEA (P.L. 102-240), renaming the “East-West Transamerica Corridor” to the “Transcontinental Pioneer Historical Corridors”

8) Transcontinental Pioneer Historical Corridors: Viginia to California

a) Future I-50 Virginia to New Mexico

i) I-50 follows U.S. 460 from Norfolk/Chesapeake through Virginia to I-81 to U.S. 52 King Coal Highway Bluefield WV

ii) I-50 follows the U.S. 52 King Coal Highway to U.S. 119 south of Wiliamson WV, then U.S. 119 in Kentucky to U.S. 23 north of Prestonsburg

iii) I-50 follows KY 114 Mountain Parkway from Prestonsburg KY to I-64 Winchester KY, then a bypass connector around Lexington KY to the KY 9002 Bluegrass Parkway to I-65 Elizabethtown KY, then the Western Kentucky Parkway to I-69, then I-24 south of Paducah KY

iv) I-50 follows U.S. 62 south of Paducah KY crossing Mississippi River to I-57 and U.S 60 in Missouri

v) I-50 follows U.S. 60 to I-44 in Springfield Missouri, then U.S 400 and U.S. 54 through Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas to I-40 Tucumcari New Mexico.

b) Future I-48 Kentucky

i) I-48 follows KY 80 from Prestonsburg to and KY 9006 (Hal Rogers and Cumberland Expressway) to London, Somerset, and I-65 Bowling Green; redesignate I-365 and I-165 to I-48.

c) Future I-40 California

i) Extend I-40 following CA 58 from I-15 to Bakersfield then I-5

d) Future I-60 Kansas and Colorado

i) I-60 follows U.S. 50 through Kansas and Colorado to I-70 in Grand Junction.

e) Future I-70 Utah, Nevada, California

i) Extend I-70 in Utah following U.S. 50 through Utah and, Nevada

ii) I-70 follows U.S.50 through California to I-5 and I-80 in Sacramento California.

Future Interstate Corridors

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