Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act

From PlanningWiki

Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (Public Law 102-240; ISTEA, pronounced Ice-Tea) is a transportation bill passed by the United States Congress in 1991 that provides six year authorizations for development of a National Intermodal Transportation System which consists of all forms of transportation in a unified, interconnected manner.

ISTEA was designed to move goods and people more efficiently by developing an integrated transportation infrastructure system for the United States. ISTEA is this country's first serious effort to promote intermodalism, the idea that all systems and structures for moving people and goods must function as an integrated and cohesive transportation network which includes rail and mass transit as well as highways. Under ISTEA, statewide planning processes must incorporate new goals: to reduce congestion and improve air quality; to consider national and international commerce; to consider energy conservation; to create an integrated system of several modes; and to concentrate on the most efficient way to move goods and people, not just people.

The three major components of ISTEA are the National Highway System, the Surface Transportation Program, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.

Signed into law on December 18, 1991, it expired in 1997. It was preceded by the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 and followed by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and most recently in 2005, the Safety Accountability Fairness Efficiency Transportation Equity Act.

References

External links

• H.R.2950 (Public Law No: 102-240) - corridors are in section 1105
• A Guide to Metropolitan Transportation Planning Under ISTEA - How the Pieces Fit Together (USDOT)
• FHWA - NHS High Priority Corridors