Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
Long title
An act to develop a national intermodal surface transportation system, to authorize funds for construction of highways, for highway safety programs, and for mass transit programs, and for other purposes
Reported by the joint conference committee on November 27, 1991; agreed to by the House on November 27, 1991 (372-47) and by the Senate on November 27, 1991 (79-8)
The act presented an overall intermodal approach to highway and transit funding with collaborative planning requirements, giving significant additional powers to metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).
Section 1105 of the act also defines a number of High Priority Corridors, to be part of the National Highway System.[a][3][4] After various amendments in subsequent transportation bills and other legislation, this is a list of the corridors:
Also designates spurs from I-14 North in Eden to I-10 near Junction following U.S. 83 (paragraph D), from I-14 in Woodville to I-10 in Beaumont via U.S. 69 (paragraph E), from I-14 in Jasper to I-10 in Beaumont via U.S. 96 (paragraph F), and from I-20 in Odessa to I-10 in Pecos County via U.S. 385, RM 305, and U.S. 190 (paragraph G).
FAST mandates that route be Interstate 14; IIJA designates Bryan–College Station loop as Interstate 214, the spur from Brady to I-10 as Interstate 14 South, and the spur from Brady to I-20 as Interstate 14 North. Routes in paragraphs D–G are designated as future Interstate highways (route number not specified in law)
Largely identical to Central Mississippi Corridor (Corridor 100). IIJA designates the U.S. 84 and I-59 portions as a future Interstate highway (indirectly mandating it to be I-14); see also Corridor 94
94
Kosciusko to Gulf Coast Corridor
Starting at I-55 near Vaiden, Mississippi, running south and passing east of the vicinity of the Jackson Urbanized Area, connecting to U.S. 49 north of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and generally following U.S. 49 to I-10 near Gulfport, Mississippi.
Overlaps with corridors 93 and 100 south of Hattiesburg; IIJA designates as future Interstate highway (route number not specified in law)
From the Sabine River, follows LA 8 and LA 28 to Alexandria, continuing east to join U.S. 84 and cross the Mississippi River near Natchez, Mississippi
IIJA mandates this route be Interstate 14
See corridors 84, 93, and 100–102
100
Central Mississippi Corridor
U.S. 84 east from Natchez to Laurel, Mississippi, then follows I-59 northeast through Meridian to the Mississippi–Alabama state line near Cuba, Alabama;
also includes a spur following I-59 south to Hattiesburg, then U.S. 49 and proposed MS 601 to Gulfport
IIJA mandates the route from Natchez to the Alabama state line be Interstate 14
See corridors 84, 93, 99, and 101–102
101
Middle Alabama Corridor
U.S. 80 east from I-20/59 near Cuba to Montgomery, then follows the partially-completed Montgomery Outer Loop (AL 108) to I-85, continuing east from Tuskegee via either U.S. 80 or I-85 and U.S. 280 to the Alabama–Georgia border in Phenix City
The high-speed corridors designated under ISTEA closely correspond with grants given under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—seventeen years later.
There was not significant funding attached to these announcements: $30 million had been allocated to several states by 1997 to improve grade crossings,[12] but that was a very tiny amount in comparison to the billions required for a true high-speed network. Aside from a few places in California and the Chicago–Detroit Line, most areas outside the Northeast Corridor continued to be limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) until $8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was distributed in January 2010.[13]
Jeff Morales one of the principal drafters of this bill, served as CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which is currently constructing a high-speed rail line along the route originally proposed in this bill, from 2012 to 2017.[14]
Airbags
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 also mandated that passenger automobiles and light trucks built after September 1, 1998, to have airbags installed as standard equipment for the driver and the right front passenger.[15][16]
Notes
^ Section 1105 did not amend the U.S. Code, nor is it editorially classified as part of the U.S. Code, or set out as a statutory note to a section of the U.S. Code. However, an up-to-date version of ISTEA as amended can be found at govinfo.gov[1][2]
^I-70 does not come near Salt Lake City; instead terminating 173 miles (278 km) south of such city at I-15. Regardless, the law states "Interstate Route 70 from Denver, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, Utah"[3]
^ The law's text states, "The Oregon 99W Newberg-Dundee Bypass Route between Newberg, Oregon and Dayton, Oregon;"[3] however, the actual route number is Oregon Route 18. The bypass runs east of Oregon Rte. 99W. The southern portion, Phase 1, between Rte. 99W at Dundee and Rte. 219 is finished. Sufficient funding for the northern portion, Phase 2, which is from Rte. 219 to Rte. 99W, has not yet been identified.[9][10]
"FHWA - NHS High Priority Corridors". Federal Highway Administration - United States Department of Transportation. September 1996. Archived from the original on April 10, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
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