Will Increased Highway Funding Help Rural Areas?

by Dennis Brown

Rural areas in the United States stand to benefit from new highway funding legislation, especially the South. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) authorizes sharply increased funding for major roads and is the single largest public works bill in U.S. history. Over a 6-year period, it will provide $171 billion to build new roads, widen lanes, put in new interchanges, and construct bridges. Under TEA-21, some spending discrepancies will be addressed and resolved for States that contribute more money into the Federal Highway Trust Fund than they receive in benefits.

Keywords: Federal-aid highways, Federal highway investments, Highway Trust Fund, Federal transportation policies, rural transportation, rural development, highway funding formula, TEA-21, ISTEA, donor States, recipient States

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Frontmatter (Title page, Contents, Summary)
• Introduction and Why Is Federal Highway Investment Important for Rural America?
• The Highway Trust Fund Uses a Complicated Allocation Formula
• The Highway Funding Formula Has Been Criticized
• Highway Funding Under ISTEA
• How Will the Recently Passed Highway Legislation Change Things?
• TEA-21 Increases State Funds
• Other Rural Provisions in TEA-21 and Conclusions
• Further Readings