Freight congestion gets renewed attention in US

Freight will almost double

Steve Hawley, Mar 19, 10.

As freight traffic increases across the country, lawmakers and advocates are considering how to address freight congestion, according to Transportation for America (T4America).

According to a congressional study, total freight traffic is expected to increase 92 percent in the next 30 years. T4America notes:

Congestion on the railroad network is also forecast to spread — by 2035, thirty percent of the rail network, or 16,000 miles, will experience unstable flows and service break-down conditions. Considering the strong efficiency advantage of freight rail, that’s very bad news.

T4America says that the US must pursue efficient, environmentally-friendly, and economically sound freight solutions, starting with the upcoming federal transportation bill. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently released a report demonstrating some of those solutions that have already been implemented around the world. EDF states:

Truck, locomotive, and ship engines spew greenhouse gases, toxic diesel soot, and other pollutants. These emissions contribute to global warming and are responsible for serious health problems.

The freight sector alone represents nearly a quarter of the transportation sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, or approximately 8% of total US carbon dioxide emissions. To make matters worse, freight’s greenhouse gas emissions have been steadily increasing even faster than other transportation sectors’ emissions. Freight’s emissions have increased almost 60% since 1990; more than double that of passenger travel (27%).

The health risks associated with freight emissions are also great. More than 40% of U.S. ship-borne freight moves through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Moving freight through this key part of the system comes with a large cost—the California Air Resources Board estimates that freight-related pollution was responsible for about 2,400 premature deaths, 2,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions, 62,000 asthma and lower respiratory cases, 360,000 lost work days, and 1.1 million lost school days in 2005 alone.

The EDF report details 28 case studies, including two in Texas. The Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University has identified 15 major trucking corridors throughout the US and prioritized potential locations where truck stop electrification could be implemented. Ordinarily, truckers spend significant time and fuel idling at truck stops in order to keep heating, air-conditioning, and other cab features running. According to the report, the average truck driver spends between 1,500 and 3,000 hours idling every year, wasting one gallon of gas and emitting 22 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that idling trucks emit over 11 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Truck stop electrification allows drivers to connect to an electrical system and eliminates the need for idling, and it has already been implemented in over 200 sites across the country.

The second project is the SeaBridge freight service, which ships cargo between Brownsville and Port Manatee, Florida. The barges reduce fuel consumption and emissions, as well as cutting costs. One barge trip eliminates 400,000 truck highway miles, which works out to be 29 million highway miles annually. In addition, one barge can save 70,000 gallons of diesel fuel, eliminating 375 tons of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and other pollutants. Only one barge is currently in service, but the company hopes to deploy a second one sometime this year.

Congressional study: Transportation for Tomorrow: Report of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
EDF report: The Good Haul (pdf, 3.4 mb)

(Photo credit: tomsaint11)