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| Planning |
One of the most obvious advantages of constructing new or improved highways is that it results in a savings in time to people and freight traveling between areas served by the new or improved highways. Subsequent to detailed study of alternative alignments, it will be possible to analyze travel time saving in some detail. However, even before the detailed study, it is possible to have some idea of the potential for travel time saving. The first step is to determine the current time required to travel between areas that would be served by new or improved highways.
Below are tables that indicate current distance and time between possible points* using travel planning software that is frequently used and in the public domain**.
| 14th Amendment Highway | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapquest | MSN Maps | Yahoo | |||||||
| From (interchange) | To (interchange) | Miles | Travel Time | Miles | Travel Time | Miles | Travel Time | Miles | Travel Time |
| Augusta (I-520 & US-25) | Macon (I-16 & US-129) | 121.19 | 2 hr 49 m |
131.1 | 2 hr 26 m |
130.3 | 3 hr 3 m |
122 | 3 hr 19 m |
| Macon (I-16 & US-129) | Columbus (I-185 & SR-22 Spur [Macon Rd]) | 94.9 | 1 hr 57 m |
95.9 | 1 hr 57 m |
97.1 | 2 hr 35 m |
102 | 2 hr 40 m |
| Columbus (I-185 & SR-22 Spur [Macon Rd]) | Montgomery (I-65 & US 80) | 91.47 | 1 hr 37 m |
88.1 | 1 hr 41 m |
85.6 | 2 hr 10 m |
95.9 | 2 hr 18 m |
| Montgomery (I-65 & US 80) | Natchez (US 61 & Highland Blvd [to Port of Natchez]) |
359.84 | 6 hr 35 m |
342 | 6 hr 10 m |
443.7 | 6 hr 49 m |
359 | 7 hr 53 m |
| *** | |||||||||
| 3rd Infantry Division Highway | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapquest | MSN Maps | Yahoo | |||||||
| From (interchange) | To (interchange) | Miles | Travel Time | Miles | Travel Time | Miles | Travel Time | Miles | Travel Time |
| Savannah (I-516 & W Lathrop Ave [to Savannah Ocean Terminal]) | Augusta (I-520 & US-25) |
138.54 | 2 hr 47 m |
116.2 | 2 hr 26 m |
123 | 3 hr 2 m |
122 | 3 hr 20 m |
| Augusta (I-520 & US-25) | Lavonia, GA (I-85 & SR17) | 113.80 | 2 hr 26 m |
115.8 | 2 hr 16 m |
108.6 | 2 hr 59 m |
124 | 3 hr 8 m |
| Lavonia, GA (I-85 & SR17) | Knoxville (US-129 & Neyland Dr [near I-40]) | 221.61 | 3 hr 53 m |
176.6 | 3 hr 40 m |
205.7 | 4 hr 43 m |
176 | 4 hr 52 m |
| *** | |||||||||
The next step in determining travel time saving would be to estimate the time between points if new or improved highways were constructed. Obviously, without an alignment it is not possible to know the distance between points and without knowing the design detail it is not possible to know the rate of travel. However, a general idea is possible by making an initial estimate of the distance subsequent to construction of a new or improved highway and an initial estimate of the average speed of travel on such a highway. Alternately, one could note that the above tables indicate a typical average speed of 35 to 55 mph and that typical freeway speeds average 55 mph to 65 mph. The FHWA does not intend to use these tables to produce estimates of travel time saving and instead intends that such estimates will result from analysis subsequent to development of alternative alignments. However, anyone who wishes may exercise the public software noted in the table and then make whatever they believe are reasonable distance and average speed assumptions for a new or improved highway.
*The use of these interchanges in the above table is illustrative. The FHWA has not established these interchanges as control points for alternative alignments.
** Note: The table above used information from a number of websites that are popularly used to plan trips. The use of these websites by the FHWA does not constitute an endorsement of these websites nor does it constitute a statement that websites with trip planning information that were not used in the above table are in any way inferior to the websites used in the table. As many users of these websites realize, the estimated trip length and trip time are not constant. The same input on different days may result in different estimated trip length and trip time. The information in the table above was from input/output exercises between 3:00 pm on December 28, 2005 and 3:15 on December 29, 2005. The FHWA does not vouch for the accuracy of the output of any of these public websites; but that we have accurately stated what the output was.
*** Summing the numbers in the table is not appropriate because the route from corridor end to corridor end may not be the same as the sum of the routes from point to point.
HotLinks
Mapquest
MSN Maps:
Yahoo
Google
To provide Feedback, Suggestions or Comments for this page contact Martin Weiss at martin.weiss@dot.gov or 202-366-5010.
