News

Ohio River Group Launches International Coalition to Strengthen the Importance and Economic Benefits of Inland Waterways
ORBITS, a collaboration between Ohio River Basin transportation and economic development interests, is joining forces with transport and development leaders of the European Community to form an international alliance, labeled SMART RIVER 21. The SMART RIVER 21 coalition will focus on opportunities to use advanced information and communication technologies; enhance coordination between waterways and railway and highway services; develop new business practices; and expand public, political, and business awareness of the transport and economic development potential that inland waterways provide. The Ohio River group will benefit from the progress achieved along European inland waterways. Together the groups will explore promising new technologies and business practices for European and American waterways.

Coalition Established to Improve Freight Train Service in Pennsylvania and New York
A new working group of New York and Pennsylvania transportation and economic development officials has been formed to preserve and improve rail freight services in the northern region of ARC. The working group's goal is to anticipate change and opportunity and work together to protect and improve rail freight services to regional businesses. Hosted by Pennsylvania's Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission, the group has discussed recent trends in mainline and shortline rail and has mapped out planning and development options for the future. Key rail planning officials from the New York State Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation support the coalition's interests.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Calls for Upgrading Intermodal Transportation to Support Growth in Global Trade
The National Chamber Foundation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has published a report calling for expanded investment and improved coordination for America's transportation system. The report recommends six building blocks to expand the capacity and improve the efficiency of highway, rail, and waterway services, including many routes extending into and across Appalachia.

The report explains that the "United States' economic health depends on the current and future efficiency of its intermodal transportation system. However, major breakdowns have developed within this system, most predominately with our ports and their highway and rail access infrastructure."

Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue concludes, "The nation's transportation system is the lifeblood of our economy. Without additional investment in our infrastructure, our system of commerce is impaired, our mobility is restricted, our safety is threatened, our environment is endangered, and our way of life is compromised."

For more information, contact the National Chamber Foundation at ncf@uschamber.com or visit the foundation's Web site.

A New Coalition to Promote Improved Transportation Infrastructure Could Benefit the ARC Region
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is helping to organize Americans for Transportation Mobility, a new coalition of shippers, transportation carriers, and labor groups that will push for more attention to and investment in the nation's intermodal freight transportation network—a focus that could be particularly beneficial to the ARC Region.

The findings from the chamber's 18-month assessment of the nation's transportation system call for

• the establishment of a national intermodal freight transportation policy;
• creative ways to pay for improvements;
• national intermodal planning;
• compatible standards for data interchange;
• a clearly defined freight program within the U.S. Department of Transportation; and
• a coherent environmental policy to expedite permits for new projects.

Because the Chamber of Commerce report calls for a new and more innovative way to finance transportation infrastructure improvements, such investment could help the ARC region develop the type of interconnected, multi-modal system required in the twenty-first century. A recent ARC assessment of the Region's transportation capabilities predicted that "in the twenty-first century Appalachia's growth and prosperity will depend on its ability to develop integrated intermodal transportation systems."

While the Appalachian Development Highway System has served as the centerpiece of ARC's economic development program, highways are no longer sufficient to help Appalachia's communities compete in the global marketplace.

The proposed transportation finance corporation would be a federally chartered, non-profit lender that would raise $60 billion over 20 years through the sale of taxable, tax-credit bonds.

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