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Highway Profile

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FINANCIAL 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Government receipts, total ($ millions) 11,193 21,763 39,834 75,444 96,347 102,771 107,421 111,581 121,650 128,745
Federal, total 2,771 6,160 9,949 14,576 19,851 23,196 21,648 24,509 26,008 31,050
Highway trust funda 3 2,531 3 5,464 3 7,615 3 13,380 17 18,835 17 22,036 17 20,500 17 23,396 17 25,085 17 29,701
Other 240 696 2,334 1,196 1,016 1,160 1,148 1,113 923 1,349
State and local, total 8,422 15,603 29,885 60,868 76,496 79,575 85,773 87,072 95,642 97,695
State and D.C. 6,055 11,737 19,666 40,026 50,064 52,808 58,087 58,806 63,274 66,441
Local 2,367 3,866 10,219 20,842 26,432 26,767 27,686 28,266 32,368 31,254
Government expenditures, total ($ millions) 10,757 20,829 41,763 75,408 93,478 98,082 101,953 107,975 116,011 127,459
Federal, total 197 425 874 664 1,402 1,598 1,315 1,375 1,428 2,277
Highway trust funda 27 83 315 358 1,092 1,384 1,103 1,170 1,249 1,881
Otherb 170 342 559 306 310 214 212 205 179 396
State and local, total 10,560 20,404 40,889 74,744 92,076 96,484 100,638 106,600 114,583 125,182
State and D.C. 7,125 14,100 25,936 45,609 56,981 59,709 61,534 65,507 71,415 77,899
Local 3,435 6,304 14,953 29,135 35,095 36,775 39,104 41,093 43,168 44,283
State highway user tax revenuesc, total ($ millions) 5,323 10,284 17,177 35,944 47,424 49,756 51,381 54,507 56,269 56,454
Motor fuel tax 4 3,374 4 6,433 4 9,485 4 19,658 4 26,881 19 27,555 19 28,477 19 29,803 19 30,753 19 31,291
Other motor fuel receiptsd 22 44 92 220 108 63 55 58 134 179
Motor vehicle registration fees 5 1,514 5 2,873 5 5,173 5 10,257 5 11,942 20 13,234 20 13,631 20 14,552 20 14,882 20 13,704
Other motor vehicle feese 235 577 1,490 3,353 4,416 4,689 4,704 5,068 5,350 5,696
Motor carrier taxesf 110 176 323 695 770 726 729 861 740 784
Miscellaneous fees 68 181 615 1,761 3,307 3,489 3,785 4,165 4,410 4,800

 

INVENTORY 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Rural / urban mileage by ownership, total 3,545,693 3,730,082 3,859,837 3,866,926 3,912,226 3,919,652 3,944,601 3,906,304 3,917,245 3,936,241
Rural mileage, total 3,116,125 3,169,412 3,230,936 3,122,282 3,092,520 3,092,887 3,108,493 3,064,650 3,071,181 3,084,000
Under state control 6 658,896 6 707,002 12 750,479 12 702,486 12 690,924 21 691,156 21 692,767 21 660,834 21 660,682 21 661,798
Under federal controlg 111,912 187,696 246,130 178,188 170,568 168,938 167,369 118,369 116,846 116,698
Under local control 2,345,317 2,274,714 2,234,327 2,241,608 2,231,029 2,232,793 2,248,357 2,285,447 2,293,653 2,305,504
County roads 1,742,404 1,732,981 1,542,984 1,616,634 1,626,927 1,627,639 1,642,468 1,647,025 1,649,291 1,656,906
Town, township and municipal roadsh 538,651 510,174 458,231 437,460 424,529 426,170 426,433 426,340 590,206 592,623
Other local roadsh 64,262 31,559 233,112 187,514 179,573 178,984 179,456 212,082 54,156 55,975
Urban mileage, total 429,568 560,670 628,901 744,644 819,706 826,765 836,108 841,654 846,064 852,241
Under state control 50,158 74,103 97,287 95,778 111,766 111,924 112,226 110,017 109,956 110,195
Under federal controlg N N 1,495 1,024 1,509 1,470 1,464 1,485 1,503 1,484
Under local control N N 530,119 647,842 706,431 713,371 722,418 730,152 734,605 740,562
County roads N N 71,357 95,929 117,518 117,181 117,487 117,016 117,105 116,918
Town and township roadsh N N 37,583 42,752 60,561 60,926 74,402 75,195 605,255 611,473
Other local roadsh 379,410 486,567 421,179 509,161 528,352 535,264 530,529 537,941 12,245 12,171
Rural / urban mileage by functional system, total 3,545,693 3,730,082 3,859,837 3,866,926 3,912,226 3,919,652 3,945,872 3,906,290 3,917,240 3,936,229
Rural mileage, total 7 3,116,125 7 3,169,412 3,230,936 3,122,282 3,092,520 3,092,887 3,109,132 3,064,648 3,071,181 3,083,988
Interstate N N 13 31,905 13 33,547 13 32,580 22 32,820 22 32,817 22 32,813 22 32,974 22 33,048
Other principal arterial N N 82,569 83,802 97,948 98,131 98,257 98,852 98,856 98,911
Minor arterial N N 149,057 144,774 137,151 137,359 137,497 137,308 137,463 137,574
Major collector N N 439,000 436,352 431,712 432,117 432,714 432,408 432,954 433,121
Minor collector N N 299,613 293,922 274,081 273,198 272,362 272,140 271,690 271,815
Local N N 2,228,792 2,129,885 2,119,048 2,119,262 2,135,485 2,091,127 2,097,244 2,109,519
Urban mileage, total 429,568 560,670 628,901 744,644 819,706 826,765 836,740 841,642 846,059 852,241
Interstate N N 9,215 11,527 13,164 13,217 13,247 13,312 13,343 13,379
Other freeways and expressways N N 6,774 7,668 8,970 9,027 9,063 9,127 9,125 9,140
Other principal arterial N N 44,155 51,968 52,796 52,983 53,223 53,132 53,206 53,312
Minor arterial N N 66,377 74,659 88,510 89,020 89,185 89,496 89,399 89,789
Collector N N 68,387 78,254 87,331 87,790 88,049 88,071 88,008 88,200
Local N N 433,993 520,568 568,935 574,728 583,973 588,504 592,978 598,421
U.S. roads and streets by surface                    
Paved mileage, total 1,230,469 1,658,421 2,072,692 2,254,822 2,378,268 2,380,650 2,409,935 2,420,344 2,451,426 2,504,494
Rural 919,082 1,188,080 7 1,490,050 7 1,550,283 7 1,591,334 23 1,582,166 23 1,605,804 23 1,612,251 23 1,641,877 23 1,684,922
Urban 311,387 470,341 582,642 704,539 786,934 798,484 804,131 808,093 809,549 819,572
Percent paved 34.7% 44.5% 53.7% 58.3% 60.8% 60.5% 60.9% 61.3% 62.4% 63.4%
Unpaved mileage, total 2,315,224 2,071,661 1,787,145 1,612,104 1,533,958 1,553,537 1,548,349 1,528,549 1,478,977 1,445,548
Rural 7 2,197,043 7 1,981,332 7 1,740,886 7 1,571,999 7 1,501,186 23 1,518,310 23 1,510,330 23 1,490,488 23 1,436,969 23 1,406,508
Urban 118,181 90,329 46,259 40,105 32,772 35,227 38,019 38,061 42,008 39,040
Percent unpaved 65.3% 55.5% 46.3% 41.7% 39.2% 39.5% 39.1% 38.7% 37.6% 36.6%
Number of employees                    
State and local govt. streets and highways1 532,000 607,000 559,000 569,000 543,000 U 531,000 530,000 543,000 546,000
Highway and street construction2 U U U 238,700 227,900 236,100 242,800 256,500 R280,100 R281,200

 

PERFORMANCE 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Vehicle-miles of travel by functional system (millions)i, total 718,762 1,109,724 1,527,295 2,144,362 2,422,696 2,484,080 R2,552,233 R2,628,148 R2,690,241 2,749,803
Rural mileage, total 400,463 539,472 672,030 868,878 933,289 960,194 R999,277 R1,032,528 R1,062,623 1,084,961
Interstate 8 10,514 8 79,516 8 135,084 8 200,173 18 223,382 18 232,565 18 240,255 18 251,520 R,18 260,166 18 268,960
Other principal arterial N N 132,958 175,133 215,567 221,403 228,716 237,704 R244,045 248,686
Minor arterial N N 129,816 155,733 153,028 157,444 R163,341 165,780 R169,275 171,883
Major collector N N 150,186 190,512 186,212 190,923 201,790 203,580 R206,831 209,561
Minor collector N N 39,282 49,948 49,936 50,107 R52,310 R54,288 R57,622 57,960
Local N N 84,704 97,379 105,164 107,752 R112,865 R119,656 R124,684 127,911
Urban mileage, total 318,299 570,252 855,265 1,275,484 1,489,407 1,523,886 R1,552,956 R1,595,620 R1,627,618 1,664,842
Interstate 13,365 81,532 161,242 278,901 341,515 351,579 R361,433 374,622 R383,259 393,580
Other freeways and expressways N N 79,690 127,465 151,509 157,502 R159,572 165,632 R171,515 177,142
Other principal arterial N N 229,469 335,543 370,365 377,776 R385,123 R388,071 R392,688 398,652
Minor arterial N N 175,030 236,225 293,228 299,345 R301,932 309,293 R313,950 324,367
Collector N N 83,043 106,297 126,883 129,310 R130,146 R131,905 R131,603 135,371
Local N N 126,791 191,053 205,907 208,374 R214,750 R226,097 R234,603 235,730
Highway demand for petroleum, total (thousand barrels) 1,488,095 2,361,310 2,882,143 3,289,554 3,602,159 3,669,491 3,765,003 3,889,758 4,042,708 R4,062,573
Motor fuel 9 1,378,095 9 2,198,310 9 2,737,143 9 3,113,214 16 3,424,616 16 3,492,285 16 3,580,620 16 3,699,500 16 3,843,128 16 3,870,337
Asphalt and road oil 10 110,000 10 163,000 10 145,000 14 176,340 14 177,543 14 177,206 14 184,383 14 190,258 14 199,580 14 192,236

 

SAFETY 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Fatalities 11 36,399 11 52,627 11 51,091 15 44,599 15 41,817 15 42,065 15 42,013 15 41,501 15 41,717 R,24 41,945
Injured persons N N N 3,231,000 3,465,000 3,483,000 3,348,000 3,192,000 3,236,000 15 3,189,000
Crashes N N N 6,471,000 6,699,000 6,770,000 6,624,000 6,335,000 6,279,000 6,394,000

KEY: N = data do not exist; R = revised; U = data are not available.

a The Federal Highway Trust Fund was created with the enactment of the Highway Revenue Act of 1956. The total receipts shown for 1995 are overstated by approximately $1.59 billion due to a fiscal year (FY) 1994 error by the Treasury Department in reconciling estimated deposits to the actual tax revenue. The correction was made after the close of FY1994 and is shown in FY1995 receipts.

b Figures obtained by addition/subtraction and may not appear directly in data source.

c Gross amounts collected by state governments from highway users. Does not include tolls. Not all revenues allocated to highway expenditures.

d Includes distributors and dealers licenses, inspection fees, fines and penalties, and miscellaneous receipts.

e Includes drivers licenses, title fees, special title taxes, fines and penalties; estimated service charges and local collections.

f Includes carrier gross receipt taxes; mileage, ton-mile and passenger-mile taxes; special license fees and franchise taxes; and certificate or permit fees.

g Mileage in federal parks, forests, and reservations that are not a part of the state and local highway system.

h Prior to 1999, mileage for municipal roads was included with the "other local roads" jurisdiction. Mileage for municipal roads was included in "Town, Township and Municipal Road" jurisdiction after 1999.

i Highway category classifications changed several times before 1980. Actual 1960 data categories were: Main Rural Roads, Local Rural Roads and Urban Streets; 1970 data categories were: Rural Interstate, Rural Other Arterial, Other Rural, Urban Interstate and Other Urban.

NOTES

Motor vehicle injury and crash data in this profile come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's General Estimates System (GES). The data from GES, which began operation in 1988, are obtained from a nationally representative probability sample selected from all police-reported crashes, and the GES sample includes only crashes where a police accident report was completed and the crash resulted in property damage, injury, or death. The resulting figures do not take into account crashes which were not reported to the police or which did not result in at least property damage.

Earlier editions of NTS, particularly the 1993 Historical Compendium, used crash and injury figures estimated by the National Safety Council, which employed a different set of methods to arrive at its figures. Thus, the injury and crash figures in this edition of NTS may not be comparable with those found in earlier editions.

In 1998, FHWA instituted a new method of creating mileage based tables derived from the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). See Chapter 1 accuracy profiles for more information about the HPMS.

SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, please refer to chapter tables for sources.

1 U.S. Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of the United States, various years, State and Local Government Section.

2 Ibid., Internet site http://www.bls.gov/data/sa.htm as of Jan. 6, 2003.

3 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table HF-210.

4 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table MF-201.

5 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table MV-202.

6 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1985, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table M-203.

7 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table HM-212.

8 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1985 (Washington, DC: April 1987), table VM-201.

9 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201A (total fuel consumed in thousands of gallons divided by 42).

10 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, State Energy Data Report, 1960-1980 (Washington, DC), p. 13.

11 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NRD-30, personal communication.

12 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table HM-210.

13 Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table HM-220.

14 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Annual: Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table 2.

15 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Traffic Safety Facts 2001 (Washington, DC: 2001).

16 U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 (total fuel consumed in thousands of gallons divided by 42).

17 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), tables HF-10A and HF-10.

18 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: various years), tables VM-2 and VM-2A.

19 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), table MF-1.

20 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), table MV-2.

21 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), table HM-10.

22 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), table HM-20.

23 Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), table HM-12.

24 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Query, Jan. 6, 2003.
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