Congestion Reduction Toolbox:
Add Capacity
Adding Capacity/Easing Bottlenecks
Capacity is the maximum amount of traffic capable of being handled by a given highway section. Capacity is determined by a number of factors: the number and width of lanes and shoulders; merge areas at interchanges; and roadway alignment (grades and curves). When certain physical aspects of the highway are at capacity, they create traffic "bottlenecks." Minimizing the impacts of or eliminating bottlenecks is one of the most effective ways to reduce congestion. Two recent studies look at the issue of bottlenecks:
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- Unclogging America's Arteries: Effective Relief for Highway Bottlenecks 1999-2004 (2004) PDF (9.4MB)
- An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways (October 2005) PDF (2.82MB)
Public-Private Partnerships
"Public-private partnerships" (PPP) refer to contractual agreements formed between a public agency and private sector entity that allow for greater private sector participation in the delivery of transportation projects. Traditionally, private sector participation has been limited to separate planning, design or construction contracts on a fee for service basis—based on the public agency's specifications.
Expanding the private sector role allows the public agencies to tap private sector technical, management and financial resources in new ways to achieve certain public agency objectives such as greater cost and schedule certainty, supplementing in-house staff, innovative technology applications, specialized expertise or access to private capital.
For more information, visit:
- FHWA Public-Private Partnerships
- FHWA Office of Infrastructure
- The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships
